Storm's a-brewin'

Sketchcrawl 42

Sketched on a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 And a process GIF. Trendy.

Young Love...

Sketchcrawl 42

Ellen Degeneres

Worldwide Sketchcrawl 39

Worldwide Sketchcrawl 39

Hyde Park Deer Sculpture

Loved the greeny porcelain look with a light glossy spray wafting from the fountain behind it.

Worldwide Sketchcrawl 37 - Flinders Street

Holbien Watercolours + LAMY Safari pen

I have a new LAMY pen... yeah those ones that exist inside a glass cabinet signifying that they are somehow more superior-er.

The flow is really something else - I'm guessing catered for connoisseurs of calligraphy. It comes out dark, and stays dark even if I applied watercolours on first.

Not to mention, I sat in the rain doing this. The drops splattered my page but it gave it a nice effect.

Here are some other sketches from the day after the jump. Started off at Starbucks (as you do) and then some heads on the train back.

Worldwide Sketchcrawl 35 - Sydney

Last weekend was my first Sketchcrawl in Sydney and there were 30 artists, young and old, whipping out their pencils and drawing. Having done Sketchcrawl's in Melbourne for so long, I was inspired (and secretly jealous) how large the community was here - to see how eager they were to sketch the world around them.

The group went to Cockatoo Island, a relaxing 15 minute ferry ride from Sydney. It was a beautiful and alien looking place. Old machines, warehouses and buildings over looking the Sydney skyline. The one above is yet another iPad sketch. I was barely on Cockatoo Island when the scene just grabbed me. It was an overcast morning and a little damp, this seemed to saturate the colours on the cliff faces. Yet right next to it was a giant, man made warehouse which was coloured a fading sky blue. Rarely in the modern world, I think, would this exist anymore, nature would just get mowed down. But here they seemed to co-exist, frozen in time.

The sketches below are from a more traditional media known as "pen". They are shot on a more prehistoric thing called a Nokia phone camera. Unfortunately I don't have all my equipment here so for now, this'll do.

Please do yourself a favour and check out the brilliant work of the other Sydney sketchers. And while your at it, the rest of the world!

Sydney Town Hall - iPad Plein air

This was done on the iPad again on the Brushes App in front of Sydney Town Hall. I was lucky enough to get it on a gorgeous day.

Sydney isn't a bad place at all. Great weather, beautiful landmarks lots of inspirational places to sit and draw. Here I sat inside the Kinokuniya book store opposite Town Hall painting for about 2 hours. The security guard was sussing me out every 15 minutes trying to figure out what I was doing. Although it's on iPad advertising now, I guess painting is not what normal people do when they visit a bookstore. Looking forward in seeing what else Sydney has in store.

Video here:

The Karate Kid Painting Montage

Going through my hard drives made me stumble on some old WIP files of my Karate Kid painting I did awhile back. What a joy it was too.

Although I still watch the movie on a religious basis, artistically it was the European Masters exhibition held at the NGV last year that really made me want to stick with this painting - it was a study.

It was a real privilege to see such works at that exhibition - but what amazed me was the artists' richness, variety and control in their darks - things you'd never notice on crumby scanned or photographed images on the internet. Works like this one by Edgar Degas were one of many inspirations for the Karate Kid painting that I should credit in the video above.

Hope you enjoy it anyway!

Seascape Plein Air with iPad inc video

Yet another iPad finger painting using the Brushes App which STILL remains the most responsive and simplest painting app out there.

People often ask me about the glare off the screen. Although, yes, it does exist, if you crank up the brightness to max and paint under some shade there really isn't any problem. Which got me in thinking, how great this thing will be for night plein airs with a back lit screen? Next time perhaps.

Hope you enjoy the video process too.

31st Worldwide SketchCrawl for Japan

The 31st Sketchcrawl was dedicated by Pixar's Enrico Casarosa to the victims of the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

He also set up a Sketchcrawl fund with Give2Asia. So please give generously if you can.

The death toll from the earthquake and tsunami stands at 13,700 and even more are missing. It's sad to even think what the surviving are going through.

Not to put a downer on this blog, this is the Melbourne Sketchcrawl once again, and relatively speaking, the weather has been rather kind! In Melbourne terms, it's a miracle. Yes I'll even go as far as saying that.

For this special Sketchcrawl, I wanted to do something cool, so I figured I'd take the iPad out behind Federation square along the Yarra and began painting using the Brushes App. I lost my stylus so this is 100% left finger - It cramped after awhile.

These other sketches are from earlier in the day in a cafe and the outdoor area of Federation square where a month long comedy festival is happening. Lots of atmosphere and a great day to be drawing.

NuPastel on Hemp Paper

So I have some boxes of NuPastels which I mail ordered from America and until the end of last year, never really gotten to around using them. Nor have I never really liked them.

Although I hate pastels and charcoals, NuPastels are alot more gritty and more transportable. I carry alot of materials in my bag and I just hate it when there's vine charcoal dust everywhere.

And maybe it's the paper, but I really love the final effect. And you can use your kneeded eraser, stump and even water to throw it around. It's very forgiving (I find).

So yeah, this is a life drawing session predominately NuPastel and a bit of conte.

And here's a nice lady explaining the virtues of NuPastel

Worldwide Sketchcrawl 30 (and other drawings from life in 2010)

First 3 are from Sketchcrawl 30 which was done yesterday. And the rest are a few select ones from other Sketchcrawls and Dr Sketchys in 2010.

There is nothing like drawing from life. And as many artists have said, there really is no better teacher than nature.

Not only are there obvious aspects like, design and drawing skills and all that, but you learn intangible things. Like understanding your sensitivities towards your subject. Improvisation. The experience of actually being there. They all contribute to how you understand yourself, the world and your work - and therefore you improve.

I remember a Craig Mullins presentation where he talked about the value of doing sketches. Although he makes it look easy, he said he would do tonnes of sketches over and over and over to understand how he works. He would take his experience from one sketch and apply it to the next one and sooner or later, different experiences begin to bolt together and eventually he found a way that works for him. There's no one way of doing it.

So in conclusion, sketching is good.

iPad painting from Live Model

Recently I spoiled myself and got an iPad. Painting digitally on a Nintendo DS was alright but the allure of a bigger, shinier screen was all too much.

This was done with the Brushes App and tidied up with Autodesk Sketchbook Pro for iPad.

I was reading in some forums that the colours are off and require you to edit them in Photoshop but for me, the difference wasn't all that much on my calibrated monitors. Maybe it was because I did this indoors, but we shall see when I go out an about with this thing!

Wacom 6D Art Pen Impressions

I'm not sure how popular the Wacom 6D Art Pen is. A hefty investment in an Intuos or Cintiq is pricy enough. Anything more seems plain indulgent. And considering how many times I've misplaced my normal pen around the room, you wonder if it's worth getting another pen... to lose somewhere under your desk again.

On face value, the only difference between the 6D and the standard grip pen is rotation. The 6D also does NOT have mouse triggers nor an eraser. Is it REALLY worth the AU$140 I paid for this? I've had this pen for about a year now but after some perseverance it has become a joy to use.

You'd probably only be remotely interested in this device if you have a certain style of art or the software you use. Zbrush for example; Utterly useless when you don't have a right mouse button. Or if your style is more vector, again I see no real point of the 6D over the grip pen. If you are abit more painterly though and require alot of 'feel' in each stroke you may want to give it a go.

Say for example you are sketching away digitally and want to get a soft taper from a broad stroke. You'd either have to have a really cultured hand or (if you're like me) you draw a line and 'chip' away back into it. Not only is this time-consuming and contrived, it begins too hurt your hand. You are literally forced to rub on the screen all day until that beautiful stroke is achieved. If at all.

Now I'm not saying you can't get a beautiful line without a 6D. In fact there seems to be alot of great digital artists out there that cope without it just fine. But I don't think it's as enjoyable. Why? Because the combination of the extra gestures the 6D is picking up together with the felt tip nib feels alot more organic. You feel free-er. Much like a filbert brush getting extra finesse instead of a 'stamped' looking brush here and there.



Just a note though, the 6D Art pen seems at home in Painter than in Photoshop. I found Photoshop (CS3) doesn't sense rotation very well and the cursor doesn't rotate nor tilt with your hand so your always second guessing yourself as to what is going to happen.

Here's a YouTube video of me inking away with a 6D Art Pen on a Cintiq 12WX just to give you guys an idea of how it can be used. Let me know if you have any questions!

Winsor Newton Artisans

Lately I'm falling in love with Winsor Newton Artisans Water soluble oils. It's a mouthful to say, and I'm not here to endorse a product, I'm just not sure if any other maker supplies such a unique paint? Let me know if you know.

And the reason I wanna talk about it is because I really can't find much information about it on the Internet. I'm not even sure what media to use it on! I'm finding on linen canvas, where ordinary oils are king, Artisans tend to slip off. Instead I'm finding paper that can hold water more exciting to use. Here is my very basic palette.



I'll be posting my thoughts on how they work for me in future. But if your looking for something with the convenience of gouache but the guts of oils, get out there and give these a try! Then come back and tell me how to use them properly!

Anyway have a great weekend.

Melbourne! The 25th Worldwide Sketchcrawl is on this Saturday the 21st!

Get your pens (pencils whatever) ready because November 21st 2009 marks 5 years of global Sketchcrawling.

What is it you may ask? It's (as the blurb once said for a banner over a year ago) "taking a day to draw your city, its people, and get a little closer to the world around you".

Like minded people, doing what we love doing, and you get that warm fuzzy feeling inside that people in every corner of the world are doing the same thing.

It's a chilled out day, and no, you don't just sit and draw ALL day. Come and go as you wish. We draw, chat about life, food and a drink afterwards if your so inclined.


Weather is looking fantastic and preliminary meetup spot is the Melbourne Museum at approximately 10 - 11 am! Keep y'all posted! Tell ya friends! More info here

Sketchcrawl forum

Life Drawing - 30 Sept '09

Little bit of fun today - whipped out some ink pens, exaggerated form etc. Good to change it up a little once in awhile! woot!

24th Worldwide Sketchcrawl - Melbourne

I believe we are slowly shaking off the wintery blues as a small handful of folks came out for the 24th Worldwide Sketchcrawl!! Woot! We are slowly, slowly posting our stuff up. The next one will be in a couple of months or so. Soooo get in touch if you're interested - when there's a whole batch of us, it's a lot of fun!

Sketchcrawl Melbourne Thread