Tuesday, November 25, 2014

The great unviewed

I'm not writing this out of malice or even much research, this is really more about some observations. I have enjoyed trying to get back involved in the social side of the web, well mainly on sites other than facebook.  Specifically I have sent myself the challenge of doing something (eg a sketch Creative each day and post that). I started out trying out tunblr, and I really like the tumble log idea and simplicity of how to post.

The real problem I have with tumblr is I remain largely unwatched. I've tried hashtags and reposting as tweets but I have so few hearts/likes I know I am posting into a void. The few I have followed up seem to be from the more voyeuristic, reposting porn side of the troll community and I'm sure my art doesn't appeal to them. However there has been more interaction via twitter, particularly once I found #thedailysketch hash tag. Twitter still feaes like posting into the void but the trolls there are mainly celebrity chasers or wanna be celebrities and a tine community of artist who don't mind sharing their inspiration and some of their works. However it is two services I have used for a long time (and had drifted away from that clearly gve me the highest interaction. They are Flickr, and I know most of the folk that still interact with me have known me for a long time and Blogger, which still gets a reasonable number of hits/views daily (without as many comments). A little surprising is my google+ profile, which I only set up so I could keep using blogger (it was almost 100,000 views?) and it definitely brings folk to my blog posts (hopefully those that can understand and appreciate it.

So enough navel gazing. I think there can be community on the net for art, and a good place to practise and share but there is a lot of superficiality and trolls to avoid. Perhaps it is important to think about where and who with your want to share rather than number of hits/views/likes or 1+'s

with apologies to Lord Lytton for the misquoted title

Thursday, November 20, 2014

A Wash First

A number of folk who should kniw these things that my work might stay looser if I start with a wash and then add the sketch detail (just where it is needed rather than getting too detailed). Well They might be right!
first wash (tone & form)



sketch in detail (and refine composition


start a new sketch/wash




Its hard to get the composition right the first time but ... i might be onto something

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Tanlines

Pastel on Coloured Paper

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Art, Beauty & Love

More daily sketches


I was pleased with my compositional in watercolour in a couple of washes. So I swapped over to pastel.


Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Friday, November 07, 2014

The Smiling Selfie

Watercolour & marker pen

Pastel on Paper

Thursday, November 06, 2014

Another Day Another Selfie to Sketch

marker pen on paper, composition sketch

Keeping it soft, Pastel on coloured paper

Saturday, November 01, 2014

The Spring Carvinal is On


Looking for Trouble


Time to have a day at the races and wear a little (but expensive hat)


Pastel on paper