Blogging is hard

Blogging is hard, especially when you have some technical setbacks. I fully intended to blog and post my sketches in Portugal but found out too late that I couldn't upload images to Blogger from my iPad without a lot of finicky downloads and who knows what. I mean, really iPad! And then, somehow, time just flew by when I got back and you know how it is. The longer you procrastinate, the easier it is to procrastinate some more. So, now it's July (sheesh) and I'm going to try to play catch up. I'll post some Portugal images soon but in the meantime, I want to share my latest discovery - Sktchy!

It's an app for iPad and iPhone. People upload selfies and other photos.  Artists draw or paint them, then upload their work back into Sktchy next to the original photo. It has been a huge inspiration for me and solves the daily problem of "what should I draw?", besides the fact that human faces are endlessly fascinating. I've drawn and painted faces since I downloaded the app in mid-May. Here are some recent samples.

Welcome to my new blog space

Welcome to my new online space - mainly for sketches, pottery, and other creative work. My old blog at yvonnerezek.weebly.com is still there but is completely inactive now. I decided to move to Blogger because I find it easier to use and I may actually post more regularly. Of course, that means, making art more regularly and making art I'm willing to share.

For now, my focus is on urban sketching, that is, sketching out and about, mostly at coffee shops because, you know, winter. But as the days get warmer, I'll be sketching the urban environment from my car and out on walks. Yes, the daily walk I don't take right now will soon become a habit. Well, that's the plan.

And I'm hoping that my upcoming 10-day watercolour immersion will give me greater confidence with the medium. Right now, watercolour is not my BFF. It's challenging and unpredictable and I'm still pretty much a watercolour newbie. I know, like anything worth doing, it takes practice, practice, practice. And lucky me, I'll be forced to practice all day, everyday, in some beautiful locations. 

As part of my prep for a trip to Europe, I had a luxurious mani/pedi last week and sketched while sitting in the big comfy chair.

March sketchout at Ikea

Twelve Edmonton urban sketchers met at Ikea on Saturday, March 3. What a carnival that place is. Families come for two or three hours of entertainment and Swedish meatballs, newlyweds are buying beds and dishes, seniors find a table by the window in the cafeteria and read the paper (or they're tablets). Then there's us, sketchbooks in hand, pointy implements of ink and colour at the ready. Most of us (including me) brought stools. But this is Ikea people! There's something to sit on around every corner.

It's pretty darn loud and overwhelming and after two minutes, this extreme introvert was ready to pack it in. But I stuck it out for the whole two hours, plus show and tell with the rest of the group, and an egg salad sandwich and a soothing cup of tea.

As always, I'm glad I went. Every little bit of sketching time is not only good practice, but also relaxing and fun.

Drawing and painting in Portugal

Last summer, after retiring in June from a great career in librarianship, I jumped at the chance to give myself a retirement gift. I follow Montreal artist Marc Taro Holmes, aka Citizen Sketcher, and got the news that he would be offering a watercolour painting and sketching workshop on the south coast of Portugal in March. I may have jumped at the chance in my heart, but it took me a weekend of mulling it over. Good thing I didn't mull any longer because I was #13 to register and the workshop limit is 15.

So now it's March and I leave in about a week. Final preparations are in progress. All my art supplies are organized, except the most important one. I still don't have a travel sized palette. These seem to be the hardest things to find! I'll fall back on one of my big, clunky plastic palettes if I can't find something soon! I'm bringing Arches watercolour paper cut to size, a 9x12 Canson Monteval watercolour pad, a smaller pad for value sketching and paint testing, a couple of sketchbooks, brushes, and all the other gear I'll probably need, including my new three legged Walkstool.

Am I excited? Well judging by the butterflies in my stomach and that "pinch-me" sense of unreality, I'd say, yes, for sure I am!

Join me on my little journey. I'd be happy to read your comments along the way!