Street Matters

Mixed media of watercolour pencil, watercolour, pencil and pen.

Frankfurt is really not one of the most beautiful cities of the world. But there are little corners that are quirky and interesting. I'm going to aim to get out to sketch once a week - in theory anyway!

I'm having trouble with my sketchbook. I've been using the basic Moleskines but really don't like the way the watercolour treats the paper and have found that it can bleed through to previous/next pages. After doing some research and not being able to get the sketchbook I wanted outside of the UK (why do Canson only sell that type in the UK?) I asked some very knowledgeable sketchbook artists and have been recommended to try the Moleskine watercolour book (which I see now comes in a larger size) and their Japanese sketchbook which has accordion pages which sounds like a wonderful format. So I am going to order one of each to test drive.

Studio Matters

I bought this easel a few years ago with the idea that it would be just the thing for plein aire - only it is near to impossible to set up, the catches don't hold and the whole thing threatens to collapse on me every time I assemble it. Him indoors dug it out last week and put it up and despite tightening every possible knob in sight with pliers it still has a tend to list drunkenly after a while. How I long for my beautiful full size studio easel which languishes in storage!

This sketch makes it look like I have ample room to paint - in truth the easel is squeezed between my computer and a bed! Not exactly conducive to producing masterpieces!

Waiting Matters

Him Indoors was late finishing at work last night, usual emergencies that hit at 4:30 on a Friday evening, so I sat outside his office in the courtyard and doodled. We work in the most unattractive building - very typical German, pre-war construction with very strange add-ons in recent years.

Completed Matters

Another day of relatively futile pastel work so I gave in and tidied up my dining room and finished off yesterday's sketch.

My feet took a rest from their modelling career today and him indoors (who suggested that I might be developing a foot fetish) lent his for today's doodle. Somehow I ended up with six toes on one foot - I did count the ones on his feet and he really does only have 5!

Inside Matters

What a futile day! Made myself get out my pastels and attempt to do a drawing but with absolutely hopeless results! So back to my sketchbook doodlings. Having started this I was totally overcome by the confusion on my dining table and decided that I would be better occupied tidying up the mess(hence the gap in the middle of the picture) but I didn't do that either - maybe once I have tidied up, I might complete this sketch.

And a little portrait doodle just to wind up the day.

Sofa Matters

As I said recently, I bought several books lately and have been delving in and out of the pages of all of them, fluttering around and not really getting anything from them at all. So I decided today that I have to focus more, and am picking one book to start with and will not pick up the next until I finished that one. Now of course faced with the decision of which book to read!

The antsy unsettled feeling seems to have followed me all day and I couldn't get settled down to anything, couldn't sit still or focus. I all but had to nail my feet to the floor to force myself to draw anything. Stepped out of my comfort zone with a pen and no eraser which forced me to slow down and really look at proportions to try to get them right the first time. Not sure I did that entirely but feel relatively happy with the result.