75 Day Sketch Challenge: Days 51 to 55

This is a basketball ring that I placed at the side of the backyard hot tub. I like how the drawing of the net creates a 3D look.

This is my ever dependable lunch bag (actually my wife's).

My son's Justice League school bag.

And his Ben 10 sandals.

Whenever I have more time to sketch, I look for a more challenging subject. Lots of time means I can work on the details.

 

75 Day Sketch Challenge: Days 43 to 50

I was looking for something to draw and I ended up in our backyard. The weeds reminded me that it was time take the lawnmower out again.

I found a quiet time and was ready for a longer sketch. I ended up sketching one of my son's toys, donkey from Shrek.

Back to the backyard. I found it satisfying to sketch things within our house area. Years from now when the house looks different, it would be nice to look at old sketches and you'll get reminded of how things were.

Tiger sketch. This is from one of the books my son borrowed from the library. I was ready for more detailed sketch so a tiger and his stripes was the perfect subject for the day.

This is a 2-sketch-in-a-page. Almost about ready to sleep when I realized that I haven't done any sketch yet. Drew the table next to the bed with the laptop, book and picture frame in top. The two medals are my son's. He get from a local library reading program for kids.

View from the couch. Sketching our house from the inside.

When I find nothing to draw, either draw hands or feet. I haven't sketch my feet though. I just used my left hand as a model using 3 different poses. I'm completely satisfied with the result. Drawing hands has always been a challenge for me.

 

75 Day Sketch Challenge: Days 38 to 42



I brought my sketchpad and pens in one of the picnics this summer. Made a quick sketch of one of the group members sitting on a folding chair.

 

 I also had the chance to sketch one of the kids from the group. She was patient enough to model.

I was busy preparing the requirements to renew our passports so I just decided to draw the passports and some identification cards to complete my sketch for the day.

This is one of those days when I have lots of time and really felt sketching. I chose a complicated subject but I did enjoy every moment.

I found another great time to sketch. Our toy tiger caught my attention. She's been with us for about 8 years now. I almost forgot that we have her since we left her in one of the corners of our living room. I enjoyed sketching her stripes.

75 Day Sketch Challenge: Days 35, 36 and 37

Found one of my son's dinosaur toy and decided it's good enough for the day's sketch. I wanted to give a hint of the tough skin but didn't want to overdo it. Maybe I will draw a close-up of a dinosaur body part/skin next time.

Everyday, I spend at least 10 minutes finding a subject to draw. When it's already dark, my choices become limited to what's in the bedroom. My pants resting on a stool caught my attention. Sketching drapery for a change and it can be very challenging.

Sitting on the kitchen table, talking to the wife while she washes the dishes. I took the opportunity to draw some grapes silently praying that the kids wouldn't notice it. I believe I was able to create a 3D effect by working on shadows and depths.

75 Day Sketch Challenge: Days 32, 33 and 34

Day 32: Found some toys bowling pins scattered on the floor. A nice challenge to draw curves and foreshortening.

Day 33: Waiting for my wife to finish her cooking lesson. Tried some exercises on negative space. Drew the table and chairs. Ended up with more space on the pad so I drew my son's water bottle.

Day 34: An attempt to do portraiture using pen (no pencil).

75 Day Sketch Challenge: Days 29, 30 and 31

The local arts society I belong to have plein air sessions every summer. Unfortunately, the organizers schedule the sessions on Tuesdays. Not good for members who have 'other' jobs.

I was able to take a leave for 4 hours one Tuesday, enough to join the group on a winery/vineyard for some plein air drawing.

I sat in between the rows of vines that provided enough shade for me. It was about noon time when we started so it was really hot outside. There were a lot of details to draw but of course I did not draw every details. I just drew enough to capture the scene.

I also liked the six barrels neatly placed near the entrance of the winery. My hands were shaking a little when I started this. Remember, one of the rules of the 75 day challenge is not to use pencils so drawing these barrels were really challenging.

75 Day Sketch Challenge: Days 26, 27 and 28

I love sketching landscape from imagination. Anything goes ... for this one, I started with the big tree on the left, added the river and then the trees along the banks.

 I've had these mugs from my first work more than 10 years ago. When I don't have enough alone time to draw, I draw whatever I could find inside the house and draw while watching TV.

One of those days when I can't seem to decide what to draw. I saw a chocolate wrapper on the table, decide that it's a good challenge. I was half-way done when I had to stand up to get something. The wrapper was gone when I got back. Somebody was doing some cleaning up and confessed that she threw the wrapper away.

75 Day Sketch Challenge: Days 23, 24 and 25

My son's Buzz Lightyear piggybank.

My blackberry case, car and house keys, and my RSA token ID. Can't leave home without these (and of course, the blackberry).

 After a badminton game with my son, I found my next subject.

75 Day Sketch Challenge: Days 20, 21 and 22

Day 20: Took my sketchbook and pens with me and drew the front of an outlet store from inside the car.

 Our comfy rocking chair.

 A mighty rhino, this one was definitely not drawn from life. Took out my son's books and looked for something that requires a lot of shading.

75 Day Sketch Challenge: Days 17, 18 and 19

Day 17: I was out in front of the house in our front yard watching my kids play. I brough a folding chair outside and took the opportunity to draw part of our neighbors trailer.

 Day 18: I was trying the technique I learned online on rendering a tree. The effort was time consuming. I rushed but I did get some satisfaction on the result. I've read that in professional drawings, a tree like this may be rendered between 3-5 hours in pen (with careful and small strokes).

Day 19: Finding a subject is always a challenge especially when it's late at night and you don't have time anymore to go around the house (especially when everyone else is sleeping). I thought of drawing my left hand as it holds the sketchbook.

75 Day Sketch Challenge: Days 14, 15 and 16

I saw an old picture of Lombart Street in San Francisco, California. It has been more than 10 years since I've been in the US. I've decided to try and draw it. I had to be careful with the perspective.



 There was a ground fair last July 2 where kids can make their own boats using wood. Hammer, nails and other tools were provided. I was with my son and here's a sketch of the boat we made.

I saw some tutorials on sketching foliage in the internet and decided to try it out. The key here is patience. Do not rush. I probably need a finer pen to make the trees more realistic. I'm happy with the result though.

75 Day Sketch Challenge: Days 12 and 13

I accompanied my wife to a dentist appointment hoping that I would be able to sketch something while waiting for her appointment to finish. It took a while for me to find a subject. My legs were crossed ... and problem solved. I drew my left shoe. I was wearing it when I was sketching it. I added the shadows when we got home.

It was raining so I just looked for something to draw from inside the house. Something new and something that would require shadows. Something with details ... I found one of my son's action figures and decided to draw it for Day 13.

75 Day Sketch Challenge: Days 9, 10 and 11

I picked up two pine cones and use them for my sketch. I have never looked at pine cones closely before. They make a good sketch subject.

 Day 10: Copied from Welles Bosworth's The Sphinx. A good practice on shading.

Day 11: Trunks and Branches. I was in the park one afternoon and looking for something to draw other than trees.

75 Day Sketch Challenge: Days 6, 7 and 8

I like this drawing. I started with the basket but I wasn't able to really start until at least 5 minutes after. I didn't use any pencil and that made drawing the basket really complicated. But it turned out better than what I expected.

I had this comic strip for more than 20 years now. I copied this from a magazine and I recreated it for the 75 day sketch challenge. I hope you find the humor in the drawing.

Day 8, I can't find anything to draw. I had been in the living room for about 10 minutes thinking of what to draw. I ended up drawing the fireplace wall.

75 Day Sketch Challenge: Days 4 and 5

For Day 4, I searched the internet and found an interesting status of an angel. As always, the big challenge is always the start ... figuring out where to start and how to start without using a pencil. As expected, I had difficulty with the drapery, a subject I have yet to conquer.

For Day 5, I went back to my old drawing books and I found a pencil drawing of a ginger. I was running out of time and found nothing else to draw so I just drew the ginger from the pencil drawing. It was easier to make the rough texture of the ginger using a pen than a pencil.