Break Of A New Dawn
Tag: learning
Sketchbook Revival 2019
A couple of months ago, when visiting doodlewash.com (one of the blogs I follow on WordPress), I came upon an event called, “Sketchbook Revival 2019.” Sketchbook Revival (as I found out) was in its second year and was started by Karen Abend and her team.
It began in late April and the organisers invited 25 Artists to give an instruction via a 25 – 50 minute video which was recorded live then emailed (or accessed via the schedule page) to eager participants like myself.
A wide range of mediums were covered including pencil, pen, Watercolour, Acrylic, Mixed-Media, Charcoal, Digital and a host of others.
Each participant received 2 videos daily over 13 days and then we all had another 14 days to access the videos for free. Some of the topics included: “Portrait Party”, “Sidewalk Cracks”, “Whimsical Buildings”, “Sketching Like A Kid Again”, Sketching Our Intuition”, “Object Observation” and much, much more.
As the video played, you could ‘tag along’ and paint, sketch, draw etc with the Artist. It was a great chance, not only to use mediums that you are used to using but also try out some other mediums whilst being guided.
After each video we were invited to share our creations in the closed Facebook Group so that everyone could see and comment on them if they wished. The Artists gave feedback as well.
I’ve included some of my creations below.
Each Artist also gave participants a free gift to encourage them on their creative journey and there were also links to the Artists’ websites where there more free resources plus paid courses to investigate.
Overall, I found it to be a most rewarding experience. It has certainly changed the way I think about producing creative works, particularly in my sketchbook.
I am so looking forward to Sketchbook Revival 2020!
Written by David Johnson
3 June 2019
Here is the link to the Facebook Group.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/SketchbookRevival/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/SketchbookRevival/
Pen & Wash
Intuitive watercolour
Mindful Inspirations
How To Draw A Dog
How To Start A Happy Journal
Whimsical Buildings
How To Draw A Bird
Create Daily
Drawing A Seahorse
Watercolour Sketch A Day Continues…
Back on Australia Day, 26 January 2019, I decided to do a Watercolour Sketch a Day, mainly because I was inconsistent in getting to actually paint. I wanted to learn Watercolour and would do a small one, then life would intervene and before I knew it, another couple of weeks had passed and so on…
As of today (Day 127) I have done 127 Watercolour Sketches in a row. It continues to be fun and has become a kind of therapy and it helps me escape into my own little world and away from digital technology, as digital seems to have pervaded into most areas of our lives. I find it quite meditative and am thoroughly enjoying this journey of fun and learning!
Currently, I have about 3 sketchbooks going. One is a Paper Mill A4 heavier Ivory paper (that sadly the manufacturer has advised is now unavailable), a Moleskine Watercolour A5 Journal (200gsm) and an A4 (120gsm) hardcover Journal.
With the Paper Mill Journal being unavailable, I think that I will have a go at building my own. More on that in another post.
I use Cotman Watercolour Half-Pans, Aqua Wash (mainly) and some conventional brushes and Staedtler Pigment Liners and Derwent pencils.
For now, here is a selection of my Watercolour Sketches since Day 67.
Written by David Johnson
1 June 2019
Books On The Shelf
Opportunity Knocks!
Last month I had the opportunity to speak at my very First conference. It was held at the Pepper Manor House in the Southern Highlands of NSW. A beautiful, grand old house in quite a picturesque location.
I was invited to speak at ICCare (formerly known as Wollondilly Support and Community Care Inc) which is based in Picton, NSW but its coverage also extends to the Camden, NSW region.
ICCare provide quality, professional service/support to people who are frail, aged, people with a disability and their carers.
My topic for the presentation was, “Public Speaking” and I was advised that I would be speaking for an hour and then there would be time for questions.
As with many of the general population, some of the staff have had challenges with public speaking and this is how the presentation came about.
Although my presentation was by PowerPoint, I was careful not to present too many slides with bullet points only, as this can be quiet boring for an audience.
Instead, (on some slides) I used images to represent ideas that I was talking about.
During the presentation, I gave tips on overcoming nerves, preparation, speech structure, public speaking techniques and also gave a demonstration of ‘Impromptu Speaking’ or “Thinking On Your Feet’ as it is sometimes known.
I then invited a member of the audience up and another member of the audience gave them a topic to speak on for one minute.
After that, I invited 4 members of the audience up to participate in a ‘Round Robin’ which is another Impromptu Speaking exercise but much more fun.
After a 20 minute question period we adjourned to lunch and shared a few stories.
Thank you to Lisa Smith, CEO of ICCare for this opportunity.
I found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience and can’t wait for the next public speaking opportunity!
Written by David Johnson
16 May 2019
For more information on the services provided by ICCare, please click on the following link: http://wsacci.org.au/
Stepping Into The Light
Fun & Exploration!
Journals, Journals, Journals
The thought for this article came from a Creative Workshop that I missed attending yesterday, which was being held by the Wollondilly Arts Group Inc, of which I am a member. I was unable to attend due to a family commitment.
The Creative Workshops always have a theme and apart from the main theme, this time members were asked to bring in the various types of Journals that they had used.
I am at a kind of a crossroads in Journal-use. I started off with a sketchbook for drawing, then I started to write poetry, then became interested in painting so I had different books for different mediums. A couple of years back, I decided to have it all contained in one, purchased, Ivory coloured-page A4 Journal.
I must say that I have been very happy using the ‘one-journal-contains-all’ for quite a while now.
With my increased interested in Watercolour/Pen & Wash, on 26 January this year, I decided to embark on a Watercolour Sketch a Day project and have been using an A5 Watercolour sketchbook and thus have partially moved away from the A4 Journal as far as Watercolour goes. I still do the odd, small Watercolour sketch in it and have been mulling over what to do?
It would have been very interesting yesterday to see what other people were doing with regards to Journal usage.
Something else I have been thinking about over time is to create my own Journal with various types of pages for various mediums.
I would be interested in anyone’s thoughts on types of Journals and how they use them, please?
Written by David Johnson
10 February 2019
A Journey In Watercolour
One of my interests is Watercolour. I had a bit of a dabble in Watercolour back in 2010, however, I was steered towards Acrylic by my well-meaning Mother-In-Law (whom I get on very well with and we have the same sense of humour), who has painted in Acrylics/Oil for more than 40 years.
About 18 months ago I started using Watercolour Pencils and Aqua Wash Pens and this led me (almost 12 months ago) to purchasing a set of Cotman Watercolours (40 Half-Pans) but I was struggling to fit in one sketch a fortnight.
There are many reasons that I love the medium of Watercolour e.g. the transparency of the medium reminds me of Photographic Slides; it is unpredictable; no two images will be the same; it is quick to do a sketch on the run and it is so much fun.
I know I have much to learn and I know that the only way to improve is to practice more, so to this effect, last Australia Day, 26 January, I decided that I would attempt to do a Watercolour Sketch a day.
Thus far, I am 7 out of 7 and have included my first 7 attempts below.
For more inspiration, I’ve also joined the World Watercolor Group on Facebook that is run by Charlie O’Shields of Doodlewash fame. Over 25,000 Watercolour Artists are members of the Group.
There is much for me to learn and I am so looking forward to continuing this Watercolour Journey!
Written by David Johnson
2 February 2019
Chronicling Our Journey
Communicating Creatively 