Rainy morning, a good opportunity to catch up on this week’s Draw With Me, where the theme was Downton Abbey (kinda). I may have seen part of a single episode of the show long ago, but I really know nothing except that it’s about aristocratic Brits and stars Maggie Smith. The characters depicted here are just random Edwardian people. I’m glad we don’t have to dress like that anymore. Especially glad I don’t have to wear a pizza on my head.
More sketchy hijinks with the Draw With Me gang. It was Poet’s Day, so we drew dead ones.
This week on Draw With Me we went Down Under. As I don’t think I’ll be getting there in person this year, it was fun to sketch a bunch of Aussie icons.
Postage stamps are tiny works of art that represent a moment in time and culture. What a pity that they are used so rarely anymore. Even I, inveterate maker and sender of cards and letters, have greatly reduced my use of stamps this year. Instead, a phone call on a birthday has felt sufficient — but is it really? I want to get back to my practice of sending snail mail. I can’t keep using the fire as a mental excuse.
This is a challenge I should attempt more often. I’m sure it’s good for my brain.
It’s always fun to spend an hour drawing with Danny, JJ, and the DWM gang. This week we drew alligators; I chose graphite and watercolour as my media.
This week on Draw With Me, we were inspired by English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist Beatrix Potter. Her books weren’t a big part of my childhood … maybe we had one or two? But now I’m impressed by her scientific illustrations and mycological studies. At her death in 1943, Potter bequeathed nearly all her property to the National Trust, including more than 4,000 acres (16 km²) of land, sixteen farms, numerous cottages, and herds of cattle and Herdwick sheep. At the time, it was the largest donation ever made to the National Trust, playing a crucial role in preserving the landscape that now forms part of the Lake District National Park. Thank you Beatrix!
I had fun drawing crabs with the Draw With Me gang. I ate a lot of mud crabs in my feral hippie days, living on tidal flats in the Australian tropics. We had very little money, but had a garden full of fruit trees, a canoe, and a bunch of crab pots, so we ate pretty well.
Fun, fast art supply relay session on Draw with Me, using Van Gogh’s The Postman Joseph Roulin for inspiration. Watercolour pencils, regular coloured pencils, watercolours, paint markers, gouache, Posca pens, drawing inks, calligraphy ink.
hashiworks 