International sketchcrawl #34

New year, new sketchbook, new mission.... There has been limited time for sketching lately and thus the blog has been rater inactive. I decided to take it up again, and a friend and I challenged each other to do some kind of artistic activity every day - even if it is only a five minute pencil drawing. Just to get into the flow again... This weekend we went to meet with other sketchers at the 34th international sketchcrawl gathering in Stockholm. We were six people meeting at Citykonditoriet, which is an old café in the center of Stockolm, with a lot of interesting interiors and details. We had planned to move on to some museum, but we had such a nice, relaxed time that we just kind of got stuck there!

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I also did an after-sketchcrawl drawing of my husband reading later that afternoon. It doesn´t really look like him though. I would have needed a pen with an extra-fine nib for the details in the face - now they just look a bit messy. He thinks I was generous with the hair though - maybe wishful thinking? 

EDM #324 - Draw a garden tool

I have been terrible at keeping up with the EDM challenges lately. I wish I could say that this is due to other art projects, but in fact my sketchbook has been hibernating for a while. I will try to shape up... This is a rather depressing reminder of that summer is gone now for real. There was frost in the garden this morning and there will be no more strawberries growing there until next summer... One little tool remained in the garden from replanting some plants in the hope of them surviving winter. Watercolour and ink in Moleskin watercolour sketchbook.

Portrait of my daughter

This portrait I drew for my mother´s birthday, it is of my eldest daughter Ebba. She also got the  portrait of Hilda that I drew last year as an EDM-challenge but never got around framing... I made a quick sketch live, but she has little patience sitting still, so I took a reference photo as well as help when finishing it. It was fun doing, actually! I never considered myself much of a portrait painter, but I might become one one day....?

"Draw my violin..."

...etc. Painting with kids can be really fun, but you seldom get to do what you want! I let all the kids use my paints and paper when were at some friends' summerhouse with the hope of getting to draw the lovely view meanwhile. But the kids just wanted me to draw their toys and stuff. And when the eldest girl, Signe, wanted a drawing of her violin, I actually found it quite fun to do so I did a little painting for her even. She was very happy for it, so it was definitely worth the lack of scenery painting...

Butterflies and fish - a travel memory?

EDM 316 - a travel memory. I joined my eldest daughter on a trip with the kindergarden the other week. I don´t know if it counts as travelling, but anyway.... They went to an indoor tropical forest in Stockolm, Fjärilshuset ("The butterfly house"), where they have butterflies, tropical fish and some birds. I did some painting with the kids, which they loved, and later I gave these paintings as a present to her teachers as they are both leaving after this year, as is my daughter. I hope it was appreciated - I always feel a bit nervous about giving away my art as gifts. But as I don´t visit these persons they can easily keep their paintings in a drawer if they don´t like them without feeling ashamed!

Some new EDM:s

I haven´t been able to log in at blogger for almost a whole week. Strange! But I have published my every day in May´s on Flicker at least... Here are my two latest catch-ups. It is unbelievable how hard it is for me to squeeze in drawing-time every day! I had really planned not to do too complicated stuff and to give my self 10 minutes each day for this. But time just seems to slip through my fingers somehow. This weekend I was alone with the kids and had to do a birthday cake, so now I am behind again...

Every Day in May - catch up!

On top of everything else I am engaged in at the moment, I also said I will do the Every Day in May challenge this year. One sketch a day.... I started out badly by missing the first five, so I had to do a panic-catchup. But now I am on track again....until tomorrow! From the top the sketches show EDMs No: 

#101, draw a bar of soap 

#102, draw a power plug

#103 draw some exercise equipment (the blue things in the bottom sketch - if you wonder, it is some things you kick at when training martial arts, don´t know what they are called in English... It was the first thing that fell out of the fitness-bag when i searched, but I must confess that it was a couple of years since I used them!)

#104 draw some salt and pepper shakers (only had room left for one, though....)

#105 draw some scissors

#106 draw something tart or sour. Well, I don´t know what tart means, so I went for sour... the lemon in the middle sketch.

All of the above done in my Moleskin Watercolour Notebook with watercolour and ink.