Portrait Practice with Sktchy

This weekend, I spent a lot of time practicing portraits using the Sktchy app. It's so nice not to get caught up with the likeness of people you know - but, having said that, I started with a portrait of my daughter, Chloe.

Chloe, in squishy heaven after a shopping trip

Another Sktchy Dog Portrait

This cute dog was begging to be drawn with his feet extended behind him!

Another day in the city with Jade

Jade and I spent another day of her Spring Break in San Francisco. Our first stop was City Lights Bookstore in North Beach.

Next stop, Stella Pastry & Cafe for a cappuccino, pana cotta, strawberry shortcake, and hot chocolate. Yum!

Then, a little reading and drawing in Washington Square.

Finally, lunch at Tony's Pizzeria.

A great day even despite the 2 hour traffic filled ride back home!

Using my new Steel Brush

I was fascinated by Joanthan Twingley's use of a steel brush for his drawings in my Sketchbook Skool Stretching klass. I finally broke down and got one from Amazon.

Here is my first portrait using it. I love the lack of control it gives you - yet, you can make very thin and thick lines with it. Plus, the ink splatters are great!

And another Sktchy portrait -

What do you think? Have you ever tried using a steel brush?

Portrait of my nephew

I made this portrait of my mephew, Trevor, for my brother's birthday card. He sure is a cute baby!

Happy birthday, Kevin!

Afternoon tea with Jade

This week is Jade's Spring Break. To celebrate, we went out for afternoon tea at the Secret Garden Tea House in San Francisco. I did this sketch while waiting for our food.

Dog Portraits using Sktchy

Love Sktchy for drawing inspiration and practice!

My inspirations.

Sketchy Portrait

Another practice portrait using the Sktchy app. Great inspiration photos and no expectations based on personal knowledge of the subject. I love it.

I didn't really do her justice, but practice is practice.

Sktchy Profile

I've been enjoying using the Sktchy app to practice portraits.

Learning from Lapin

I love Lapin's style - his lines and watercolor. The best way for me to learn is by attempting to copy his work. I find it's the only way for me to really see the art.

Here, I copied Lapin's drawings of two of my favorite artists/authors/Sketchbook Skool instructors - France Belleville van Stone and Danny Gregory.

Who are your favorite artists? How do you best learn from them?

Mischievous Chloe

Drawn for the Sktchy app.

My inspiration

For Chrissy

My good friend, Chrissy, recently lost both her sister, Colleen, and her niece, Megan. She asked me to draw them, but I didn't feel confident enough in my portraits to do so. These still aren't perfect, but I finally feel like I could do them justice.

Michael, Chrissy's nephew, with Megan & Colleen

Sketching before dinner

This sketch was done before dinner at Pizza Antica.

Todd got a little cut off when I got around to the right side of the table.

Sketching at the Oakland Zoo

For the last day of Chloe's Spring Break, we went to the Oakland Zoo to sketch the animals. For our first drawing, we worked together to collaboratively draw the elephants for my Sketchbook Skool Stretching homework for Jason Das's klass.

Here are the rest of my sketches from the day.

Have you tried sketching animals at the zoo or elsewhere?

Figure Drawing

For my second session, I thought I would throw in some urban sketching! Here is my traditional figure drawing (after the graphite sketches).

And my urban sketch of the group. I started drawing the model's head before he was set in the pose and then things went haywire.

Which do you like better?

Afternoon Tea

After the Oscar de la Renta exhibit, Chloe and I had afternoon tea at the Secret Garden Tea House in San Francisco.

More Oscar de la Renta Sketches

Chloe and I went to the Oscar de la Renta show at the de Young Museum for more sketching.

A Day at the Reservoir

It's Chloe's Spring Break this week - but Jade's isn't until next week. So, here are some glimpses of our afternoon at the Lafayette Reservoir, which started with a picnic and ended with paddle boating.

Capturing the scene with Miguel Herranz's graphic approach

Another Sktchy Portrait

I am loving practicing drawing portraits using the Sktchy app.

My Art & Products on Redbubble.com

I love this site, Redbubble.com, where artists can upload their art and Redbubble makes it available on a whole slew of products. They handle the sales, manufacturing, shipping, and customer service. All the artist needs to do is upload their art, edit its design on products, and set their profit margin.

I haven't added too much art there yet, but I did add my "Lonely Panda" drawing/print that I made with my fountain pen, acetate cut outs, and ink pad. I ordered an iPhone cases for my new iPhone 6s and love it!!

Here's my Redbubble page.