Sketchbook Skool is an on-line sketching and watercolor school that I have taken several classes with. While I was away, I received an offer for a class that had just begun at a price I couldn’t resist. When I got home I was eager to check in and take the first class with Jonathan Twingley.
Jonathan is an American author, artist and illustrator. His work is regularly exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the United States. One of the exercises that he invited us to do he calls Reaction as Action. For those of us who have the paralyzed-at-the-sight-of-the-blank-page syndrome, this exercise is a way to kick-start some creative juices:
- Stain a paper towel with some ink.
- Close the sketchbook on the paper towel.
- When the ink is try, draw/sketch/doodle
Here is the two-page spread of the exercise.
I was completely surprised at how quickly I picked up my fountain pen and began drawing around the ink blotches on the right-hand page. I used a neon-yellow hi-liter marker to color the pedals of the flower and watercolor paint for the stem and leaf. Try to imagine the zap of color that high light marker created on the page because scanning didn’t do it justice. I used my chop to sign the page. I like the spark it added. If you’re new here, you might want to read about how I acquired my chop here.
How are you stretching to develop skills this year?
Thanks again for the inspiration. Sometimes it is the simplest ideas that get the creative juices flowing. Carry On!
Indeed, the KISS method still works, especially for beginners like me.