Sketching Cats and Dogs

My first lesson with Val Webb on sketching cats and dogs was Monday. The first lesson is called Pencil Language. We started with a primer on how we were going to be using our 4B graphite pencils including warm-up exercises to become more familiar with how to create hatching, cross-hatching, scumbling and stippling. I love the word ‘scumbling’! The dictionary defines it as

softening the color or tone of a painted area by overlaying opaque or semi-opaque color applied thinly and lightly with almost dry brush.

In sketching, one draws random, meandering lines to create texture or shading. I can’t help but see that fiber artists are using a similar technique using needle and thread. We apply several terms to this practice: meander quilting, thread sketching and free-motion embroidery come to mind. But I digress.

Val explained that we would begin our journey by sketching cats. She says that their face is more similar to a human face than the dog’s face, so her students seem to have a higher comfort level starting with cats. I watched Val do what she calls a ‘rough sketch’ of a cat while she explained the 4 steps that go into the process. Then she turned us loose with 4 images of cats and said: Look for the differences in each face — a cat is not just a cat, but also a distinctive individual. Don’t worry about creating a finished drawing. Just practice looking deeply and drawing mindfully, to make an accurate informal sketch. Above all, enjoy yourself. I like her style and attitude!

I’ve completed two sketches so far. I must admit that this kitty looks a bit worried. Perhaps it’s because there were 2 dogs in the room while I sketched! Click on image for a larger view.

This big, fluffy cat has some serious attitude in my sketch which didn’t show in the photo image I used. Pencils can be so sensitive!

I’ll be sketching with Val for 8 weeks. This is so fun!