October 13, 2009

a bold commitment

In the last of the workshop posts, I am including this photo of Peggi sketching. She urges students to always have a sketchbook handy, ideally fill at least one sketchbook a month, and only sketch with a bold marker. Sketching with a pencil, she explained, does not force you to make the necessary commitment to the page in the same way as the marker does. The idea is to keep the marker on the page once sketching has begun, and like blind contour drawing, focus more on your subject while you draw than your drawing. Peggi Kroll Roberts is a wonderful teacher; I highly recommend her; hope you have enjoyed this series.
“The relationship between commitment and doubt is by no means an antagonistic one. Commitment is healthiest when it's not without doubt but in spite of doubt"...Dr. Rollo May

8 comments:

Crazy RAvens Studio said...

Hi Faye,

I'm all charge up from a Robert Burridge workshop. He strongly supports daily journaling but I like the idea of the marker sketching too. Can I find enough hours in the day for writing, sketching and painting?? I'm gonna try.

Leslie Saeta said...

OK ... I need to sketch more, I need to sketch more, I need to sketch more ...

Edward Burton said...

WONDERFUL series with great advice, Faye - I really enjoyed following your experience.
Thank you for posting it.

Mary J DuVal said...

That's completely terrifying! :0) - But really good advice. Sometimes I think the things that intimidate us are probably the things we need to do most, yes? Thanks for this series and sharing what you've learned, it is much appreciated.

FCP said...

Paula--me too!!
Leslie--I agree, I agree, I agree...
Edward--thanks, I find it helpful to revisit my notes a few weeks after a workshop. I think it takes time to absorb all the information and decide what "speaks" to you as an artist, what you can incorporate into your work, and what you need to study further.
MJ--it *is* terrifying, but a funny thing happens after you have sketched for about 10 minutes; your confidence using the bold marker increases. One note of warning: the marker will bleed through the paper, so always put something behind it so it doesn't ruin your next page. I use an old mat board.
thanks for all your great comments--happy painting!

Nancy Van Blaricom said...

Great series Faye .. truely, Thank you for sharing your workshop with us. Now I need to write this all down so that it sticks in my mind *is that just my quirk or does everyone remember something better if they write it down? Although I seldom oil paint I think there are many tips here for all artists.

Marian Fortunati said...

Gosh I so appreciate the lessons you've learned from Peggi and shared with us.
Probably for me the sketching is most important as it is one of my major weaknesses.

Jala Pfaff said...

Thanks for sharing the ideas and examples here. It's motivating.