Sketchbook Challenge end of January

Hopefully tomorrow we will have our February theme for the Sketchbook Challenge. I have really been sketching a lot in my sketchbooks this month, I am enjoying it so much. My sketchbooks give me an opportunity to try new things, finish a piece in a much shorter time, and it also gives me a quick burst of success and renewed energy.  I have really enjoyed looking at the work of so many creative folks and the tips and techniques on the sketchbook blog spot have been so inspiring. Well, enough said, the image above is my Creative Muse Calliope, I had so much fun creating her. I also did a watercolor and a self portrait. Enjoy.

More January Sketchbook Challenge -Highly Prized

I have three dogs, Sigh my Wiemar, Berney and Gracie my two Yorkies, I absolutely love, love, love them. Dogs are just precious, they love me unconditionally, they hang out with me in my office and my studio, just wanting to be where I am. They provide so much comfort and understanding, without so much as a single word. These three are so highly prized in my life; here is a sketch of Sigh and one of Berney, I did both a few years back in watercolors and last night I did a little sketch of Gracie as she laid in my lap. I really need some help on my lettering, but drawing her in the position she was in, was hard, but I had a great time trying to get it right. I used graphite, colored pencils and felt tips on her sketch.

Sketchbook Challenge

This is my first blog on this new site. I typically blog at www.sharenchatterton.com, but because I am participating in the Sketchbook Challenge, I thought it might work out better to have a blogger.com site to use for the Challenge. The site http://sketchbookchallenge.blogspot.com/ , is a jumping off point for a group of artists initiating a monthly sketchbook challenge for themselves and anyone else that wants to join in.  You can follow along with select artists as they fill their sketchbooks based on a monthly theme that will be announced on the first of each month. Each month they announce a new theme on the blog site and throughout the month they will be showing you images from their sketchbooks and talking about the intention and inspiration behind them.  Along the way they will be sharing tips, techniques and tutorials. I will be joining in and posting my sketchbook creations here on this blog spot and also on www.sharenchatterton.com. The January theme is "Highly Prized", my sketch includes first and foremost, my new grandson Finley, he is definitely highly prized in my life, as well as my faith, my family, God's beautiful creations all around us, and so much more, see my sketch below. Sketchbooks, art journals, whatever you want to call them, are such a great way to put your creative thoughts and ideas down for future inspiration or just to have a place to try out new things, no rules or constraints. I have several sketchbooks and art journals that I have been working out of over the years. I must admit I have been known to sketch on graph paper, post it notes, envelopes that happen to be in front of me when I am on the phone, or whatever is available at the time. I am working on keeping a sketch book handy so that all my ideas, thoughts, etc. are in at least two or three places, instead of scattered everywhere. One of my goals for the coming new year is to be more creative, hopefully to  do something creative everyday; my sketchbook-journal will enable me to carry that goal through the entire year. This is the beginning of a new creative journey, come along with me through the year, there is no telling what we will discover.

http://sketchbookchallenge.blogspot.com/