Carriage House Window, Selby Gardens, Florida

I watched some art videos over the weekend and the following statement was made:


For whatever reason, this statement has enchanted and intrigued me. It launched my curiosity into flight...so I decided to experiment.

In the sketches above, I did the one on the right first. It's a more finished sketch with some of the info (bricks) suggested. I then sketched the same view again on the left but more quickly. No pencil lines, just a brush and paint. I deliberate chose to leave the top and bottom of the sketch unfinished. I completely omitted any brick work or shadows in the window panes.

First Question: Which sketch appeals to you the most and can you tell me why?

When I look at the image on the left, I am more...engaged...with the view than I am with the one on the right. The left sketch has areas I can "finish" in my mind's eye because it isn't finished on the page. I don't find the loss of the bricks or the shadow shapes to be detrimental to what I was attempting to say with my sketch.

Second Question: How does one determine when a sketch is "complete" vs. "finished"?

I posted this over on Facebook to capture other artists' thoughts and ideas and someone suggested that leave a sketch unfinished had more to do with conveying a feeling than whether it's finished and went on to suggested that it may have more to do with when the artist felt the sketch was finished.

Third Question: Do you ever deliberately leave a sketch unfinished but feel it's complete?

This isn't a new concept by any means, but it is one I intend to explore and utilize more in my own work. In doing the two sketches above, I've already learned that it will take a deliberate and conscious effort on my part as my default is to "finish" the item/view/subject.

Fourth Question: Which do you like best, finished or unfinished sketches? Any particular reason why?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this type of sketching!

Cutlery Bag I Drew On Ink and Watercolor

Chris and I went to St. Petersburg a few weekends ago to visit a favorite bookstore, Haslam's, eat lunch at one of Florida's fun and kitschy restaurants, Fourth Street Shrimp Store and to look for a new freezer to replace the one that died a month ago.

It wasn't too long after we sat down at the Shrimp Store that I realized I had left my sketchbook on the table next to the couch where I'd been working in it the night before.

Fourth Street Shrimp Store is full of fun wall art, license plates, and lots of old antiques. LOTS of Florida kitsch! There's even some ancient taxidermy sprinkled here and there. It's not a good place to go without a sketchbook in hand.

I immediately started looking for another piece of paper to sketch on—in my purse and on the table. I was even eyeing the waitress' order book.

My eye happened to land on the little bag the restaurant used for the cutlery and I pounced on it. My concern was that it might be covered with a waxy coating, but it wasn't. I was back in business!

Spotting an old paddle that seemed to be the perfect subject matter for my long, narrow bag, I got down to sketching. However, lunch came before I put down very much info, so I put the little bag away to finish it later.

Turns out later was several days later and the paper bag had gotten quite beat up and folded tumbling around in my purse.

I added the logo and shrimp before I added watercolor to the paper. I really wasn't sure how it would take paint, but it worked great. If it had not, I would have used color pencils or left it as black ink.

One I was done with the artwork, I glued the end of the bag into my sketchbook and then folded the rest of the bag in an accordion fold so it would fit in the book. By seizing the bag, I was able to seize the opportunity to sketch!

What To Do When You Don't Have Access To Your Sketchbook
Don't be discouraged by the fact that you left the darn sketchbook at home or you're stuck in some long-winded meeting—where there's a will, there's a way!

Instead, look around for another piece of paper to scribble on. Don't hesitate to ask if you don't have anything useable.

In a restaurant: don't overlook placemats! They're often paper and there is seldom printing on the back. I do recommend staying away from menus unless you ask as the restaurants usually have a limited number on hand. Ask if they have a carryout menu instead.

In a meeting: scribble and draw in the margins or over any part that is irrelevant to you and what you need to know. You can always go prepared to the meeting with extra paper than can be glued into your sketchbook later. I do suggest keeping it out of sight as it can be disconcerting to others when they see you drawing over your handouts or in your day planner. I had to explain more than once that I wasn't goofing off, but actually paying attention. (I always retained more and listened better when I drew!)

Try to use permanent ink as paper that does not qualify as "sketchbook paper." Menus and receipts are usually printed on very, inexpensive paper and will not hold up under a lot of erasing or water. If the ink feathers, try using a ball point pen instead. If the paper doesn't like water at all, use colored pencils if you want to add a touch of color.

The same little bag glued down to the page in an accordion fold. No Name/Brand Sketchbook

Consider whether or not you want to add the new piece to your sketchbook. Chances are excellent the paper is not 100% cotton rag and will begin to yellow and oxidate over time. In other words, it's not going to be archival. This may or may not affect your other pages and or sketches. It's for you to decide based on what your sketchbook's purpose is.

Sketching on unexpected and untried surfaces can be a lot of fun and lead to results you would never expect. You may decide it's more fun to sketch on "found" ephemera than in an actual sketchbook. If an experiment doesn't turn out, what have you lost? Probably not as much as you gained!

Pen and Water Wash with stamped letters Crummy watercolor journal 3.5" x 5.5"

I would love to tell you I've been traveling or sketching up a storm or on some delectable adventure, but the truth is I'm not really sure where the last two weeks have disappeared to! I haven't any sketches to show for my absence either. Well, with the exception of the one to the left and it's just a quickie.

There are times when I want to sketch and there are times when I want to sit back and absorb what's going on around me or to focus on the person I'm spending time with.

I can fall into my sketchbook like some people fall into their smartphones and it can damn annoying to someone who doesn't sketch. Or so I've been told.

For me, often the point of sketching is to create a portal, or return ticket, back to a moment I want to remember. In this instance, I wanted to remember the "pity pot" and a quick sketch was all that was necessary.

As we sat together, it took a few minutes for me to grasp the idea that the pity pot was a toilet and when my friend was done with her pity party, she simply hit the handle to wash all the negativity away!

It amused me and it delighted me that she had found a way to deal with some of the ongoing, life challenges she's facing. Like most of us, she's dealing with her fair share of "stuff."

She also puts a timer on her pity parties and sets a firm deadline, say 4 o'clock in the afternoon before her family comes home from their day, by which to end her party. That way she doesn't fall into the trap of lingering too long.

At the end of her party, she ceremoniously flushes the toilet and watches the water swirl the pity away and out of her world. Clever, huh?!

And that's what I have to show for the last two weeks.

Dr. Weber, I presume?

His name is Dr. Weber. 

Wild Yard Birds, Ybor City Stillman & Birn Beta Journal 11 x 8.5 inches, Full Spread Watercolor and Ink

 I would love to tell you that I sketched these wily critters out in the wilds of Ybor City, a historic area just outside of downtown Tampa, but I didn't. I sketched and then painted them in my studio. First off, we were in a busy parking lot and second, it was lunchtime.

Detail, Wild Yard Birds, Ybor City Stillman & Birn Beta Journal 11 x 8.5 inches, Full Spread Watercolor and Ink

Sketching anything live is like hitting a moving target. Looks easy…until you try it. Besides, it was lunchtime. Instead, I gave myself a time limit of one hour.* Now you may wonder why I chose to sketch this so quickly…how about I share my reasons? (*And that one hour included drawing, painting and lettering).

The main reason I sketch quickly is because it guarantees that the sketch won't become too precious. (Insert Gollum's voice here.) You know what I'm talking about…things are going so good you become afraid of putting down the next mark for fear that will be the ruination of your sketch, your day and quite possibly your life.

Detail, Wild Yard Birds, Ybor City Stillman & Birn Beta Journal 11 x 8.5 inches, Full Spread Watercolor and Ink

Next, it's almost always guarantees I'll make mistakes. Why in the world would you want to make mistakes, Laure? Glad you asked. Because mistakes happen when we're out in the field. They happen when we're in the studio, too. Mistakes are going to happen, so why not go ahead and push the envelope? The sooner we get comfortable making mistakes and learning to either recover from them or move on, the happier we will be in our sketchbooks.

There's also a thing called time. Maybe you've heard of it? If I asked most of you to sketch something quickly, you would, but you would take as much time as you needed.

Now I ask you, how often do you have all the time you need? If your life is anything like mine the answer is seldom. So it pays to learn to sketch in an allotted amount of time rather than taking all the time we want.

Wild Yard Birds, Ybor City Stillman & Birn Beta Journal 11 x 8.5 inches, Full Spread Watercolor and Ink

Challenge yourself to paint something in an insane amount of time. If it would normally take you an hour, give yourself twenty minutes and see what you can get done in that timeframe. I can almost guarantee you'll be surprised at how much you can accomplish.

Give yourself permission to make mistakes, to be sloppy, to sling paint with abandon, to have fun, to play, to fail and to have lunch. Did I mention lunchtime? Make sure you get some lunch. Ybor City is one of our favorite places to go for lunch as there are a number of quirky restaurants.