Last weekend, my daughter and I went to Centennial Park to "play witches" and draw on location.
Drawing from life is powerful. I love it because it helps me to create much richer and more unique pictures.
Most importantly, it enables me to capture the true atmosphere and magic of a place. Probably because I am fully in the experience and using all of my senses. It also helps me to peer into people's personalities and moods simply by observing their mannerisms. And by studying objects from a number of different angles, I am able to investigate and understand how something is made up or works. This is just something I can't do when referencing a photograph.
When I go on location, it is usually with an active two-year-old in tow. Needless to say, I have to work quickly! Luckily, my daughter loves to draw too. So, I make sure I bring a tiny book and some pencils for her so she can join in the fun. This keeps her spellbound for about five minutes! After that, she urges me to get back on my broomstick and chase her to our next location.
I would love to have the time--not to mention bag space--to add coloured pencils or watercolour to my sketches. But, right now, that's just a dream. As a compromise, I quickly scribble colour notes (i.e. dark green) directly onto my drawings.
Any inspiration I find while on location gets added to my ever-expanding stockpile of material. I rarely throw anything away because you just never know if some little snippet might come in handy for a future project!
Thanks for reading and stay magical!
X VH
P.S. Don't forget, you can keep up to date with my latest sketches by following me on Instagram.
