I am enjoying teaching urban sketching class and have been telling my students to just sketch everyday things in their lives—-things either inside or outside their house. The point is to get into a habit of drawing, even if it is something simple. Today I followed my advice and did a simple sketch of shoes. Nothing too exciting, but I liked the shapes and laces, and set these Converse up on the rug. My daughter has 3 pairs–black, red, and Marvin the Martian, which are pretty cool. I wanted just red. I used a Faber Castill Pitt pen and drew without a pencil outline first. Then I used watercolor to lay in a red wash, which I darkened with a second wash, grays and browns and purples for the shadows, and it was done. I like the rough, loose look, which I can achieve when I don’t use pencil first. Keeps me from being too precise! It keeps my brain from over-analyzing too much and trying to be perfect. That is the joy of sketching— just having fun and not having to worry about perfection.
Red Converse
