Inktober Selections

In order to get into a better daily sketching habit, I decided to try Inktober this year. You can read more about it here: https://inktober.com/. Basically, it was created by Jake Parker in 2009 and is a series of online sketch prompts for daily or weekly sketching. I decided to use the concept, but not use the prompts. I am just trying to sketch something each day, on location, from life. I’ve also decided to use it as a time to re-visit my looser style and more creative sketchbook layouts I was attempting last year. I am using a Hahnemühle Watercolor Book, A5, landscape version, and really love it! (correction- Edina clock sketch below was done on Stillman and Birn). So here are a few selections of what I’ve done so far…

Watching out my window, I sketched the truck and a couple men who ripped up my old driveway.

With my Urban Sketchers Twin Cities group, we sketched at Centennial Lakes Park in Edina. I chose the clock across the plaza as my subject.

Daily sketching stretches you… sometimes I didn’t have energy to drive and find something to draw. So I found some leaves that had interesting patterns and colors and sketched those instead!

My husband and I drove to Hastings last weekend, a quaint river town. While he looked around, I sketched the local State Farm storefront. I love the wonkiness of the lines!

Sometimes the sketch subject comes to you! We have new neighbors who moved in a few days ago, I saw the van and people unloading stuff, so got out my sketch kit and sat in my house by the front door and quickly sketched.

A few years ago, I did a 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge. I got very worn out, perhaps because I was trying to do entire paintings. This has been fun so far, as I just have to do a sketch of anything. It doesn’t have to be a whole scene. The point is, just sketch! What can you do to open up time to sketch in your daily life? What can be set aside to enable you to draw, even for just a few minutes? Give it a try, you’ll be glad you did!