Hi Y'all,
A couple of days ago I was watching a(nother) César Córdova video in which he was speaking generally about progressing as artists and building confidence in our abilities. He mentioned when he was a young man, he would have his notebook with him at all times to sketch as much as possible. That reminded me that although I don't carry a paper sketchbook, I have the next best thing: a phone and drawing app.
Yesterday during work, I took the opportunity to capture some trees I saw. My day job requires travel all around the city, and there are lots of times when I'll have 10-20 minutes of "down time". So, I have many chances to draw from life throughout the workday. Why didn't I think of this sooner?! I don't know, but I enjoyed studying these trees and sharpening my skills. All three sketches were made using IbisPaint.
Trees 1
~40 minutes
These are some kind of conifers growing in a part of the city where there are a lot of warehouses and large commercial buildings. It was time to go before I was 100% finished with this sketch, so I had to do the finishing touches from memory later. I searched my mind for the brush I used on the ground, but wasn't able to match it exactly. I hate when I forget which brush I was using. There's a notes section for each canvas you create in IbisPaint. But notes won't help jack if they're blank. The light effect on the trunks looks nice though, and so does the directional blur on the bottom layer.
Trees 2
30 minutes
This tree was gnarled and beat up, growing right next to a chain link fence that was enclosing a big drainage ditch by an apartment complex. Its bark was torn up and it was missing limbs. It also had a hole in it that gave even more character. Poor tree has had a hard life in the city. I like how the backdrop came out on this one. I scribbled some colors then used an FX blur, sweet.
Trees 3
15 minutes
This tall tree looked something like a cedar or cedar relative, although I could be way off in that assessment. Either way, it had some different colored lichen or moss growing all up its trunk, and when the wind blew, its long, wispy branches were swaying together like visual music.
Plus - an upcoming milestone! These 3 tree sketches are numbers 97, 98, 99 in my IbisPaint gallery. That means next up is digital canvas number 100, and that's awesome because it's proof I'm putting in the work to strengthen my digital techniques. Stoked about that for sure.
What milestones are you acknowledging in your life? Who helped you get there? How much more will you achieve? 🌼
Asking - and answering - questions like these help keep the creative process flowing. Thanks for reading.
Until next time,
-S