Last sketch of the decade
Posted: December 31, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized 36 CommentsIt’s almost New Year’s Eve here, so I can safely say this is my last sketch of the year, and also of the decade!
2019 was a good year for sketching, and I think there will be even more of it in 2020. Do you have sketching resolutions for 2020? Things you’d like to get better at? I don’t usually make resolutions, but I am going to keep working at adding people in my sketches, and trying to get them to be less flat. What are your resolutions and goals for your sketches and paintings? I’d love to hear.
Wishing you all a wonderful 2020, good health, happiness and plenty of time to sketch!
Shari Blaukopf's Sketchbook 
Happy New Year! I really love your sketches and feel so inspired by you. I would like to start sketching this new year, but feel a little overwhelmed on where to start. ❤
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Hi and Happy New Year! Thanks so much for writing. The way you feel now (overwhelmed) is how I felt when I first got back into drawing on a regular basis in 2011. But my goals were small. One drawing a day, even for just ten or fifteen minutes. And consistency. So that is my suggestion to you. Have your pen (or pencil) with you all the time. You don’t need to go anywhere to draw. Our houses are full of stuff we can use as subject matter. The idea is to spend some time each day just looking and putting down what you see on paper. I still try to do a bit of that every day even when I don’t post. I draw on my iPad too when I can, although those are mostly just for me.
I hope that helps and that it gives you an idea of where you can start.
Best wishes,
Shari
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Happy New Year Shari!
Thank you for your response and helpful suggestions. I love that idea to start small I think I can do that. I have a good writing / journaling habit and this will help me to tap into creativity again.
Thank you for inspiring me!
❤ Alana
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Happy New Year! I really like your people. The color in your sketch is vibrant. It has a real punch ….just love it,. No goals for me..things will just happen as I sketch each day. After years of being afraid of trees I have had a break through by complete accident. I am a people sketcher. Now I look at trees the same way I look at people when I am walking down the street. If I was to set a goal it would be sailboats. I wish you all the best for 2020. Thank you so much for inspiring us in 2019. Seeing your post in my inbox is one of the highlights of my day.
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HI Carmel. Thanks so much for writing. I know we will be drawing boats in Spain, but not sure if there are sailboats or fishing boats in our town. Maybe both. I know there will be trees. I don’t know if you know Inma Serrano from Urban Sketchers, but she looks at trees as if they are people. I love that approach. Looking forward to seeing your people sketches in June! Happy New Year!
Shari
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I have Inma Serrano’s book! I will have to go back and look at her trees!
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So happy to hear that you have her book. I love her work!
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Shari: Thank you for all your inspiring artwork and blogs over the years. I’m currently enjoying a copy of “The Urban Sketching Handbook”. Happy New Year and all the best in your 2020 endeavors!
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Hi Gayle, Thanks so much for buying the book, and also for taking the time to comment. That means a lot to me. Best to you as well for the new year!
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Hi Shari, thank you for sharing all your beautiful sketches over the years.Happy 2020 !
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Thanks so much to YOU Liliane. All the best for 2020.
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So happy to hear that you will be trying to include more people in your sketches! All your work is wonderfully done but adding people….is just great! It also encourages me to try this in my work as well. One of my concerns is size. I also hold back in adding people especially when a sketch is going well….I’m fearful of ruining it. Your post of a page of random people in various poses may help me to gain both practice and skill…I must try it.
Thanks for all your helpful advice and instructions.
Happy New Year.
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Bernadette, you solved your own problems. That is exactly how I would practice. Just draw people even if they are not in the setting. That helps a lot to develop a visual memory. It also helps when you are drawing a scene, to add the people in first and then put in the buildings or the interior space around them. You probably have read that on my blog on other posts as well.
Thanks to you, again, for always taking the time to write and send me your thoughts about things. Reading the comments really makes me happy. All the best to you!
Shari
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Good Morning dear friend Shari,
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Wishing you a very beautiful and happy day, today, everyday in this year and in all the new years ahead.
Thanks for sharing all your beautiful sketches including this one.
All the best and good luck,
Blessings
Uma
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Uma, thank YOU for always sending your kind thoughts. Happy new year to you too!
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I enjoy your skilled paintings (they way more weight than “sketches”) on a regular basis. I want to let you know how much I admire your skill, your ability to articulate your investigations and your stamina in keeping to a regular posting schedule.
Brava! And thank you for your regular infusions of direct talk about how you address the challenge of putting down a well thought out version of what you see.
Cynthia
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Cynthia, thanks for this. It’s wonderful to hear that people appreciate reading about my challenges in watercolour. My teaching benefits directly from my blog as well because when I’m able to describe my watercolour process in writing, I can repeat that when I teach. Your comments are much appreciated!
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I’ve learned so much from you this year since discovering this blog. Thank you for all the tips and techniques, plus fresh ways of seeing the world.
Happy sketching to you in the year to come!
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Betsy, thanks so much for writing and for following along this year. Wishing you happy sketching too!
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Once again, I thank you for inspiring me to get back into watercolor. As for sketching resolutions, I probably make them daily which means at age 80 I have not yet reached my goal. But being long retired, I can, and do ,work at drawing and painting daily.
Wishing you and yours and those who also follow your blog–a happy and healthy new year.
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Judy, it’s always so nice to hear from you, and also to hear that draw daily. That makes me happy! A happy and healthy year to you too!
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Happy New Year!
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And best wishes to you too Jean!
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Happy New Year Shari! Looking forward to following your art and travels again in 2020. For me it’s sketching more often than just when it’s organised for me (USK meet ups) or when I need to (articles etc ….. the most recent of which, spookily, was ‘including people in your sketches’!)
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Hi Tony,
So nice to hear from you. Happy New Year to you too. I hope you don’t just get to follow along in 2020. I hope that our paths cross one of these days so we can sketch together! If not, I will have to content myself with reading your articles, when you send them to me.
Hope you get to sketch and travel more often too!
Shari
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Happy New Year Shari. You are an inspiration to so many people. My resolution for 2020 is to keep on drawing.
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Lee, it always makes me happy to see your sketches, so I hope you keep on drawing too. Happy New Year!!
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Happy New Year dear Shari! This certainly was a helluva decade for you. Congrats on all you accomplished!
Re: people in sketches looking less flat (at first glance, without my glasses, I thought you wrote “fat”. I didn’t realize watercolour also added 15 pounds) I immediately thought of Wil Freeborn’s work and his 50 sketches book.
All the best for 2020. I can’t wait to see what you do in the coming decade.
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Alison, thank you for your continuous encouragement. It means a lot, my friend. See you soon. Maybe on our next outing we can draw people together.
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Thank you for another year of inspiration, Sheri. I’m newly retired and hope to spend time painting every day.
Wishing you great adventures and vision in 20/20!
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Carol, thanks so much for this note. How wonderful that in your new retired life, you will find time to paint everyday. I wish you great adventures as well!
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Best wishes and thanks for the inspiration.
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Thank you so much for following along!
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Happy New Year, Shari. Thank you for being such an inspiration. My goal, like usual, is to do a sketch every day. I will try to do more direct watercolor sketching too. Looking forward to seeing more of your people.
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Joan, thank you for your continuous encouragement over the years. I know you are very dedicated with your sketching too. Hope our paths cross in 2020!
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One of my goals for 2020 is to finish your landscaping course.
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