020 self-portrait with contouring sponge

...or is it a buttplug?

Day twenty of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

So, it was inevitable that, at some point, I would sketch humans. And inevitably, myself. But I thought I'd start simple with a photo of my hand and a contouring sponge.

There are a number of my photos I want to try to draw. Some are more complicated, including self-portraits. So I want to build up my confidence and skills with shading first. And, also, attempt them on days when I have more time to really focus on the task at hand. Hopefully soon.

This is a drawing of a snap I shared back in November 2018 to capture the amusement I had at the new (to me, at least) shape and design of The Body Shop's contouring sponge.

I used an HB pencil for the base of the drawing.

Then a 6B to shade the sponge. Attempting to use the side of the lead to varying levels of success.

I used a 2B pencil quite ineffectively, in my opinion, for the lighter, longer shadows.

And a little bit of HB for the even lighter shading.

It's definitely not photo-realistic but not a terrible artist's impression.

I hope you're not finding my learning process too tedious!

I'm hoping to get the next instalment of my Love letters to London out to my Patreon patrons this weekend!

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019 tulips

Day nineteen of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

Without having a chance to do any research or watch tutorials or whatnot, I tried out some more pencils in my selection.

I started off with a trusty HB (though a "proper" one without that waxy feel!). Then I used a 6B for the darker shadows (as previously, but a sharper new pencil). I worked with a 4B for the lighter shading.

There was some amateur finger-rubbing to try to soften the lines in the shadows I was creating. It was successful to varying degrees.

I probably did it all wrong in terms of my pencil selection. And my more talented drawing friends can educate me, and/or the tutorials I'll try to watch this weekend will.

And I know there are shape and proportion issues with today's sketch, but I think you'd all know they were tulips even without the source image, so you know, progress.

And the tip of the tulip on the left looks as much like labia as the original source image. So win-win, right? ;)

The source image was taken in St Mary's Churchyard in Hornsey back in March 2019.

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018 avocado plant

Day eighteen of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

Today I opened my new sketching pencils!

And then I only used the HB pencil... What the...?

But, in fairness, I might have had a bit of red wine. And I might have been a bit tired and, either way, I was acutely aware of how much better a "proper" HB pencil felt to draw with.

I think I would describe the pencil I was using previously (gratis from the London Zoological Society, and I thank them for it) as 'waxy'.

Tonight, drawing with a "proper" HB pencil, felt infinitely better (and not just because I actually paid money for it).

In retrospect, the part I initially perceived worst - the leaf top left - is actually not as bad I thought.

There are issues in terms of leaf size. Specifically, the two foreground leaves. And I really want to learn how to recreate depth of field in drawing but, for a sleep-deprived, full-time working, amateur sketcher who might have had a light tipple before drawing... it's not terrible.

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017 keyring

Day seventeen of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

Today I picked something relatively easy to draw. And I haven't yet opened my new pencils because I was short on time.

I'm not sure I quite got there with the ring itself. Though concern about the keyring width not being proportionate seems less of an issue looking at it a few hours later.

I have more hours planned for my contract work over the next couple of days, so I'm not sure I'll be able to crack open my new pencils and explore them properly. But hopefully, I can select a slightly more inspiring subject at least!

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016 keys

Day sixteen of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

Ah, baggage lock keys. How many of you have a small collection of these lying about somewhere?

Just me?

This is the only set of keys that appears to work with the baggage locks I have. And the one they pair with isn't the one I've drawn previously.

Thankfully my current suitcase came with its own lock and keys, and when I use my backpack, I use a combination lock or two.

Meanwhile, I finally bought some sketching pencils and a sharpener today.

Derwent sketching pencils were for sale at the same price, but the pack only included six different pencil hardnesses. And while I know Derwent pencils are the shiznit*, they don't need to be mind-blowingly good pencils for the amateur that I am. And a broader range of hardnesses will be helpful for me to learn more shading techniques.

I'm not promising my shading technique will improve overnight but stay tuned to see whether they improve my daily sketches over time.

_{*My colour pencils from my younger days were Derwents.
Which reminds me: I should nose about and figure out if I brought them with me or gave them to my Mum or someone else when I left Australia in 2011.}

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015 hyacinth

Day fifteen of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

I took the source photo for today's sketch the other day. I managed to sketch it this afternoon before the light disappeared.

I didn't notice until I imported the photo of my sketch that I'd overlooked the shading of the lower magenta section of the bulb. Even though I worked on that part first. Oops!

In other places, the shading is variable in its effectiveness. I probably need to be more patient and less gung-ho.

As well as getting those pencils I need and maybe watching some tutorials on shading (which some people have kindly already pointed me to!)

But not my worst effort and sketching was a relaxing interlude today where sometimes it can feel a bit frustrating.

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014 avocado leaf

Day fourteen of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

I slept through a large portion of the day after a long and pleasant natter with talented artist and good friend, Anna Maria Drutzel, into the wee hours of the morning.

So I went with something relatively easy today.

It's an avocado leaf. But my mind keeps telling me it's a semi-deflated whoopie cushion painted to resemble a human heart with a slight tear along one seam.

I'm also expecting comments on the bit that looks like a rudimentary sketch of a vagina...

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013 padlock

Day thirteen of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

Once again, I've made it thinner than reality, though shorter than the proportions show BUT I feel comfortable that y'all would have known what this was without the source image.

To be honest, I couldnae be blathered creating the textures on the front of the padlock. Maybe another day but it was a bit more than I had the energy for tonight.

Mostly this week has been good, including starting a new contract with a new client for work potentially until June/July. It's so refreshing to be able to work as much or as little as I want/need to per week, being trusted to do it remotely and working the hours that work for me.

I know the pandemic has exposed a lot of self-employed folks leaving them with little support and it's truly shite but I really want to be (at least majority) self-employed. I won't go into the particulars here but it's so freeing even if the money might not be great to start with.

It's also been a stressful week because I've not had anywhere near enough sleep and I'm dealing with lots of financial and housing stuff which will probably work out okay but until it's sorted will continue to stress me.

I trust in getting a bunch of this stuff sorted asap and having a better week next week.

All that to say that I wanted something relatively easy to draw today. I thought about photographing the padlock upright from an angle and then convinced myself to make it easier and lie it down. To give me at least one concession today.

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012 pocket watch

Day twelve of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

No long commentary tonight as I want to sneak this online before midnight but it looks better once imported than I felt it did on the page when I finished sketching.

I probably need to invest in a ruler and the spacing of the numbers is a little out of whack.

I might add more self-critique tomorrow.

Today's subject brought to you by Andrew, a long-time Flickr friend.

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011 palestra

Day eleven of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

Today started off well despite only having a couple of hour's sleep last night. But from about mid-afternoon, it started kicking my arse.

As a consequence of tackling some financial admin, I lost the daylight completely again before I had a chance to get onto my sketch.

So I decided to work with a pre-existing image which I (foolishly) thought would be insultingly easy. That it would almost be "cheating".

Nope. Stupid ovals and circular-but-not-quite-circular shapes kicking me when I was down.

And someone (points finger at self) forgot the drawing was supposed to be square. Fail.

Oh well. Tomorrow is another day, right?

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010 absolut sketch

Day ten of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

The base of the glass is not bad.

Apart from that, it's evident the glass has had a skinful: it's swaying a little to the side, spilling its drink and blurring its words.

I'm not entirely sure you'd know what it was without the lettering and the source photo but not my worst effort, I don't think.

And my longest sketch so far, despite starting some new contract work today and feeling a bit pushed for time.

A contemplative way to defrag. The drawing, not the booze. Though the last of the Tiptree salted caramel vodka liqueur was a delicious subject.

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009 fox

Day nine of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

Today was half-consumed by sleep and half-consumed by admin, so I took my source image and completed today's sketch after dark.

He's on a little bit of a lean and slightly taller and thinner in proportions than the original but not terrible for a 10-minute sketch made by one exhausted lady.

This little guy travelled with us all the way from Melbourne - on our road trip to Brisbane and then on to London by plane - keeping my medical and insurance documents about my ankle injury and the car accident together, thanks to my friend, Julie.

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008 unwind

Day eight of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

I made it to week two! Phewf!

I would take the candle's advice except there's just too much to do at the moment.

This was a gift from my friend Sophie which I've still not set alight.

I started off okay-ish with the base curve but then misjudged the length of the sides of the glass, making my candle a little off-kilter.

I was then aligning the points at the side of the candle wax with the top edges of the glass, not the base. So my line ended up being not so horizontal. Although I thought I moved back enough from it to surely have noticed my error, obviously I didn't.

Consequently, the top edge/curves of the glass are off too, but they're sort of correct to the candle wax line. Oops.

I also thought I'd aligned the 'w' in 'unwind' more accurately but, clearly, I was a little too far to the left and creating the 'Un' backwards possibly made them look a little odd.

If this were a photo, I could fix all of that in Photoshop. But I'm trying to silence the perfectionist in me and learn from my mistakes. (Though I actually rotated both the photos when editing as they weren't taken straight!)

I wonder if my issue with horizontals is due to the angle I have my journal pages on when drawing. I don't have a table to spread myself out on. So I'm drawing on the edge of my desk after moving half the plants out of the way. And trying not to accidentally click my mouse with the journal cover.

But then, on unlined paper, my handwriting often veers up as I write, so maybe it's just me...

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007 shell

Day seven of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

I'm not sure anyone would identify this as a shell if not for the source image. It feels more like a chrysalis or maybe a dismembered body in a duffel bag.

I'm curious what you'd think it was if you didn't have the shell image to refer to? Weird, wonderful and worrisome answers welcome.

Today I was working on the details without being too detailed, so it feels a little half-arsed, to be honest. It's definitely more of an "impression" than photorealism.

The curves and proportions are not perfect. But I definitely feel it flows more for me when the object is organic in shape, and I try not to overthink things.

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006 avocado plant

Day six of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

Dad and I nattered on Skype in the wee hours of this morning for about 3.5 hours.

At around 5:45, I had my first "proper" meal of the day for Thursday and Friday.

Is Wensleydale with cranberries and water crackers a "proper" meal? I say "yes". Damn the rest of you...

And soon after, I settled into watching episode two of season one of Vikings as a way of "winding down" from the day.

I've previously watched season two of Vikings but don't remember if I watched some or all of the subsequent series. Either way, being a completist, I have to return to the first season before watching more.

Having not turned in until about 7:40, it was late afternoon by the time I had another go at sketching.

I'd argue today's sketch is definitely not 100% "correct" and not even vaguely photo realistic. But it is a more acceptable "artist's impression" of the original photograph I worked from.

Though you couldn't tell from the drawing, I "cheated" on the outer edge of the pot. I roughly traced the base of my nerve plant's "catcher" pot. The reason that's not evident is my very rough freehand re-tracing of the circle.

But everything else was freehand, for better or worse.

The primary part of the drawing was done with my ZSL pencil. The soil in the pot and the shading were done with my desperately-in-need-of-sharpening 6B pencil.

The proportions are definitely not perfect. The shading needs work (I still need to buy a sharpener and a wide range of pencils).

And, clearly, I can't draw a horizontal line horizontally.

Colour would have helped with the differentiation between soil and leaves and seed and pot.

While it wasn't quite as "simple and organic" as I was planning to draw today - and it was a 25-minute, not a 10-minute sketch - it was at least somewhat satisfying to render.

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005 bracelet

I'm not going to lie: today was hard.

The sketch was frustrating and difficult though I feel it's an improvement on yesterday's attempt despite a lot of erasure to get there.

I'm not really talking about that, though.

I got some good news about some low-paid contract work late in the day that felt like a small wave of relief. But getting out of bed felt even more difficult than usual today with all the ifs, buts, maybes and what-ifs circling around my head.

To add to my concerns about income, I've also been grappling with some housing stuff. It's now looming large on the horizon.

In reality, I know it's manageable. I know (or at least hope I know) that I have a reasonable landlord and we'll work this stuff out. He's been sound so far, and I'll have lived here for five years in May. I recognise I'm in a far better position than many in London, the UK and worldwide right now. This isn't a pity party. I'm just being honest.

Simon and I have talked about finding a place together for a while and had my redundancy and the pandemic not happened, we most likely already would have.

But it just feels, at the moment, like very little is in my control around a possible move. And home moves are stressful enough, even when you're enthusiastic and positive about it. Which I usually am. By the time I'm looking at new homes I'm so ready. This time I feel less so because stuff.

But I dragged myself out of bed to get my sketch for the day done before the window light disappeared. A call from Simon delayed me, though welcome.

Not too long after importing photos that I took of today's sketch, I got a more positive call. Since then, I've been dealing with "admin" which delayed me sharing this until the final hours of the day.

Though my drawing practice today felt frustrating, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't almost just stop. Looking back at the result now, hours later, it's definitely better than yesterday's attempt despite having to do a lot of erasing to get there.

It's far from perfect, but it's better. I am learning.

And funnily enough, I thought this subject would be easier to render. Because it was more graphic. Wow was I wrong...

So, for now, I'll take a break from this subject, but I suspect I'll attempt to render it again before the project is over. And maybe tomorrow I'll seek out something more organic or more simple to draw.

And maybe tomorrow everything will feel easier...

We'll see.

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004 bracelet

Never fear, dear reader, I didn't miss a day!

I had completed and photographed my sketch for 3 February 2021 by 13:44 yesterday, but quickly jumped onto a long overdue FaceTime virtual pint with my friend, Scott Hortop, moments later.

We nattered for a pleasant while, then I had a chance to catch Simon quickly on the phone before we both went to sort out food.

In my case, a shower and quick chill-out were also in order before I tackled applying for another job.

Fast forward to more than 12 hours later and I've finally had a chance to edit the photograph I took of today's object and the snap I took of my attempt at sketching it.

In case you haven't noticed, today's attempt was an epic fail.

It all started off well enough: I worked from the hexagon(ish) front and (almost) centre of the bracelet. I worked a little to the left and the right to recreate the front part of the bracelet. But it all went downhill from there.

Even with a bunch of erasing and 'resetting' of the back section, I still failed to get the proportions right. You can see my slightly worse attempts behind the off-the-mark final drawing.

I'm also conscious the drawing doesn't even vaguely appear three-dimensional.

I'm not sure spending more time on it in that sitting would have helped. I also didn't want to hold up my catch-up with Scott any longer.

What I'm sure of is that I will give this another go later today (after I've slept!) And I'll think about how I work with the proportions before I get started. I think I need to make some initial marks to help me 'join the dots' better.

I've also thought about the reality that maybe I can manage these things better using graph paper to draw on or behind a lighter weight paper. I suspect I'll have a better sense of things that way.

I'm also aware that many artists I know personally and whose work I admire worked heavily with overhead projectors when creating their paintings. (Am I showing my age?!) So I know none of these things is considered "cheating".

For now, though, I'm going to try to persevere as I have been as. Aside from anything else, the pages in my visual diary are too heavy to even see graph paper through.

Despite my use of the term "epic fail", I see days like today (and every day so far) less as failures but more as opportunities. Opportunities to identify what I still need to learn and the areas I need to focus on improving.

Also worth noting: Yesterday I worked from the photo I took of the bracelet, not "from life". Unfortunately, because my execution was so bad, I'm not sure that helps!

Thank you to Kenno McDonnell for the bracelet that inspired yesterday's (and what will be today's) sketch. Unfortunately, it snapped when my wrist landed heavily on an armrest on the Tube on the first time I wore it out and about. But I have some superglue to finally try to mend it, so I will do that once I've managed to render it better in a sketch! I think the break adds to the drawing.

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003 duck

Day three of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

I managed to squeeze today's sketch practice in, between prepping for an interview for some contract work and the interview itself.

I knew the light would be gone by the time the interview ended, and it was a good distraction before my first job interview in over four years.

Once again, I struggled to capture a photo of the subject that reflected the angle I was drawing it from.

I'm starting to think I should draw from the photograph, rather than from life, for this project. Simply because you and I, dear viewer, can't "grade" my progress accurately. You can't see what I'm seeing.

Despite that, it's evident my proportions are out. Mr Duck's tail is far too long in my drawing.

While the photo shows the hanging device for the ornament behind the little fella's head, the angle I drew from wasn't the same. The thread fell inside the curve of the back of his head.

Taken on its own, I don't think today's sketch is terrible. The silver topper is clumsily rendered, but without the source image to compare to everything else would be kinda okay.

But compared to reality (the accompanying photo or what I saw), it's definitely not true to life.

I would grade this a "C+. A fair effort. Must try harder."

Thank you to the brilliant artist, Merle Pace, for a not-so-secret Santa gift from many moons ago, that's still yet to find its place on a Christmas tree but has inspired (amateur) art.

Thank you also to those who have encouraged me and offered guidance. Your feedback and suggestions have been and will continue to be appreciated. I have so much to learn!

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002 pinhole camera

Day two of The 100 Day Project for 2021.

Today's photo isn't exactly the angle I was looking at in real life, I'm not sure why! I took a few and didn't feel they looked exactly like what I was looking at!

The perspective is off in my sketch even then. Even I can see that!

I'm using a pencil from London Zoo (Zoological Society of London - ZSL) which doesn't seem particularly good for this purpose, tbh. I can't clearly describe it, but it's a bit 'waxy' in that it doesn't transfer properly to the paper. Is that a thing, illustrator friends?

I have a 6B pencil (I can't recall why!) which I used for some of the shading - especially in the wording - as I became impatient with the too-light ZSL pencil.

I need to learn more about shading techniques as my attempts are more akin to a child with a colouring book simply focussed on filling the space within the lines.

I will have to hunt around more, but it would appear I don't have a pencil sharpener! So I'll have to get one. The 6B pencil is in dire need of sharpening but worked fine for my purposes today. (Yes, I know I can use a knife, but I think I can stretch to the expense of a pencil sharpener to save my fingers - I'm dangerously clumsy!)

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001 avocado plant

I wavered about whether to participate in The 100 Day Project this year, especially since it started earlier than last year. The idea for the change of date is to give folks participating something creative to focus on in a winter when many of us are in lockdown.

My main reasons for participating in past years, whether I successfully completed the project or it's still a work in progress, were to:

• challenge me to complete a project that had been on my to-do list for a while;

• learn a new medium or technique (e.g. digital collage);

• improve my skills in a particular medium (e.g. creative writing); and/or

• inspire and motivate me to continue creating.

At the moment, I have a lot of projects in progress and new projects I'm planning to do during the year, so I definitely don't need creative inspiration or motivation!

I'm also conscious that projects I've set myself in previous years have been pretty involved, and therefore, time-consuming. I knew that if I were to participate this year, it had to be a project or daily exercise that wouldn't become all-consuming. It couldn't take hours out of my day to complete, and therefore overwhelm and detract from my other projects.

I felt it needed to be something that allowed me to learn a new skill or develop it in a more disciplined, but hopefully, fun and low-pressure way.

I had considered a graphic design project but knew what I had in mind would fall into the categories of 'involved' and 'time-consuming'. So I've decided to still work on those projects and build up those skills but in a way that's not daily or time-limited.

It also needed to be a project that wouldn't cost me anything as money is tight, at the moment.

So, I've set myself a project I'm calling 'a sketchy practice'.

I have a pencil, an eraser, almost 100 blank pages in a visual diary, and plenty of visual inspiration around me; from the mundane to the not-so-mundane.

My drawing skills leave a lot to be desired. It's something I've always felt I was terrible at, especially when compared to my younger brother and many of my friends. It was a big reason for me falling in love with photography initially. I had lots of visual ideas, but I didn't have the skill or natural talent to draw or paint them or otherwise get them out of my head.

So this project will force me to slow down for ten minutes or so each day to develop my drawing skills through practice. And, hopefully, improve my drawing from 'sketchy' to 'sketches'.

As I did last year, I'll posts these here publicly each day. And I'll share them to social media and my Patreon the same day because the project is time-bound, and because they'll likely be of varying quality.

Without being too strict on time, the aim is to spend ten minutes or more on a sketch each day and work within the following broad rules:

• Drawings can be of objects around me, inspired by photographs (mine or others'), or from my imagination.

• Where drawings are from a physical object or a photograph I'll include a photo of what I'm drawing from.

• At this stage, they'll be grey lead pencil drawings on pages of a visual diary. If I still have my Derwent coloured pencils, maybe I'll graduate to colour drawings at some point.

• They can be outlines or more detailed. It will depend on the subject, how skilful and confident I'm feeling, etc.

• Use of an eraser is allowed, but the idea is not to be too much of a perfectionist.

• They'll be shared (I'm predicting) in a square format to Instagram, my Patreon, here and my other social media accounts, ideally, on the day they're completed.

So, without further ado, here's day one's sketch of our young avocado plant along with an approximation of the view I was drawing from.

Constructive critique, tips and advice from those with talent and skills in drawing and illustration are most welcome!

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