This is Artur. Nothing deep and meaningful about today’s choice of Sktchy face to draw. I just liked that intense and more than a little grumpy expression and it was definitely fun to draw. I got lost in the pink and blue tones for a while.
I drew this on my iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil using the Procreate app and Lisa Bardot’s fabulous pencil box brushes.
These are the very lovely feet and hands of Sktchy muse Caroline. My feet used to look like this. I was once happy to have what I thought were “pretty” feet. And then in 2016 I had a neurectomy to remove a small tumour from a nerve in my right foot and developed CRPS (which stands for Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome), a rare disease, as a consequence of the surgery.
CRPS can be cured if it’s rapidly but if it isn’t treated successfully in the first 6 months the prognosis is poor. NHS waiting lists in pain services meant that I didn’t get seen for 6 months, by which time it was too late. My CRPS had spread from my foot up my leg.
It’s a neurological condition which affects the way nervous system responds to stimuli – basically it over responds to any and all stimuli. So a light touch or slight breeze can feel excruciatingly painful. As you’ve probably guessed it also causes change in the appearance of affected limbs. My foot is misshapen now and changes colour when I’m having a freezing or burning pain flare. The freezing pain flare isn’t so obvious, but when I have a burning flare my entire foot can turn red, then purple and even black. It’s not a pretty sight.
CRPS can also mirror in the opposite limb and I have some mirroring in my left foot too now, though thankfully not in the whole foot. But part of that will also burn and change colour to match my right foot – I call it “coming out in sympathy” for my other foot. So I never, ever draw my feet any more. I used to when they were pretty, but no these days. But I hope I’ve raised a little bit of CRPS awareness by talking about it here – probably worth saying you can also get it in your hands.
I painted this in my Moleskine watercolour sketchbook with Zecchi watercolours.
This is a portrait of one of my Sktchy artist heroes Mr Bandit. It captures my life so perfectly right now, since I mostly live it through a Zoom screen. I spend several hours each day remote working, having virtual coffees (with colleagues, family and/or friends) and participating in online classes. And then I spend an hour or two drawing and playing Animal Crossing on my Switch (yes, another screen) to keep me off Twitter.
I drew Mr Bandit in a Midori cotton sketchbook with Copic markers and Prismacolor coloured pencils.
I chose to paint Sktchy muse Na’channa today because I’m feeling a bit vulnerable. Painting her helped to exorcise a few demons 🙂
I painted this in a Moleskine watercolour sketchbook with Zecchi watercolours.
Today is one of my favourite days of the year – even lockdown isn’t going to burst my Star Wars bubble and stop me drawing my annual May the Fourth Star Wars portrait. This awesome Yoda cosplay portrait is inspired by a photo posted by Beth on Sktchy.
I drew this in a Midori cotton sketchbook with Copic markers.
Some days you just feel like giving up. Today has been one of those days. In fact this week has been one of those weeks. Just keep drawing… going to get through coronavirus and whatever follows one portrait at a time.
I drew this on my iPad Pro using the Procreate app.
Today’s portrait is of a photo posted on Sktchy by Laya of someone she describes as her love. I’m not making any assumptions about whether that’s a partner, husband, best friend or family member! What I do know is that I’m still obsessing about whether or not to cover my face when I go outside – most people still aren’t, and while I know it’s a sensible thing to do I hate feeling conspicuous. I want to be invisible.
I painted this portrait in my Moleskine watercolour sketchbook with Zecchi Toscana watercolours and finished it with Prismacolor coloured pencils.
Japan is very high on my list of places I’d love to visit, though for a whole host of practical and health reasons I’m not sure I’ll ever get there. So I loved every minute of drawing Sktchy muse Cola’s Portrait, drawn from a photo taken in Yukata. I was very nearly transported away from lockdown Britain to a tearoom in Japan for the couple of hours I spent drawing this – it was possibly my favourite drawing session ever.
I’m so glad I learned to draw, especially now. Anything that can give me an escape from the anxiety of lockdown is precious indeed.
I drew Cola in my Midori Cotton sketchbook with Copic markers and Posca pens.
I’ve practiced mindfulness for many years. It’s been one of my most important coping strategies when it comes to looking after my mental health and managing my chronic pain. In the many years I’ve been using it there have been only two times when I’ve really struggled with it, finding it hard to focus well enough even to practice and/or finding myself avoiding practice because to do so was so difficult. The first time was after I developed Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) and the second is now. Both times the enormity of the situation has just felt too huge to allow my mind to be calm.
And yet, in the past few days, I am finally finding calm when I pick up my pens and my sketchbook or iPad and draw. I am beginning to find that mindful attention to the present moment returning when I’m focused on drawing portraits, more so every day. It’s taken five weeks to get here and it really is baby steps but I’m counting it as progress. I still can’t find the focus to sit down with my Mindful or Headspace apps, that’s asking too much of my frazzled, panicked mind, but an hour or so of portrait drawing a day is something I’m deeply grateful for.
I drew Sktchy muse Akeem on my iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil using the Procreate app.
Sktchy are hosting a Backward Portrait Party this weekend, challenging members to reverse their usual drawing or painting methods and works “backwards”. So I totally reversed my usual process to draw Anastasia’s portrait on my iPad. I usually paint hair last so I did it first, than I painted the face and features, and then added some colour for the sweater. I added some linework right at the end. You can see a short timelapse video of my drawing process on YouTube here.
The most interesting thing about this for me was that I was completely absorbed in my work while I was painting and drawing, more than at any time since the coronavirus lockdown began. For a whole hour or so I wasn’t anxious at all, I wasn’t thinking about anything else, I was just making art. It was so lovely to have some peace of mind.
drawing faces 