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.
Our zine is finally ready for you to download! Thank you to everyone who submitted their work. Quaranzine grew out the idea that lots of us have …
Quaranzine!
Here’s Mad Covid’s amazing Quaranzine, which is free to download, I feel very privileged to have a page in the Zine.
This is a list of all the resources mentioned in our zine, Quaranzine. We also have a Mad Covid Support page with other resources which you may find …
Quaranzine Resources
Mad Covid have published a fabulous Quaranzine which I contributed to – here’s a list of free online art resources available during the lockdown.
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.
I think this portrait of Abi sums up perfectly how the first six weeks of lockdown have been for me.
I drew it with Bic ballpoint pens in a Moleskine sketchbook.
Something totally different today, a mermaid for Mermay. Mermay is a daily drawing challenge during the month of May, when the idea is quite simple to draw a mermaid every day, but I’ve never participated in it before. but then I saw Angela’s inspiration photo on Sktchy and decided that I would draw at least one mermaid this month.
It’s not my best work, I’m definitely having a few days when everything that can go wrong when I’m drawing does, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s usually a sign that I’ve either been working too much in a comfort zone (probably true) or I’m about to make a breakthrough (that would be nice..). Either way when I’m wrestling with my drawing it generally means I need to accept it and I will eventually move forward.
I painted this in my Moleskine watercolour sketchbook and then work Ed on it initially with Prismacolor coloured pencils and then digitally in Procreate.
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.
drawing faces 