Straw, Sketch 045

Posted on March 15, 2015 by treshabarger

Straw decoration sketch

This sketch was surprisingly hard; another one where I just finally stopped erasing, deciding to leave it alone. I fall into the category of “chicken scratch” sketchers. I put down short, quick strokes, lots and lots of them. If I don’t like the first few dozen, I press a little harder and make them darker, as if that’s the problem. Well, that’s one of the problems, but not the problem. While I’m sketching with my right hand, I’m kneading the eraser in my left hand, getting it ready.

Straw, 1230-1250, German, silver

What fascinates me about this straw is the time frame: 1230-1250. There are a gazillion things in the world that I never took any time to consider, and straws being invented around 3,000 BCE is one of them. If anyone had asked me as to when straws originated, I would have guessed in the 20th century, after plastic was invented. Straws have always been plastic, right? I was wrong, wrong, wrong, about 5,000 years wrong.

Sketch 045: Straw, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters Collection, 1947

Wing, Sketch 044

Posted on March 14, 2015 by treshabarger

Another sketch based on an illustration, as opposed to the object itself or a photograph. This isn’t a specific wing, but an idea of a wing. Lots of artists throughout history have painted wings of all kinds, so I may have to look up some of them and try it again. In the meantime, use your imagination here, squint, or both.

An imaginary wing

Goldfish, Sketch 043

Posted on March 13, 2015 by treshabarger

Until the last few sketches, I’d been using actual objects or photographs of objects. With the fish (and dragon, of course), I looked up some illustrations and “just tried it.”

Goldfish, mostly

And as I’m into trying new things, I thought I’d actually use some of my colored pencils. The word “goldfish” invokes the idea of color, so why not? I’m glad I tried something new, but I think my results are so-so. But, hey, it’s only a sketch!