An important aspect of keeping a sketchbook is to allow yourself to make mistakes and to leave those mistakes in it. Other people may think that your ‘mistakes’ have loads of potential to be explored further.
For this exercise, the words ‘draw’ and ‘drawing’ refer to mark-making. I will spend 5 minutes on each drawing activity and fill the whole page while working fast. I will sit in one spot throughout this exercise. Using A4 paper for each of the four activities, I will use mark making to ‘draw’ what is in front of me on sheet one. Sheet two will be what I see on my right, sheet three will be what is behind me, and sheet four will be whatever I see on my left.
First, I selected all the materials I would like to use for this drawing activity.
- Cotton wool
- Tiling squeegee
- Soft cloth
- Reed pen
- Toothbrush
- Pig-hair paintbrush
- Water spray bottle
- Water soluble graphite
- Inktense water-soluble ink blocks
- Shoe brush
- Water paintbrush
- Charcoal pencil
- Gelatos water-soluble crayon
- Traditional gouache
- Makeup sponge
- Ecoline water-soluble brush pen
- Water soluble wax crayon
- Playdough
I have chosen a spot on our patio carpet and ensured I have everything ready before starting the timer.
I have recorded a video of how I work. This will allow me to one day look back and see how I have progressed with five-minute drawings. There is a photo of the scene I am drawing in the top left corner of the video, but my point of view in real life is different to the photograph in the video.
I have decided to keep colour out of the equation for all four drawings and focus on conventional drawing with an abstract, gestural, and emotional flair.
Sheet 1: Front
I was surprised how quickly the time went by, and I couldn’t finish the drawing in time, even though I tried to draw quickly. I also didn’t have enough time to contemplate what mark-making tools to use and focused more on getting the drawing down onto the paper.
I started with water-soluble graphite and a water paintbrush to get larger areas down on paper as well as tonal values. The water spray kept the medium from drying too quickly. I then added more defining strokes with a water-soluble wax crayon.
Sheet 2: Right
I felt more comfortable in the second drawing and realised I should’ve probably warmed up before the first drawing activity.
This time I started with Gelatos water-soluble thick crayons and went onto water-soluble graphite with a water paintbrush. I used a shoe brush in the wet graphite to get more energy and movement into the drawing. I then used an Inktense ink block to add darker tones, shadows and textures and finished off with a graphite pencil to add fine details.
Sheet 3: Back
I started with an Inktense ink block but quickly changed to a graphite pencil because the ink blocks are very pigmented. I immensely enjoyed not being too worried about perspective and having the objects visually accurate. I then used traditional gouache and water to add body to the drawing.
Sheet 4: Left
This drawing is more energetic. I started with gouache toothbrush splatters and used cotton wool to smudge in the chair’s contours. Then I used an Ecoline brush pen to add more definition to the chair outline and added darker tones and shadows using a wax crayon.
The five-minute drawings were a great learning experience, and I will now move on to cutting and folding my work.
Four small books
Each small book has its own charm and showcases a piece of the drawing. It gives the drawing a different perspective by not seeing it in its whole entity. I could most definitely work in it again with another mark-making implement or colour. The size of the books is ideal and gives just enough visual information on each page.
Each page can be a new beginning for another idea and can be developed further. This new beginning is an entirely original starting point that one won’t usually think about.
I would like to do the five-minute drawings again and look forward to seeing how we will alter the books in the next exercise.
Peachy Brushes 