I am a cynical old so and so at
times. So when I see even great sketchers whom I totally respect making claims
such as – try the 100 People One Week Challenge and you’ll find that you really
improve as the week goes on – then I tend to take it with a pinch of salt.
Well, a pinch of salt will be handy for seasoning the slice of humble pie I’m
going to be eating, because, well, because looking over the week, I have to say
that I think it’s true.
In terms of statistics, on the 5th,
day one, I sketched 27 figures. On day two, I misnumbered my sketches. I
thought that I’d sketched 23 to take it up to 50, but on a recount I found I’d
actually sketched 24 to take it to 51. On day 3 I sketched 20 to take it up to
71. Then on day four I sketched 30 to take me past the target. Today I took it
a little easier as this is just for fun, and added another 13 figures.
So how have I improved? Well,
actually, I’d say that it’s not for me to say that I’ve improved as such.
That’s for other people to judge. But things have happened. I feel I’ve
loosened up with my sketching. I also feel that I can work a lot more quickly than
I could at the start of the week. For example, let me compare my two self
portraits. This one I made on Monday: -
Now, it’s in biro, which is not my
favourite medium, but was what I had to hand at the time. It was also based on
a photograph I took with my work computer. It took about 20 minutes. Compare it
with this self portrait I made on Thursday: -
Now, you’ll have to take my word that
this is actually far more like me. Again, admittedly I was using a sketching
pen which I prefer. This time however I used the camera on the computer so that
the computer was like a mirror, and I was therefore far closer to sketching
myself from life than from a photograph. Look, I’d had a hard day. This one
took no more than 10 minutes, though, and to me , is a better sketch.
Here's today's figures
