Settling in on a Favorite Sketch Subject

On November 9th, 2011 I purchased my first watercolor sketchbook, embarking on a wonderful adventure of keeping a daily artist's journal.  The experience of doing this for the past two years has taught me so much!  I've gained so much more confidence in my drawing skills, thanks in no small part to Brenda Swenson's 75-Day Sketch Challenge, but also to the fact that I've kept up with daily drawing for all the time since.  I've joined up with wonderful online groups on Facebook, and even became a part of our local artist group, the Sketchbook Artistry Guild, which is wonderful.

My sketch subjects have run the gamut of all possibility, from natural to man-made.  I've danced with the Everyday Matters movement started by Danny Gregory, as well as the Urban Sketchers movement started by Gabriel Campanario, both hugely popular and growing.  I've relaxed in the nurturing warmth of Cathy Johnson's warm and welcoming Artist Journal Workshop community, where any sketch subject or sketching method is enthusiastically supported.  It is all fun and wonderful.  I love to sketch all the subjects, from the band-aids I have to use as a result of my skin cancer surgery to the vast scenic landscapes I encounter in my travels, it's all good.

However, I have recently come to the realization that of all the subjects I have tackled in the last two years, I

find I get the most satisfaction from my sketches of living creatures.  It took me about a year to have the confidence to approach such subjects, but when I look back on my sketches, these are the ones I feel the most proud of.  I love animals, fascinated with them, really, and in trying to draw and sketch them I love to try and capture their character and color.  They are just enough of a challenge to make them an interesting and fun subject.

So knowing this about myself, that I get a special pleasure from sketching animals, I feel kind of settled and free to pursue it more!  I can channel my focus in this direction, and hopefully get better at it!