Thanks for sharing, Raj, and congratulations! I've been drawing and painting regularly for a couple of years and I don't have a style (yet? maybe never will) so it's inspiring to see your very free journey of experimentation and play.
Thank you Hinal, I’m so glad it was inspiring for you. I struggled with the ‘style’ question for a while, and finally decided the most important thing for finding a style was to actually forget about trying to find one. I decided to simply draw in any way I wanted to, play, try things out and above all else have a good time. The drawings themselves will tell you where to go with style and what to explore, it will emerge naturally. I still have some work that is wildly different from other work, and that is ok, but slowly I am learning about what I like, what i’d like to explore further and what the common threads are amongst it all. My advice: just keep drawing. Be free and have fun. And don’t sign up to a course that promises to find your style, save your money and just keep drawing with wonderful people and i’m sure your work will guide you.
Congratulations on reaching this milestone Raj! I'm so impressed at your dedication to life drawing, I used to visit in-person classes regularly before Covid, i've lost a confidence since and need to get back into the habit. I love your fearlessness with materials and colour, always inspiring 😊
Thanks so much Emma - I do find that life drawing is the place where I can play the most, and just have fun playing with materials, so it allows for some nice discoveries. I wish I was able to commit to drawing more than I can at the moment - but hopefully the next ones won't take me 2 years to complete!
Thank you so much for sharing your sketchbook with us, Raj, and for sharing your thought process! As someone starting out their art journey, it was very inspirational.
Wonderful collection of drawings Raj, I absolutely adore your use of (bold) line and colours of course! Thank you for sharing this with all of us ❤️ it's definitely a source of inspiration!
Loved watching this, thanks Raj! I've been using my rainbow pencil a lot too, and recently bought another one (as you do) the Koh-i-noor one which is chunkier than the choosing keeping one, so nice to use together!
What inks do you use? I find that mine get easily absorbed into the page and look a bit dull. I'm using the Windsor & Newton ones. Though not sure if it's the ink or the paper!
One rainbow pencil always leads to another!! Haha!
In terms of inks, I'm currently loving the Sketch Inks and Antique Inks from Rohrer & Klingner, a German brand. You're right about the paper though - it can make a huge difference. Its always good to play around with different sketchbooks and loose sheets to see what feels nice.
Thank you for the reminder to play...especially with those nice art supplies I’ve been hoarding in my cupboard! Your take on Folktale Week is so inspiring, it’s making me think more boldly about how I approach future challenges/projects. Appreciate you sharing this with the world 💜✨
Thank you Alannah. We are all guilty of ‘saving’ art materials. I try to rotate mine so that i always have something different within arms reach - to make less friction between me and the art supplies.
Thank you for the folktale week feedback. I think it’s so important to make the challenges work for you. I don’t have a background of kid lit art so i had to find my way in that reflected what flowed for me. Im so glad it inspired you, thank you!
So fun, Raj! I adore the Handbook sketchbook series as well. I’m doing lots of life drawing lately to finish up a few sketchbooks before the end of the year, so this post is very timely!
ooh i’d love to see your completed sketchbook! alive that feeling of starting the new year with a fresh new sketchbook. Life drawing is such a great way to finish one. I wish the Handbook Journals were not so expensive over here! They are so lovely!
So good Raj! I find your use of colour and boldness of line work always so inspiring! This journey of experimentation and discovery is just brilliant to follow along with. Can’t wait to see the next one...
Thanks for sharing, Raj, and congratulations! I've been drawing and painting regularly for a couple of years and I don't have a style (yet? maybe never will) so it's inspiring to see your very free journey of experimentation and play.
Thank you Hinal, I’m so glad it was inspiring for you. I struggled with the ‘style’ question for a while, and finally decided the most important thing for finding a style was to actually forget about trying to find one. I decided to simply draw in any way I wanted to, play, try things out and above all else have a good time. The drawings themselves will tell you where to go with style and what to explore, it will emerge naturally. I still have some work that is wildly different from other work, and that is ok, but slowly I am learning about what I like, what i’d like to explore further and what the common threads are amongst it all. My advice: just keep drawing. Be free and have fun. And don’t sign up to a course that promises to find your style, save your money and just keep drawing with wonderful people and i’m sure your work will guide you.
Thanks. Appreciate the advice 💛
Congratulations on reaching this milestone Raj! I'm so impressed at your dedication to life drawing, I used to visit in-person classes regularly before Covid, i've lost a confidence since and need to get back into the habit. I love your fearlessness with materials and colour, always inspiring 😊
Thanks so much Emma - I do find that life drawing is the place where I can play the most, and just have fun playing with materials, so it allows for some nice discoveries. I wish I was able to commit to drawing more than I can at the moment - but hopefully the next ones won't take me 2 years to complete!
Thank you so much for sharing your sketchbook with us, Raj, and for sharing your thought process! As someone starting out their art journey, it was very inspirational.
I'm so happy to hear that!
Wonderful collection of drawings Raj, I absolutely adore your use of (bold) line and colours of course! Thank you for sharing this with all of us ❤️ it's definitely a source of inspiration!
My total pleasure!
Loved watching this, thanks Raj! I've been using my rainbow pencil a lot too, and recently bought another one (as you do) the Koh-i-noor one which is chunkier than the choosing keeping one, so nice to use together!
What inks do you use? I find that mine get easily absorbed into the page and look a bit dull. I'm using the Windsor & Newton ones. Though not sure if it's the ink or the paper!
One rainbow pencil always leads to another!! Haha!
In terms of inks, I'm currently loving the Sketch Inks and Antique Inks from Rohrer & Klingner, a German brand. You're right about the paper though - it can make a huge difference. Its always good to play around with different sketchbooks and loose sheets to see what feels nice.
Thank you, Raj! Will check out that brand.
Thank you for the reminder to play...especially with those nice art supplies I’ve been hoarding in my cupboard! Your take on Folktale Week is so inspiring, it’s making me think more boldly about how I approach future challenges/projects. Appreciate you sharing this with the world 💜✨
Thank you Alannah. We are all guilty of ‘saving’ art materials. I try to rotate mine so that i always have something different within arms reach - to make less friction between me and the art supplies.
Thank you for the folktale week feedback. I think it’s so important to make the challenges work for you. I don’t have a background of kid lit art so i had to find my way in that reflected what flowed for me. Im so glad it inspired you, thank you!
So fun, Raj! I adore the Handbook sketchbook series as well. I’m doing lots of life drawing lately to finish up a few sketchbooks before the end of the year, so this post is very timely!
ooh i’d love to see your completed sketchbook! alive that feeling of starting the new year with a fresh new sketchbook. Life drawing is such a great way to finish one. I wish the Handbook Journals were not so expensive over here! They are so lovely!
So good Raj! I find your use of colour and boldness of line work always so inspiring! This journey of experimentation and discovery is just brilliant to follow along with. Can’t wait to see the next one...
Thanks so muc Steve! It does feel nice to look back at it all to see the range of exploration and fun. It’s gotta be a loud fun!