Category: Challenges

How to get rid of rust.

dannygregory39 Comments

A couple of years ago, I looked in the mirror as I struggled to button my trousers and said, “You fat bastard, get to the gym.” I dutifully signed up for a gym membership, got a trainer and vowed earnestly to show up. My initial physical assessment was depressing. I was fat indeed. But, energized by novelty, I showed up at my first appointment with visions of a lithe me doing handsprings in my head.

God, it was grueling. I was red faced and puffing a few minutes into the session. I clearly had an awfully long way to go. How would I stick to it rather than retiring to a pint of ice cream on the couch? The financial commitment was somewhat helpful; I’d optimistically bought an expensive package of training sessions so I couldn’t very well blow it off outright. Instead I just started to space the sessions further and further apart, from three weekly sessions to one that I managed to fill with chitchat rather than cardio.

Continue reading “How to get rid of rust.” →

Inspiration Saturday: a tiny adventure

dannygregory27 Comments

This week I finished my homework early, in part because it was a short, sweet assignment. Our teacher was the legendary Michael Nobbs, my old pal and a calm and lovely spirit.  Speaking of, this week I met an ent.

This is the last week of “Expressing” and I have enjoyed sharing my homework projects with you. I do hope you’ll join me in one of the klasses beginning next Friday at Sketchbook Skool. You can sign up today to make sure you have a spot.

Inspiration Monday: Printing with Penelope

dannygregory21 Comments

After crawling from my sickbed, I finally finished my homework for Penelope Dullaghan’s klass in Expressing at Sketchbook Skool.

It was a bit messy and I managed to completely screw it up at one point, but her assignment got me to thinking a lot about one of my other favorite artists, Andy Warhol. In this rather adenoidal video, I explain what I was thinking, and then make three different pieces that I like quite a bit.

Inspiration Monday: watercolor lunch

dannygregory13 Comments

This week, what I learned from Felix Scheinberger‘s klass on watercolor techniques. Actually, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I keep studying Felix’s work and learn more and more each time. As he says, watercolors are the fastest medium to paint with, but the longest one to learn.

 

PS I inadvertently posted this article twice. I have been sick for the past few days and am not my usual fastidious self. 

Inspiration Monday: watercolors

dannygregory7 Comments

I was enormously happy to convince Felix Scheinberger to join the fakulty of Sketchbook Skool. Felix is an amazing watercolorist and a great teacher and his book Urban Watercolor Sketching is one of my favorites. Felix’s lessons started this week in Expressing and I really enjoyed tackling his assignment: to paint my lunch.

Art Before Breakfast: Natural frame

dannygregory4 Comments

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by a complicated subject. But don’t be. Watch this video instead. It’s the next in the series of simple videos I’ve made to walk you through the steps of seeing and drawing from my latest book, Art Before Breakfast. In this one, I’ll show you how to break even the most cluttered space into an understandable system of shapes which you can then draw one by one.

If you’re new to drawing or are struggling with the basics, I hope this series will be helpful. (Here’re the past episodes, in case you missed any.)

On Fridays, I work through an idea from Art Before Breakfast. It would be lovely if I could imagine you out there drawing along with me. This particular exercise comes from page 32. If you decide to do it too, please share with me how it turned out! (Share the results on your own blog or on Facebook and post a link in my comments section. Use #artb4bkfst on Twitter or FB).

Inspiration Monday: handmade book

dannygregory44 Comments

I love reading, writing, illustrating and making books. This week at Sketchbook Skool, Jill Weber* challenged us to make a book that shares something about ourselves — so I tackled the monkey.

I’m not terribly good at crafty things as I am clumsy and impatient but this was a very fun project. See the process and results in this video:

Art Before Breakfast: My Cabinet pts.1 & 2

dannygregory10 Comments

Before the holiday season began, I started sharing some videos of drawing exercises, drawn (as it were) from my book, Art Before Breakfast. What with drinking too much holiday punch, trying on too many new socks and sweaters, and launching the new term at Sketchbook Skool, I abandoned the series — but only temporarily. Let’s keep going, shall we?

Today, let’s return to my bathroom. Last time, I started a contour drawing of the contents of my bathroom cabinet, all those unguents, potions and salves that keep me looking so boyish and fresh. If you’ve forgotten, here it is again:

Now, let’s fill in all the information that sits within those contours. This is made a lot easier by the shapes we already drew. I’ll show you how to use them as guides to add detail. Open your eyes and uncap your pens!

If you’re new to drawing or are struggling with the basics, I hope this series will be helpful. (Here’re the past episodes, in case you missed any.)

On Fridays, I work through an idea from Art Before Breakfast. It would be lovely if I could imagine you out there drawing along with me. This particular exercise comes from page 31. If you decide to do it too, please share with me how it turned out! (Share the results on your own blog or on Facebook and post a link in my comments section. Use #artb4bkfst on Twitter or FB).

Inspiration Monday: handlettering

dannygregory29 Comments

I love handwriting, lettering, and calligraphy. Here’s a little video of some of my favorite practitioners.  It was prompted by the new kourse at Sketchbook Skool which you are either enjoying as well or kicking yourself for missing.

Oh, and happy Dr. King Day!