Roz Wound Up

Another Peek into Roz's 2013 Fake Journal—A Dog Portrait of Course!

Above: Page spread in my 2013 fake journal, April 2, 2013. Read about this image and see detail photos from the process in the post. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

Yesterday on the Official International Fake Journal Blog I posted a bird-related page spread peek into my 2013 fake journal. This journal is impossible to scan and I haven't had time to video tape the thing yet. (At the rate I've been going the book will be filled by April 18, at which point I'll have some free time to video tape it!)

Most of my extracurricular art time this month has been spent working on this fake journal. Because of that, and certain family circumstances, I won't have time to write on both blogs—especially on an almost daily basis like I do here at Roz Wound Up. 

I wanted to give you all a heads up, that even though fake journaling isn't your thing, you might want to wander over to the Official International Fake Journal Blog from time to time in the next few weeks. It's there that I'll be posting not only more peeks into this journal, but reviews on the materials I used to create it. Materials like—gelli arts printing plates, various acrylic paint products, rubberstamp inks, a variety of papers, pens, and Da Vinci Gouache. I'd hate for you to miss any of that.

I'll continue to post here as time allows. I have lots of faces to show you from an on-going project, as well as other updates and art. But if you don't see something here, you might want to check out the other blog for interesting news on a variety of topics.

Perhaps of greatest interest will be in how I took a totally unlikely and unsuitable (for mixed media) journal—the Leuchtturm 1917 Notebook—and filled it up with mixed media. The results were surprising. (The link in this paragraph is to my original review of that commercially bound journal. The results will be upcoming on the Official International Fake Journal Blog.)

Briefly, because if I explained here everything that is going on in my fake journal everyone would simply pass out or miss his bus, this journal was about layers, and using inexpensive materials. (Though it is arguably the most expensive journal I've ever produced since I didn't have any of the inexpensive materials to use in it until I went out and got them in order to use them in this book!)

Since the approach was layers I had plans to take photos of everything each step of the way and compile it into a number of posts and videos. Personal time constraints are making that impossible, but I do want to look at some of my approaches and I love this spread so I thought I'd do that here today and if you're interested in more you know where to go.

Left: The spread with the Sumi paper and collaged papers in place. The lavender is acrylic paint. I created a monoprint using the Gelli-Arts Printing Plate. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

First off in the above spread I used a Gelli-Arts Printing Plate and some cheap acrylic craft paints (all reviews will eventually run on the other blog so this is just quick notes about the process) to create a monoprint on Sumi paper that was larger than the page spread. That's the purple paint you see everywhere. I glued that complete sheet down over the spread. When it was dry I trimmed the edges (you've seen me do this in a video—if you missed my Strathmore Visual Journaling class in which I also demonstrated this you can see it on a smaller scale in this video here).

In a departure from my usual practice I used PVA for gluing the large pieces throughout this journal. (My rationale for that choice will be described in a future post on the other blog.) I didn't worry about weighting things or bubbling of paper. This journal has an absolutely scrumptious bulky-crackling to its pages.

Next I collaged some decorative papers at the top and sides of the spread. At the far right you'll see gold metallic paper under the dog's ear.

Left: A detail showing the line work sketch. I drew directly on the page with the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen. (It doesn't like to dry on the type of metallic paper I was using at the right edge, but I knew I'd paint over it.) I was using sketches I made from life and a couple photographs as reference. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

When I came to this page on April 2 I decided to draw and paint a dog portrait. (This is my muse Sophia Grace, only I've changed her color a bit. She's so lovely.)

I struggled a lot deciding on whether or not to paint this sketch or leave the line work. I loved the background and wanted it to show, not be painted over around the dog. Conversely I didn't want to hide the line work. But the driving force of this year's fake journal was letting things go, and not being precious about things like line work. My character dove in and painted over the line work with Da Vinci gouache (after giving me a moment to photograph it!). I used that gouache because it is less expensive for the volume I was going to go through, wanted to try it, and wanted to experiment with a different set of pigments (they don't make a PB60). I'll go into my findings about this gouache when I review it on the other blog.

Left: A close up photo of the painted dog-portrait so you can see some of the brushwork. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

Once the painting portion was completed I decided to rubberstamp in the background. Some stamps were used as background texture (dots, squares, lines, and text). But I also used a large alphabet to stamp my character's thoughts on the page in large pink letters. "Letting things slip." Before stamping the letters I cut and positioned a mask of tracing paper on top of the painted dog.

My character ends her journal pages with a stamped red dot and the date written around that dot. You can see this at the bottom of the right-hand page.

There you have it, a close look at the construction of one of the page spreads in my 2013 fake journal. In the coming weeks I hope that you'll take a moment to venture over to the Official International Fake Journal Blog to see other spreads and reviews of the different materials and products I used to create the journal. Maybe next year you'll join us?

Life's so short, why live only one?

 

Project Friday: Keep Drawing Even if It Isn't Working

Left: First sketch of a French Bulldog, while I'm still warming up. Sumi paper, 8.5 x 11 inches, Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, and gouache (which soaked through the paper and buckled it in interesting ways). Click on the image to view an enlargement.

I'm still working on my dog portrait project. In February, while I was still under the weather I got out my sketches (made on site from life) and my reference photos from my visit with Sophia Grace and started to sketch. 

My first attempt pushed her nose in too much and elongated her face. But even though I wasn't happy with the sketch I thought it would be a good sketch to experiment using gouache on, since I was working on a sumi paper that doesn't let paint flow like watercolor paper.

I had a great time making a mess with the paints, and I also got a better understanding of how I might render her eyes.

Left: Second sketch of Sophia Grace, from the same drawing session). Also Pentel Pocket Brush Pen on sumi paper. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

Despite the fact that I wasn't happy with the likeness in the first sketch I was happy with the experience of creating it—it's always a good day when the gouache comes out.

What I want to point out today, however, is that we can't let disappointment about "nailing" a likeness or a technique in our sketch or painting, diminish our desire to keep trying.

Assess what you like and don't like, rethink how you're going to handle shading and line quality now that you know the subject better, the paper better, whatever.

With a new plan of attack jump in and try again, immediately! In the same sketching session. 

Don't worry that two consecutive pages of your journal will have sketches of the same subject all over them. That's actually a great thing because each sketch shows that you're learning something and there it all is in your journal. Embrace what you might otherwise consider clutter. It definitely isn't a waste of paper or time.

I knew after my first sketch that I was making Sophia Grace's muzzle too long and not wide enough. I also knew that her entire head had turned out too long. And I didn't like the expression in her eyes. (Sophia Grace is a lovely dog and she is soft and sweet and I am continuing to look for that elusive quality.)

Armed with my observations of where I was off I launched in to my second version and hit something much, much closer. This looks like Sophia Grace to me. And I'm pleased with the brush strokes I used and how I approached the shading with the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen. I liked this piece so much in fact that I didn't pull out the paint. Painting on the sumi paper was problematic and I wanted to keep my line work.

So here's the Project Friday plan:

Pick something that you love to sketch (pet, friend, peppers, landscape, whatever). It helps if you really love the subject because then you'll stay engaged even with repeated efforts.

Sketch it.

Get up and walk away; get a drink of water; stretch a bit. Come back in less than 5 minutes (I think 2 is actually best) and look with a fresh eye at your sketch/painting. What jumps out at you immediately?

We aren't looking for "how awful" it is. Look for where your focus is (or isn't). Look for what attracts your attention. Look for what you like. Look for what you could do better. Look for lines that really have no business being there (if it's a pen sketch in particular and you're trying to be economical with your line work).

Put your sketch aside, take a deep breath and draw your subject again. (If you are working on a journal page spread just work somewhere else on that spread and ignore the first sketch while you draw the second. Cover it if you prefer.)

Apply all the new information you picked up in your critique. (For mine I used different eye sketch references to change my approach for rendering the eyes, but my main change was to really concentrate on what the shape of her head was and get that the way I wanted it in the second sketch. I also slowed myself down so that each of my strokes was very deliberate on this very weird [to me] paper.)

If you're working with a still life feel free to change the arrangement of the pepper you were sketching, or go stand in a different vantage point for your second landscape attempt. Sometimes a simple change in vantage point can make all the difference. Especially since you now have so much more observed information.

Set your second drawing aside and take a short 2 to 5 minute break, and repeat if you have the time. In my example I only did two. I would have liked to do two more because I think four versions is a good number for me (I don't tend to fatigue until I do the fourth one). If you are just trying this for the first time, aim for only two approaches. If you are accustomed to painting in quick series do at least 4 sketches for your session.

(You'll find over time your stamina for concentrating will increase.)

If you are experimenting with new media or with new paper, and after your third sketch things are still not coming together for you and you know you're fading, do your fourth and final sketch on paper you're totally familiar with and with media you use often and easily. (In other words, try to eliminate some of the variables that are frustrating your attempts so you can end on a positive note.)

Set your work aside and take a longer break. Come back in an hour (or tomorrow) and look at the progress in the entire, quickly-executed series.

That's your Project Friday assignment!

 

2013 International Fake Journal Month Starts Today

Left: The button for 2013 International Fake Journal Month (which actually might change…ack it's always something, but read on). Click on the image to view an enlargement.

Today is April 1, the start of International Fake Journal Month 2013.

If you are a new reader of this blog you might not know what IFJM is. (Click on that category to learn more.) It's a little project I've been doing for years. I went public with it to my students in the 2000s, and then I really went public with it in 2009 when I started a blog dedicated to this event: the Official International Fake Journal Blog.

You can read about the origins of International Fake Journal Month and the guidelines and ways to participate at that blog.

You can also see my fake 2009 through 2012 journals on that blog (earlier fake journals are private).

For the next 30 days I'll be working as another "character" in my 2013 fake journal. I'll post probably once a week (for reasons you'll understand when you see the first post) on the other blog.

The image you see here is this year's button (I always have buttons). You can find out ways to "win" or buy a button over on the other blog.

I have to say that the past week has been incredibly insane (for reasons I won't go into right now) and the button file was all set to go EXCEPT that I changed the slogan for the year at the last moment to: Never Explain. 

That would have been perfect for this year. I loved "Embrace the Fake" when I thought of it in January, but "Never Explain" was just too perfect, given the type of journal my character is creating.

The problem is I changed the files, and it looks as if I sent this file in to the button makers! We won't know for another couple of days until I receive the buttons.

It also looks like I might have sent them a file which will print oddly (a long explanation you don't need to know). What you need to know is that if the buttons show up and need to be reprinted I'll redo the file to carry the other slogan. If the buttons come back good to go—well then we'll go with it because at this point it just makes sense.

Moral of this story (or any story involving sending things to the printer late at night when your life is in chaos)—Don't send things late at night!

And remember to breathe.

Now it's time to jump in with your own fake journal project, or at least check out what people are doing this year or in past years (there are links on the other blog that will take you to the fake journals of others).

One thing that never changes is the underlying premise of, and overall slogan for, IFJM:

Life's so short, why live only one?

Maddie the Dog Is Coming to Subtext Books July 28, 2013

If the above video doesn't play, see Maddie on YouTube.

Maddie is a rescue dog, a Coonhound who likes to balance on things. When Theron Humphrey discovered this in his travels with her he started taking photos. "Maddie on Things" is a collection of these photos. The author/photographer and Maddie are going to be at Subtext Books on July 28, 2013; at 3 p.m. I don't know anything else about it. This is all I heard from a friend who thought I'd be interested because I love dogs and physics. I'll write more closer to the date, when I find more out, but for now, keep your eyes and ears open! And watch the short video about the book. (According to the video she drove right by my house but didn't stop! You'll recognized other Twin Cities locations if you watch the video.)

My Fall 2013 Dog Project Is Still Moving Slowly Along

Above: Working in a new journal on Arches Text Wove (Arches Velin). The journal is approximately 6.5 x 9 inches. I worked first with a 3/4 inch wide tipped acrylic marker getting loose lines and warming up (light blue; sometimes working on the edge of the marker) then I went in with a Faber-Castell Pitt Artist's Brush Pen, to capture contours. Finally I played around with gouache, Stabilo Tones, acrylic paint, gold wax pencil resist and some white markers in the background. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

My dog portrait project originally scheduled for last fall is still on-going. It's been difficult to find time to paint paintings, but I'm massing up studies galore. That's what this is about. Becca is a lovely black lab. She was in the original pool of dogs and I saw her again briefly around this time, but not in a situation where I could sketch her from life. I took a couple photos and used those, popped up on the screen, as reference. 

I think I need to see her once more in person and do some more sketches from life before I do a large painting of her. She is so calm I'm not sure I'm getting her essential look. When the snow melts I'm going to pester her owner for face time!

I find sketches like these, playing with materials, thinking about a subject, help me keep my enthusiasm for the project even during long periods of time when I might not be able to get to the drawing board or easel. 

Just for Fun—Stylizing Characters

Above—This is an individual.

Below—This is a character (and maybe even a self-portrait of Roz).

Click on the images to view an enlargement.

Both dogs were sketched in a 9 x 12 inch Fabriano Venezia Journal with a Pentel Pocket Brush Pen.

Three Days in Wisconsin

Left: Zeke sitting in front of a chair on which my supplies (and reading material, before you get all crazy like my friend Bill did). Click on the image to view an enlargement.

For three days in November 2012 I dog sat for my friend Nan. At the end of this post you'll find a video flip through of the journal I completed in those three days. Before you watch the video, however, I wanted to share some background and some information about supplies I was using.

First I have to say that I have some really great friends who trust me to take care of their dogs. I've dog-sat for Nan before, in 2004 for 10 days, when she had 3 dogs. You can see my 2004 Kinni journal here.

Nan's an AKC tracking judge and we've spent a lot of time sitting in cars with wet dogs, while tracks aged, following each other through the woods, and of course chatting—especially after tests. She's known both of my dogs. I've known most of her dogs. Nan's friendship has been one of the most important of my life. When I decided to do the dog portrait project I knew I would ask to sketch her dogs, I'm just glad she was going away so I could have them all to myself for a few days. 

Rush, the older dog I was sitting with this time, was one of the dogs I sat for in 2004. Back then her littermate sister and her mother were also alive. (I met Rush when she was 3 days old and I got to go to doggie kindergarten with her). I had one heck of a time in 2004 sketching Rush's "merle" coat. Even on toned paper with the liberal application of white gouache I frequently put the brushes down in frustration. Of course that was also one of the hottest summers on record so I didn't have a lot of patience with my sketching. I spent a lot of time (when not walking the dogs) writing, and calling a couple of friends over and over to update them on the serial killer situation in the Wisconsin countryside (it's a Woody Allen thing).

Returning to sketch in November I knew I would again be faced with that "merle" coat. I decided to use sheets of Stonehenge Kraft (brown) paper. I don't like to make journals out of this paper because it cracks when you fold it with the grain, but I LOVE painting on it in gouache and simply sketching on it. 

Of course I tested some other toned papers before going, but I knew I was going to use NeoColor II watersoluble wax pastels and other dry media and the Stonehenge Kraft just suited my goals.

Right: Here's my pre-trip test sheet with a bunch of pens and watersoluble stick type media. I liked the way the paper would hold up to vigorous rubbing and blending with my fingers. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

Since I was traveling by car "weight" limitations didn't apply to me. I decided to take whatever I felt I might need (because where I was there would be no art supply stores and I wouldn't be running home for supplies).

This decision generated a lot of ridicule from my friend Bill—who took me to task for telling people to travel light, but then not doing so myself.

I bring it up here to point out that "consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds" (Ralph Waldo Emerson pointed that out), but more importantly to point out that this wasn't a typical trip. This was a pre-painting trip. I was going with a particular goal in mind—to generate as large a volume of observed detail as possible in the short time I had. That detail would then later be used to paint portraits. While in Wisconsin I wanted to have any media I might want, if something wasn't working, so that I could keep on going seamlessly. I did have a pretty firm sense in my mind that I would only be using the NeoColor IIs and some other pencils, but just in case I had my travel palette of gouache (and of course paper that would take that gouache was the foundation of the trip).

If I'd been going somewhere as a tourist my "travel light approach" would of course have been followed—I have no desire to carry a ton of supplies around with me as I weave my way through tourist sites.

(Something else that was in the box—lots of DVDs. I brought all the recent Miss Marple episodes and a whole bunch of "Monk" to watch as "background while I sketched, because I was going where there wasn't cable TV, i.e., the wilderness.)

Left: Brush carrier containing the brushes I thought I might need as a fall back if my original plan didn't work out. (I didn't use a brush the entire weekend. These are mostly synthetic brushes. They are all brushes I use with gouache, and also with watersoluble stick-type media like the wax pastels. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

Since I was going with a "back up" plan I packed a bunch of brushes. I am showing you the photo today of what I packed because then we can all enjoy a good laugh with Bill.

However, when collapsed, they really only take up about 6 x 9 inches of relatively flat space. By far the bulk of what I took was paper—in case I decided I wanted to use different types of paper instead of just one paper. (And it's a good thing I did that because I ran out of my 9 x 12 inch sheets and was glad to have extra smaller squares of the same paper with which to finish the trip.)

Left: The tools I actually used (well mostly as you'll see): A—Faber-Castell Pitt Artist's Big Brush Pen filled with WHITE India Ink (it's nice and opaque—I did NOT use this, but hey, I had it on hand); B— Faber-Castell Pitt Artist's Calligraphy Pen (I used this the final day for most of my sketches); C and D— NeoColor II from Caran d'Ache (I didn't use group C at all; group D I used all of); E— Stabilo Woody (formerly StabiloTone) white, used quite a lot; F— Derwent Drawing Pencils (Chocolate and Ivory Black are shown, I had two others with me that were more reddish); G— Koh-I-Nor Tricolor pencil (this is the only one I really enjoy using and is the only one I brought); H— Stabilo Alls (I brought an orange, white, black, red, and graphite). Click on the image to view an enlargement. Click on the product name links in the caption to read a past post about them.

Note: I have a ton of posts on Stabilo Tones which I love using, even though they are defunct (there are so few colors in the Woody line that it isn't worth pursuing). If you use the blog's search engine to search for Stabilo Tone you'll find a bunch that I hope you'll enjoy. But to get you started, here's a link to a post about two toucan sketches I did using them. I discuss how I like to work with them.

My rationale for using the Stabilo Alls was that they would dissolve if I used water with them. I ended up not using any water all weekend long, but it was still nice to have the possibility. (I arrived with plans to set up my painting station on Nan's dining room table, and I brought a sheet of plastic to cover it. However, as soon as I was in the house I realized that I would be spending all my sketching time sitting on the stairs looking at the dogs on the main level of the house, or sitting in the living room watching them sleep on the floor or furniture. The table didn't get used at all. And I didn't want to spill paint water in someone's house, so the brushes stayed in the box.)

Immediately upon arrival I took the dogs out for a bit of a romp. We quickly settled into a schedule: walks, feeding, sketching, walks, sketching, walks, sketching, walks, feeding, walks, sketching, pee break, and bed. Nan trains her dogs well so they are easy to care for. They have great personalities so they are fun to be with. And pretty much any dog I've ever known eventually will sit still for modeling if you walk him enough. So the weekend went great.

The weather on the weekend was a little odd, and I feel I should mention it just as a point of record. Friday and Saturday were coolish. Maybe in the 40s and 50s. (I didn't have my computer to check the temperature.) Saturday was foggy and raining all day, but pretty warm, in the 50s. I never put on my heavy coat. Sunday started out foggy and a bit chilly and then jumped to 70 degrees and humid (of course) by noon.

Since it wasn't raining on Sunday and I had a bicycling quota to attend to, I got my bike out of the car and hit the hilly country roads of Wisconsin in TIGHTS, because that's what I'd brought—I never dreamed it would be warm enough to wear shorts after the weather we'd been having. Let's just say it was an interesting ride. Ten minutes into the ride when a German Shepherd Dog charged out of his yard towards me and stopped dead in his tracks in the ditch I thought, "OH Shit, that's why I never ride my bike in the country." I flashed on bike rides with my college roommate in the hills of central Missouri—where we were frequently chased by very territorial dogs.

The German Shepherd Dog halted so abruptly that I'm convinced the angels of invisible fencing were on patrol. WIth a devil-may-care-attitude that I don't typically sport when it means putting my legs at risk to large teeth I peddled on. Soon it became apparent that farmers were keeping their dogs inside on this day. (I could hear barking as I peddled past farm houses.) Miles down the road I actually saw a couple standing in their yard, keeping their dog (another large German Shepherd Dog) close at their side.

Something odd was going on. Or everyone got the memo that this city girl was coming to ride this Sunday.

Half way home I heard the first gun shots. I can be so dense. Nan had told me that a neighbor was going to come to her property and set up a hunting blind down by the river and that hunting season was starting. We (the dogs and I) were wearing reflective vests on every walk, just out of habit.

The farmers were obviously keeping their dogs close to home so they wouldn't be shot. I am one lucky you know what.

I won't be going out riding in the country anytime soon. I enjoy the pleasures of the bike trails and paths in the Cities. But I will say that the hills near the Kinnickinnick River are steep and wild and with a bit of peddling and a 30 mph wind at your back (didn't I mention that part? Coming home was a lot easier!) you can reach some monster speeds even on the steep uphill climbs.

The dogs and I had a couple more walks and some more sketching after my midday ride. By the time Nan got home around 9:40 p.m. it was cold and it had started to snow. We talked about her trip for a little bit and then I took off for home. There wasn't much accumulation of snow, but it was blowing directly at me as I drove, hindering visibility, creating the impression of what it must be line when you hit warp speed on the Enterprise bridge. I saw one deer at the edge of a field (who decided not to leap). I arrived home around midnight without incident.

That's what I have to say about the trip. You can watch the video flip through of my sketching journal below. If "Three Days in Wisconsin" doesn't play embedded you can watch it here on YouTube. I hope all your trips are fun, productive, and filled only with friendly dogs!

Note: The video shows the case I made to contain my loose pages. You can see instructions for making this envelope type case with "boxy" sides here. I know I mention the link in the video, but I thought it might be easier for you to just click on it here when you're ready.

Journal Size Matters: Part Two—Sketch Something You Really Love

 

Left: First Pentel Pocket Brush Pen sketch in a series of sketches of dogs, while working in a 6-1/8 x 9-1/2 inch Fabriano Venezia Journal (Not my normal 9 x 12 inch Venezia in-studio journal.) Click on the image to view an enlargement.

 

On Monday I wrote about working in a smaller sized Fabriano Venezia Journal than I'm used to working in. 

I know I love working on this paper. I know the tools I'm using on it are ones I also love working with on this paper. 

What bothers me is that gutter— interrupting me when I want to create an image that is head to tail (no dog pun intended, I simply mean a sketch that stretches from the head to the tail of the book). Focal points keep ending up in the gutter. I haven't been able to size my drawings down to fit the smaller space, while still using tools that create bold lines. Of course it's a matter of adjustment.

So what is the best way to adjust?

Draw something you really really love and are comfortable drawing.

For me that is either my rubber-chicken puppet Gert or a dog.

Right: Another Pentel Pocket Brush Pen sketch in the same journal. I worked with my dog park photos for these sketches—projected up on my computer screen. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

As you can see by the series of sketches presented in this post I went with dog sketches. 

I started with a goal—still using the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen because I love that bold line and it feels so nice to use this pen on the paper in the Fabriano Venezia. But an equally important part of my goal in using that pen was to work with scaling my drawings down to fit the format of this journal without getting focal points lost in the gutter.

Left: The third dog sketch in my series to adapt my drawing size to the narrower page. I'm working quickly here, taking less than 10 minutes to sketch. I'm planting my first lines carefully after trying to see where everything will go on the page—something good to do in any situation, but necessary when you don't have any wiggle room. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

 

Left: With all of these sketches I started with the dog's right eye (on the viewer's left). For this sketch I almost landed in the gutter, but it still works for me. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

So far in the sketches I'd been going after as little detail as possible. I wanted to have a sense of the shape of the head but not much fine detail.

Left: Final dog sketch for the evening in this series. I wanted to get some paints out. When the paints were dry I cut out decorative Japanese papers and applied them around the sketch in the background. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

I finished up the dog sketching session by continuing my use of the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen but selecting a dog subject that was more fur than form. I also wanted to add a little color with paint. And once I had done that I wanted to add collaged papers around the dog because I enjoy doing that and because I hadn't done that in this smaller book yet.

That last sketch also starts with the eye on the left. I deliberately put it almost right at the gutter so that I could get some of that furry ear on the left and all of the ear on the right. I was conscious of what types of negative space I was going to leave.

By the time I finished I had sketches which were pointing me towards a working model for this book. That's what I was after. I just needed to explore some more. I'm not totally happy with the space I have to work within on this page spread, but I am adapting. Using a subject I love has helped speed me along towards that adaptation.

Note: I sketch directly in pen. I just like to do that. I like the commitment, and even the "Oh Shit what am I going to do now" factor.

If you sketch in pencil you can of course stop, erase and adjust your drawings, or not erase, but use bolder lines and restatements for a little while longer than you can with ink (which tends to get messy pretty quickly).

If you do sketch in ink directly, or you want to start doing that I've written several posts about direct sketching in pen (including the one linked here) and you can find them using the blog's search engine.

When you do sketch directly in pen be sure to breathe. Remind yourself that it's just paper. Restate a line if you have to and don't allow yourself to be frustrated as everything in that 1-inch of the page turns into blackness. Just remind yourself that you are practicing. And jot down a couple notes about which is the actual line you wanted to use, or notes on how you had to fudge it, or whatever notes you want to take. And keep going with the entire sketch. There may be other points in the sketch that really work, that show you a way forward in all your future sketching. You may have other botched and blotched areas, but that's OK because it already isn't perfect. Keep going.

The point is to remember these are sketches. The fun factor should be high. I can remember how happy I felt working on each one of these sketches, the brush pen gently dragging across the paper, the paints puddling on the last dog, the selection of the papers for the last dog. That's more important than the perfect sketch because I'm energized and ready to have another go, and with that attitude I will get there.

If you set out determined to do the perfect sketch you're going to find something wrong with everything you do. After awhile you might stop picking up that pen. But if you keep your mind clear of those constraints you'll keep picking up that pen and your line will get more sure.

Roz Revisited: Roz's Dirty Little Secret

With almost 1500 posts on the blog it's sometimes difficult for me to remember what I've written about and what I've only thought about writing about. And it's sometimes obvious to me that I've said what I want to say in a way that really captures how I feel and that post is the "definitive" post on some topic. Because of that I am going to start a new feature today "Roz Revisited" (it's in the category list too). Periodically I'll post about old posts. I'm not going to repost the old post, I'm simply going to post a little note telling you that you might want to click on the link to that old post and reread it now, or read it for the first time if you're new to Roz Wound Up.

Today's revisitation is about my dirty little secret—I love holiday letters. Oddly, I see that I actually reposted about this in 2010, encouraging a reread two years after I first posted it. Now it's two years further on and I'm doing it again. I think this must be one of my favorite posts. It includes everything—pantheism, dogs (specifically the girls), holiday letters, and Moose Munch.

I hope everyone reading this has a wonderful holiday that is deeply meaningful in the faith of his or her choice. If you're a pantheist like me we'll probably see each other in the park (even with the snow) checking out the pigeons and the squirrels.

More with Carl

Above: Carl attempts to train a corgi to do circus tricks. The full page is a 9 x 12 inch page in a Fabriano Venezia journal, with just a little bit of the left page showing (unrelated items cropped out when scanned). Pentel Pocket Brush Pen sketch with gouache. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

If you don't know who Carl is please go to the category list in the left-hand column of this blog and click on "Carl." You'll find out soon enough. 

If you know who Carl is, well this is what he was up to last month. Always positive he is of course now on to other things.

Don't know about Clicker Training? Well Karen Pryor sort of set the world on fire with this many, many years ago with her book, "Don't Shoot the Dog." I found out about her through search school, where we learned to use clickers to train our dogs to give alerts on cadaver samples. 

There are still a lot of clickers around the house, here and there—in drawers, in boxes, in pockets of field jackets I no longer use.

I used to have one always in my pocket. Now they are around because every once in awhile I pick one up and the sharp, snappy sound as the metal pushes back against my finger takes me right back to the field with Dottie—that look in her dark brown eyes telling me that she got that I got that she got it. 

That metallic sound is sort of the audio "madeleine" of my life with dogs (that and dog toenails clicking on hardwood floors).

Then I click it again to come back to life as it is now. And get back to work.

(Lighter, happier, grateful for that interspecies connection. With Malamutes you don't really tell them what you want them to do. You have a philosophical and ethical discussion about the task at hand and have to persuade them that your desired outcome is actually worthy of their effort. Once on board they become your staunchest allies, though they are always willing to discuss the nuances and finer points of finessing a result. They are partners who have entered a contractual agreement. They are the best that they can be, and they expect you to live up to your part of the contract and be the best you can be right back.)

Carl, evidently found one of these clickers lying around. Where he found the corgi however remains a mystery; though I think I saw someone two blocks over walking one a couple weeks ago.