{"id":408,"date":"2017-01-31T20:35:15","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T20:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stooryduster.co.uk\/blog\/?p=408"},"modified":"2024-03-18T15:36:49","modified_gmt":"2024-03-18T15:36:49","slug":"dog-walk-sketching-practise-and-spares","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stooryduster.co.uk\/blog\/dog-walk-sketching-practise-and-spares\/","title":{"rendered":"Dog-walk Sketching: practise and spares."},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s my habit when sketching on the dog walk to always carry a spare pen. Just like you carry a spare wheel in the car when driving or a puncture outfit when cycling. Because if you do only have one pen \u2013 it does this.<\/p>\n

\"A
The thick black ink managed to creep out of the pen everywhere except at the ball point.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Don’t get annoyed.<\/h3>\n

I’d found a spot and had brought out my sketch book and BIC biro and had begun to draw. Then the pen stopped. Only then did I notice my black sticky fingers and the Ink leaking from the pen everywhere except where it’s supposed to. I was left in a frustrated mess with an aborted birth of a sketch and nothing to fix it with.<\/p>\n

\"Incomplete
I started drawing the tree at its mossy base and this was as far as I got.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

I did get annoyed.<\/h3>\n

In a temper I jammed the useless pen into a gap in the tree bark, stuffed the sketchbook in my bag and stomped off home ignoring the dog.<\/p>\n

Dogs and woods are good for you.<\/h3>\n

It is true. Green spaces and pets have a healing effect. I had an aborted drawing, sticky black fingers, and no spare pen, yet the environment worked its magic. I calmed down and went on to enjoy the walk, the morning, and throwing the stick. And the dog, as always, enjoyed chasing the stick.<\/p>\n

\"Happy<\/a>
Happy dog returns with our stick in its mouth through the frosty grassy ferny woods and leaps over the fallen birch tree.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sketching is practise.<\/h3>\n

I know that practise means failing so that you can improve. I know not to get annoyed when sketches go wrong. I know if I start making perfect drawings every time then I’ve stopped improving. I’m OK with making crap drawing because the few drawings that do work out are doubly rewarding.<\/p>\n

Practise isn’t always about creativity.<\/h3>\n

Mechanical procedures, like having spare pens, are as much a part of learning as the sketching. Not having a spare pen took me by surprise. Just like when I got a puncture on a wee highland back road in the snow with no a spare wheel in the car. It taught me to always carry one.<\/p>\n

I went back.<\/h3>\n

Before the dog and I got home I’d made my mind up that I’d go back the next day and do that drawing. And I would also recover the pen because I hate plastic crap left in the countryside. Perseverance. That’s what practise means. Practise: fail, fail again, fail again better, (repeat while keeping your brain engaged at all times).<\/p>\n

\"The
The tree sketch now completed and I redid it from the same viewpoint and began the drawing at the mossy base of the tree trunk to the left, the same spot as I started the aborted drawing. The dog whined the whole time. It’s never easy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s my habit when sketching on the dog walk to always carry a spare pen. Just like you carry a spare wheel in the car when driving or a puncture outfit when cycling. Because if you do only have one pen \u2013 it does this. Don’t get annoyed. I’d found a spot and had brought … Continue reading Dog-walk Sketching: practise and spares.<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[12,15,16],"class_list":["post-408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-drawing","tag-biro","tag-sketch","tag-sketchbook"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stooryduster.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stooryduster.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stooryduster.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stooryduster.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stooryduster.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/stooryduster.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1132,"href":"https:\/\/stooryduster.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408\/revisions\/1132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stooryduster.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stooryduster.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stooryduster.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}