Thursday, May 3, 2012

Sketchbook Inspiration: Variations on a Vase

One of the habits I'm working on this year is to use my sketchbook more consistently. Often I'm so excited to be doing art, that I jump right in on a piece without doing much planning. That approach can actually work just fine, but it is also very useful to use a sketchbook as a place to try out ideas and find inspiration. This morning, I decided to draw one of my favorite vases. First, I did a quick sketch.


Then, I did another sketch, and started added some doodling, dividing it up into smaller areas that I thought were interesting.

I played around with each little area, adding doodles with no particular plan in mind, using the curvilinear shape of the vase to guide me. From there, I decided to get out my encaustics and make some little paintings.




If I hadn't decided to draw my vase in my sketchbook, I wouldn't have found this crazy bit of inspiration. How about you? Do you use a sketchbook?

35 comments:

  1. oh I adore these little squares and all the fun detail! Very nice and fun!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful! I have not done encaustics, but your work inspires!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love this idea! I may be trying something similar.
    Rinda

    ReplyDelete
  4. These are great! I love the movement and color!! I ruin so many sketch books trying to figure something out!! Sadly I rarely stick to the plan. I mostly doodle in them...just lately I have tried to be more disciplined!!

    Happy ppf
    Hugs Giggles

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love how it all turned out and yes I use a sketchbook, it gives me the greatest pleasure. Happy PPF, Annette x

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lovely, the encaustics give it a really nice, unusual effect! <3
    I use sketchbook, but not very often, I just do my preliminary sketches on any old paper...

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am just starting on my painting journey and really appreciate "tips". I have doodled in journals for years but this is very inspiring. Your vase took on a life of it's own.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love the way you used the square frames to show off the details of the vase. Well Done!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you for sharing this Debbie. I have lots of sketchbooks but I don't use them as often as I should. I have been painting on and off for years but now I would really like to improve what I am doing. Your tips and inspiration are a big help.

    ReplyDelete
  10. i really liked seeing how you drew your inspiration (literally!) very nice!

    ReplyDelete
  11. That looks amazing! No, I don't use my sketchbook. If I decide to sketch it's with a notion to make a painting out of it.:)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wonderful. Encaustic is so interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oooh, love the mustard colors in this! And all from a sketch - hmm., I don't tend to sketch unless I think that I can paint it later, so I do everything on watercolor. But hearing what you are saying here, maybe I should rethink that. This is really beautiful. Thanks for the inspiration, xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  14. That is such a great point about the sketchbook! I think your final piece is has such great subtle touches that give it such depth!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Here's what the comment should have said, "That is such a great point about the sketchbook! I think your final piece has such great subtle touches that it gives it such depth!" Can we say really tired and typing with fumble fingers?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh goodness, I love them! I used to draw vases all the time. Happy PPF!

    ReplyDelete
  17. lovely work inspired by your vase sketch, thanks for sharing your process!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Use a drawing pad is going very well, I always have led a small one in the bag, along with a pencil.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Debbie, I so much enjoyed seeing the steps you took to do your painting. Your quick sketch is far better than some of us could do in much more time than that. The colors are great. Faye

    ReplyDelete
  20. Fun paintings. Nice use of the drawing pad. Journaling can do so much for us. Happy PPF

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thanks for visiting my blog...glad to have found yours :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Lots of movement and lots of color. I've never tried this before but it looks like something very interesting. Nice vase sketch. Happy PPF!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Sketch books are handy things...like little windows into our brains and creative process. I love seeing your paintings come to life from these sketches.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Love to see your process! I just started using a sketchbook and do find it helpful in all sorts of random and planned ways.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Your sketches and doodling are very interesting and your painting turned out beautiful. Sometimes I use a sketchbook for my paintings, but most times not. Perhaps I should?

    ReplyDelete
  26. love the segments you put for the vase.. and the result of the painting is fantastic! I use a sketchbook to draw and practice. Lovely to carry it around always.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Love how your sketch evolved into the wonderful creation ~ yep ~ have sketchbooks ~ and use frequently ~thanks, namaste, ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  28. Love seeing this process, I always enjoy seeing how ideas and concepts come about from sketching! I have too many sketchbooks, some in the house, some in my car, one in my purse....usually one in my pocket. :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. I use 10 sketch books but can never find them so most of my 'idea' end up on the back of scraps of paper ;) I really love the vase & the beautiful colours you created :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Debbie I love the colours in this, warm and rich, a beautiful piece! I tend to find sketching hard, when I do I like to use my left hand to let loose and from there take on with my right hand...just to have more fun. When painting I like to play with the background first and then just see what I see coming forth, colours and feelings guide me.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I love your variations on a vase...very inventive and with amazing results:) What a brilliant idea!

    xxx

    ReplyDelete
  32. So cool to see your process unfold! I just love how focusing on one single thing can lead to so many different inspirations and outcomes! Beautiful work!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Combining realism with doodles, how much fun! Beautiful painting, it's so nice to see where you have got the inspiration from, thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Really love your blog, have just become your latest follower. I don't want to miss another thing you do. Just wonderful work. Michelle x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Michelle! It feels good to find others on a similar journey. I'll be following your blog, too.

      Delete