Chalkbook

I've dedicated a whole sketchbook to chalk drawings and it's more fun than I expected! It's quite cathartic really. I have always had this wariness of messy materials that never really set (like pastels and charcoal) because they just get everywhere and are hard to control. I find them kinda frustrating, but I like to retry things every so often and see if I can find a new approach to something that I don't like, especially also because if I have something like this I feel bad neglecting it. So I feel like I have to use these chalks up! Not only because they are here and I happen to have them, but because they were a birthday present and I know I can put them to good use!

Like I said in yesterday's scanner post, they are actually hair chalks, but there's no way I'll end up finishing them by using them on my hair. It's a fun thing to do very occasionally, colouring my hair with chalk, but I'm not interested in doing it often. Usually when I go out I forget about this sort of thing, so I'm glad they have another use. Making myself do arty things I sort of don't like or am apprehensive about is sometimes great because it expands my abilities I guess! You have to find the best way of working with each medium and sometimes I can hate one for a long time before I learn to love it.

This is definitely the most fun I've had so far using chalk or pastels, and I think I'm learning to let go and stop trying to control the mess. Work within the limits of a medium and you can learn how to enjoy and utilise it! I feel like a kid now (or like the adults who draw children's drawings for TV shows).

I started off making pretty landscapes because the chalks have so many pretty colours that reminded me of sunsets and dusky skies. I seem to have a strong like of drawing pink hills. Stick figures are the easiest thing to etch into my landscapes afterwards. I feel like stick figures sometimes really complement a very full, rich, colourful landscape. Not that the landscape is very complex, but there's something of a nice simplicity in using a stick figure here. Besides I just like stick figures a lot. I relate to them. I'm stick-like in many ways.

This spread is a continuation of the sky theme. I just wanted to do a nice fade from pink to yellow instead of a proper drawing. I really want to watch a hundred sunsets in succession now. They are the coolest things. One of the best things about being alive on Earth, I think.

After that, I deviated from pretty landscapes and drew the first thing I cold thing of. This is often an eye for some reason. I draw a lot of simple eyes. I guess they are a very interesting face thing. A thing that feels like it connects you to the brain. I mean, when you look at someone's eyes you can see something of their thoughts or feelings, just a little bit. Just a slice.

And this continued to sillier things. Simple things. All the colours lend themselves well to very simplistic drawings. Colours can be so emotive. That was what I was thinking here. Also a big stylistic thank you to Animal Crossing for making me want to draw lower eyelashes.

This is the first picture I drew in the book. A hopeful little drawing. Sunsets, a well as being beautiful, are this interesting symbol for hope and happiness. Why do films end with characters walking into the sunset? Why is that such a romantic image? I LIKE IT (A LOT)

Also, here is a little ginger-haired kid I drew to test out the chalk before starting in the sketchbook. Looking kinda grumpy and like she's wearing sleepwear.