Sketch book challenge nr. 1
Stretch your colour boundaries
It’s the first Friday if the month, which means I have a sketchbook challenge for you. This challenge is all about colour, and hopefully it will stretch your colour boundaries a bit.
What to do:
Study one of Van Gogh’s paintings by making a sketch of it in your sketchbook. Specifically note the colours that he used for various things. I would suggest choosing one of his paintings that is, colour wise, a bit more on the adventurous side. Tip: The website of the Van Gogh Museum has many photos of his paintings for you to look at and study.
Use the same colour palette to make your own sketch of something in your environment.
I made a sketch of his painting ‘Kreupelhout met twee figuren’ using markers and coloured pencils. I like to specifically not use paint for this type of exercise, because it makes it easier to separate and notice the different colours.
Why this exercise/challenge?
Somewhere during childhood we somehow get stuck with the idea that the sky is blue, grass is green and trees have green leaves with brown trunks. And when you are making art, especially in the beginning, it is really hard to get out of this mindset. And oh, how much do we miss out on because of it! I recently did a sketch of a tree in the forest. And as I sat there looking at it, I realised that the trunk wasn’t brown at all, it was many different shades of green and grey, with maroons thrown in for the fun.
So this month the idea is to look a bit deeper at the things around us. Pause and see the subtle light reflections, those colours that you would not expect. And stretch your own colour boundaries a bit.
PS only for subscribers: Look out for the private chat stream where you can share what you have done for this challenge and chat about what you have discovered.