Continuous Line Drawing Portraits - new series

April Fool No 1

Last week I started a new series - continuous line drawings using gouache paint & oil paint markers. I titled it April Fools. Each of these little fools are numbered, and I plan on painting one a day this month. Or, I should say, I plan on creating 30 of them this month. I most likely will create them in batches of 3 or 4 at a time because I work best that way.

April Fool No 2

I can’t recall doing continuous line drawings before, but I keep thinking maybe I did years ago in an art class? I have created an entire art journal full of blind contour drawing before, tho. It was so fun, and cracks me up every time I look through it. It’s the same kind of vibe I want this series to have. Life is serious enough. I want my art to be playful, and silly now more than ever.

I recently subscribed to Meagan Burns, who’s creating continuous line drawings on Youtube, so I wanted to give it a try. The idea behind continuous line drawings is to keep drawing without lifting your pen from the paper. It’s a bit challenging, and I’ve cheated a couple times because I don’t quite have the hang of it yet. I’m getting there, tho.

April Fool No 3

From what I understand, you can go over a line you’ve already made with another line to get to where you need to be. I’m holding the marker loosely at the tippy top, which gives me less control because the pen is quite heavy & wobbly. Sometimes I move my wrist the wrong way and oops, I’ve made an unintentional permanent mark. Because I’m working with oil paint markers, it’s not something I can easily cover up with gouache, which is fine.

April Fool No 4

Another small issue is because it’s an oil marker, the ink flow is unpredictable, Sometimes the pen produces too much ink, so I get blobs. Other times, it’s bone dry, and there’s no ink coming out the tip. It’s challenging because I have to keep going over where I wanted to make a line until it starts writing again.

April Fool No 5

Overall, these have been super fun to create, so I’m leaving the option open whether I keep creating this series beyond the end of April.

April Fool No 6 - you can see where the pen kept skipping in his hair. I kept the marker on the paper, but the ink is invisible. Ha! 

I’m also mulling over the idea of starting a new series every month, so I get to change things up every 30 days. Like a lot of artists, I lack energy to create these days. With the world in such a serious state, it’s getting harder to tap into the kid-like mindset I like to be in when I’m creating. Having a series to work on will keep me accountable, and kinda force me in a gentle way to keep moving forward. I already have a couple ideas in mind for upcoming series. We’ll see how it goes.

April Fool No 7

Each of these 4x6 portraits are priced at only $25, and they’re available on Daily Paintworks, and eBay, if you’re interested. I’d prefer that you purchase through Daily Paintworks, if you can because I get hit with outrageous 25 - 30% fees on most everything I sell on eBay.

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You can find out more about continuous line drawing at Fine art tutorials.

Also check out Meagan’s continuous line drawing paintings on her site.

What I’ve been watching this week:

The Curious Case of Natalia Grace on Max. OMGosh, I’ve been binge watching this show, and it follows and haunts me as I go about my day. What a crazy emotional rollercoaster this is…who to believe??!! No one seems credible, except maybe? the son.

Is it my imagination or did this show start to become more like a reality tv show, and less like a documentary the last couple episodes of season 2? Maybe it’s just me, but it seems more scripted & dramatic. We’re about to start season 3. Please no spoilers.

I’ve also been reading The Bear by Andrew Krivak - this isn’t typically my type of book. I’m about half way through, and will probably finish it in the next sitting.

Edited: I tried, but I ended up returning this book to the library without finishing it. It’s too descriptive in places, and not my cup of tea, but it might be yours?

I’ve started another book - Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

This book is easier to digest for me, and so far I like it.

I hope you have a lovely weekend. See you next week.

If you like what I post here, you can also find me on pinksky & blsky where I’m posting art daily.