Sketching and Paint of the Year

Some of my exploring highlights of the year.

A Weird Year

Well I never thought I'd do a post about drawings from a year. But 2022 was another weird one. I think 2019 was my last "normal" one. Maybe 2023 will count as a "normal" one.

But two things I found enjoyable were a sketch notebook.

And the other was a painting group in Porto.

Sketchbook

In March I moved to Porto in Portugal and as part of something new I bought a small sketchbook and started sketching every time I remembered. Usually that was in a cafe sat having coffee.

The first one was 30th March 2022 and the last one today (21st January 2023)

Each time I'd note the date and location of where the sketches were. It was a low pressure way of practicing some sketching, trying new styles and gaining some consistency.

The sketches aren't amazing, but they do give me a sense of progression. And a record of 10 months in Porto (with a few of Devon and Spain). So I'm really happy with having actually finished it.

And that's it. I will do another one, but sometime in the future. Time to let in a different type of light.

Painting

And the second thing was starting to paint. There's an art group run by a Brazilian artist called Antonio in Porto, which is especially for beginners. I hadn't painted since school but was giving lots of local meetups a try.

The group was international, friendly and good fun. I also learnt I (and everyone else who I've seen come along) can paint.

The first one isn't one I particularly like, but it was a starting point. And gave me confidence.

The next two I was really happy with. I started to develop some kind of watery style with water in acryllic and making my own interpretations of photos being depicted.

Then I started experimenting with space fantasy! It was for work 😂.

And now I'm experimenting and seeing where it goes. It's a hobby but one I'm enjoying and quite surprised by.

Finishing Up

So that's my biggest sketching and painting for 2022. Far more than I had expected at the start of that year (covid lockdown in Devon).

Happy creating!