50 Days of Summer

The Three materials drawing challenge

We all make New year’s resolutions, right? But have you ever made a summertime resolution?

Mine is always the same: this year, during my summer vacation, I will sit by the pool/at the beach/in the mountain cabin/on my mother’s terrace - and just sketch! So I pack a ton of drawing supplies (because you never know what your sketching muse will inspire you to use) and bring them along, only to open the bag once, test all the pencils, markers and paints on a few pages of my sketchbook and then safely put everything back, never to use it again for the duration of my holiday.

Every time I sit down to sketch, I freeze in front of the vast selection of materials I have to chose from. As always, more choice means less idea what to do with it.

That is why a warm flame of inspiration lit up when I came across the beautiful artists behind Three Materials Drawing Challenge, a 50 day sketchbook practice for drawing supplies hoarders (my interpretation 😊). The idea is simple: draw from everyday life, use only three materials for each sketch and spend no more than 30 minutes on it.

Things I like the most about this challenge:

• I get to try out new materials or use up old ones that might have been neglected so far, I experiment, mix and match and perhaps discover new ways of drawing I particularly like.

• Drawing from life is a fun way to journal my Summer days and I will enjoy looking back at those sketches and reminiscing.

• 30 minutes of drawing a day is an achievable goal (and it can be less, depending on the subject) - if I feel overwhelmed I can always draw a tiny vignette instead of a large spread, it still counts!

• Limiting my drawing materials to only three prevents me from overthinking and makes me focus on sketching instead.

Drawing from daily life can look very ordinary - the fun part is playing with different materials

When sketching, I will often automatically reach for my favourite colours so with this method I try to challenge myself and pick outside my usual palette. Three materials doesn’t necessarily mean only three colours - the combination and layering of different materials will produce many new hues and textures. Watercolour pencils and water soluble pastel crayons make interesting effects when diluted with water and picking combinations of dark/light, dry/wet and sharp/smudgy will give unexpected results.

A recent Three drawing materials exercise: I used a pencil (not exactly a watercolour pencil but it does react with water), a Neocolor 2 pastel and a pan of glittery watercolour. On top of the page I tested many possible combinations of mixing and layering of the materials.

This year’s Three Materials Drawing Challenge starts next Monday, 8th of July and if you’d like to join, check Instagram accounts of the event organisers, Charlotte Durance, Naomi Tipping and Kathryn Boyt, or follow up with other participants by tagging your drawings with #3materialsdrawingchallenge. I’ve been randomly practising for a while and am now excited to join the challenge for the first time - I’m all packed, with my mountain of drawing supplies and a dedicated sketchbook that can take 50 days of drawings!

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This is a monthly post from the

illoguild

- in July we focus on recommendations and inspiration.

Sign up for our Next Illoguild Live session on MONDAY, JULY 15, 2024

at 4PM BOSTON TIME, 9PM LONDON TIME, 10PM PARIS TIME

- we’ll talk about inspiration and offer some artist tips for the Summer

See you there!