Recent Sketches

I mentioned a while back that after thirty years of using a computer pretty heavily, I felt the need for more analogue and less digital in my life. This partly came from frustration with trying to compose using music software when a pencil (and eraser!) and paper was far more useful. From that I wandered into sketching. At first I just tried following some instructional videos on YouTube and managed some modest representational sketches like this one of a peppermill:

I tried some portraiture as well, but all my faces look like desperately weird space aliens. One needs actual technique for that. I got some more materials to add to my graphite and charcoal pencils and as soon as I got some colored pencils, without a moment's thought, I started doing abstract sketches. They remind me of a Russian abstract painter whom I won't name! In any case, I have found doing these sketches very satisfying. The difference from music composition is that there I have this deep well of knowledge of both techniques and traditions so composition is a fairly complex process and takes a long time. It probably shouldn't! Whereas with sketches, I just sit down and let my simple abstract ideas flow. There are few technical issues as I am not trying to represent anything in the real world. These are just shapes and colors.

In any case, for your amusement and comment, here are four recent sketches.