I have gone back to school, or should I say Skool? I signed up for “Sketchbook Skool”. It’s an online class that was started by Danny Gregory and Koosje Koene.
Sketchbook Skool is a 6-week online course where you get inspiration from six different teachers as well as from artists from around the world. You share your work with about 500 artists that have also done the assignment. You compare notes on supplies and techniques. For example, one assignment was to draw your breakfast, so we got to see breakfast from all over the world in all different styles. There are also all different levels.
The last assignment was to slow down and see the details. The instructor was Tommy Kane http://tommykane.blogspot.com and https://www.facebook.com/tkane9. If you look at his drawings you can see he loves detail.
His assignment was to draw our kitchen and take at least 6 hours to do it. I think that was my favorite assignment, as I do love some good detail. I enjoyed seeing everyone’s artwork and being a part of a very supportive community. You can work at your own pace and post or not post depending on how you feel about your project. I think the fact that I had a deadline and an assignment kept me on track.
I have been following Danny Gregory for some time now. He has a fascinating story and he tells about how art and sketching kind of saved his sanity after a tragic occurrence. He has several videos that should not be missed. http://www.dannygregory.com (Click on Films) I have almost all of his books and I regularly share them with all my students. Danny gave a talk at Fullerton College on May 8th 2014 and I drove up with my daughter and met some friends there. Tommy Kane was also there and we swapped sketchbooks for a look through. I was blown away by each page and the fact that I got to actually hold his book in my hands and look at the originals up close.
There is a new term of Sketchbook Skool starting on July 4th, 2014. To find out more about Sketchbook Skool go to: http://www.sketchbookskool.com/#!for-u/c13hd
To see the fakulty from this term and the upcoming term go to
http://www.sketchbookskool.com/#!fakulty/c16o0
By Lori Mitchell
