A Sunny Day In Reykjavík

Drawings I’ll probably never finish

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This post is inspired by some other blog entries I’ve read recently. Presley at haunting olivia shared some ‘bad’ art (which I think is actually pretty good), and Cassy at knit the hell out confessed about her piles of “UFOs” (unfinished objects). I love seeing people’s work in an unpolished state, whether it’s a work in progress, a quick sketch, or finished pieces that just didn’t quite work out for one reason or another.

Seeing as this is *supposed* to be my art blog and I haven’t had time to draw anything new recently, I figure I might as well share some of my own UFOs.

(Please forgive the not-so-great image quality; I don’t have a scanner. The grey splodges you see on some of the pictures are shadows cast by a dirty window, not parts of the drawings.)

This first one was something I started a couple of years ago to hang up in Mimi’s room. My plan was to do a mixed-media drawing/collage. I was going to draw tree branches with cut-paper leaves, and some paper flowers down the bottom.

Girl on a swing drawing

Girl on a swing

I quite like it, but it came out a bit stiff-looking. The rough preliminary sketch I did had more life & movement to it:

Still, I think it’s nice and want to finish it.

This second sketch is based on a photo of Keith Richards’ hands. I did it in…2003? after years of not drawing. I did it to see whether I could still draw. It wasn’t intended to be used for anything, just a practice sketch.

Sketch of Keith Richards' hands

In a similar vein, this next one is drawn from a photo of Iggy Pop (I love Iggy Pop!). Again, I wasn’t planning on using it for anything, just an exercise. I had to stop because the level of detail was making my eyes freak out. I’ll need new glasses before I attempt something like this again!

Iggy Pop unfinished drawing

And one last one I drew for (and of) Mimi. I did it when she was around 18 months old and at the peak of her cat obsession. I wasn’t happy with it so abandoned it almost finished. I should really just hang it up. I’m sure the girls would like it!

Girl with a cat drawing

Mimi with the dapper Mr. Cat

Author: Sarah @ ASunnyDayInReykjavik

I’m an Australian woman living in Iceland with my partner and two daughters “Mimi” and “Ellie”. I blog about knitting, art, parenting and my life in Reykjavík.

13 thoughts on “Drawings I’ll probably never finish

  1. You’re good. Now I am feeling bad about not finishing the stuff I started. I got into a roll, and then … the roll stopped. Seeing your stuff is making me want to pick things up again. Thank you!

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  2. Wow! So beautiful! You are really talented.

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  3. Those look really good! I’ve abandoned many a knitting project when it hasn’t gone the way I want it to.

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  4. Those are some gorgeous UFOs! My favorite is the mixed media piece at the top, but I can’t believe how intricate the hand and eye drawings are. I’m in awe of your talent!

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  5. I love your eye of Iggy Pop – what kind of paper and pencil was used as I would love to get that sort of texture in a drawing. As far as unfinished stuff, I can’t really go into it – it would take all day! You should draw draw draw – you are fantastically talented!

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    • Thank you so much! (And sorry for the late reply!) I’m honestly not sure what paper it was, I drew it so long ago. Just your standard sketching paper you buy from an art store. It’s worth spending a little more for a good brand that will stand up to some erasing & re-drawing. The pencil is a mix of different lead pencils. I like to start with a harder graphite (like 2B) then work in darker shades for more definition.

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  6. Your hand and eye drawings are great. Had you thought of drawing Raven and Luna’s hands? I think that you would have to catching them sleeping though!

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