The Three Materials Challenge

Hey guys!

I hope you are all doing well and having a wonderful time of it! I just wanted to pop in and write about the awesome, amazing and challenging sketchbook challenge I’ve been participating in. I’ve learned a lot, and improved a lot through this- and I’m only about halfway through!

The prompt is called the Three Materials Challenge, and it was created by three moms to keep them creating in their sketchbooks even through busy summer breaks when the kids were home from school. I relate to the busy, frantic feeling of wanting to make marks on a page, so I decided to give it a try. This is how they describe the challenge:

I’m co-hosting the #3materialsdrawingchallenge with @naomitippingillustrator and @charlotte.durance . We’re drawing from life for 50 days, using 3 materials and for no more than 30 minutes.

I haven’t been doing the challenge everyday, but by now I’ve made it about halfway through, and I’m finally starting to see a rhythm.

Here are some of my first drawings- embarrassing and ugly.

marker sketch of tree in brown, green and grey

But I found my stride with a collection of watercolor pencils and gouache.

rough sketch of girl sitting on steps in yellow holding something in her hands. Flower garden at her feet
Montage of young boys riding scooters and girls crouching down to look at rocks on the ground. Pencil and paint sketch
little girl with long hair sitting with knees drawn up into her dress. Rough sketch of three children standing on a brick wall with ivy.

Now I’m even mixing up the colors, so that the watercolor pencil I draw with initially isn’t even black. I’ve tried blue too. (gasp!)

Little boy lying down with blanket and pillow sketch in blue, black and tan
sketch of a girls profile with hand resting on cheek in blue, pink and tan

So you don’t think I only draw one of my crew, here’s a picture of a few more kids together. It’s tough to get all four in one shot, and just about the only time they stay still is when we let them have screen time.

three kids sitting on the couch watching a movie in pinks and greens

I know that the challenge has ended for many folks with the close of August and the start of a new school year, but it seems a shame to quit halfway now that I’m starting to love these sketchbook entries more than anything else. So I think I’ll continue and give y’all an update once I’m closer to the 50 drawing mark! (I haven’t numbered or dated most of these, and they are scattered in about 3 or four sketchbooks. I’m also of the suspicion that at least one of the early attempts got painted over!)

All the best,