Elizabeth Alley
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Sketchwork

Dedicated to the act of sketching.

A New Hello and Starting a New Sketchbook

1/31/2023

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Do I have any new visitors here? Hello and happy new year! I'm Elizabeth Alley, creator of Sketchwork, which is now going into its 18th year - what! I didn't even realize that until I started typing that sentence. (You can see 2006-2018 here.)

I am a painter and sketchbook artist from Memphis, TN. I show my work locally and regionally, sketch a lot on my own and with Memphis Urban Sketchers, give talks to non-sketchers about "practical sketching," and sometimes teach sketching to adults.

This blog is about sketching and making art and other things that go into that, like travel and art supplies and books.

Thank you for being here! Now let me tell you about the new sketchbook I started this month...
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I started a new sketchbook this month - I usually go through about six sketchbooks a year, but last year I only used four. My goal this year is six to eight? Just to sketch more, because it brings me so much joy.
I've been sketching at home a lot lately because that is where I usually find myself. Often my sketchbook is next to me and I just pick up whatever pen or pencil is nearby to sketch with. 
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I love to sketch while waiting somewhere out in the world, too! Just making lines and seeing where they will intersect can keep me interested for a long time.
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This page spans a few days last week. It was a weird week! Lots of late nights and early mornings. Lots of trucks on my street as neighbors get work done on their houses, which is fine with me because it just gives me more to draw!
Most of these were done with a Sakura Pigma Graphic 1, and my everyday sketchbook is a Stillman and Birn Alpha, 8.5x5.5.
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Maine in January

1/17/2023

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Like 2022 and 2020, I went to Portland, Maine, in January. It turns out I love hiking and sketching in the cold!
It was fun to be traveling again - I love the traveling part of traveling. On the plane, I read, or I crochet while listening to a podcast. I people-watch in the airport and sketch and try to eat something decent with a cup of coffee. 
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I don't just go to Maine to hike and sketch, I go there to visit my friend Andrea! We've been friends for about 35 years and try to see each other at least twice a year. I like to sit in her kitchen and sketch while she cooks.
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We went on two hikes on Saturday. One was both icy and muddy, and we turned back before reaching our destination. The other, Mackworth Island, was muddy but more manageable. But both were very cold and windy, so I made a sketch from a photo that I took.
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While Andrea made breakfast on Sunday morning (French toast!), I sketched her dining room.
As we started a hike later that day, Andrea got a call so I did a quick sketch of trees and rocks and leaves - just a lot of fun mark-making in a short amount of time.
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We reached the summit of Bradbury Mountain and I was excited to find a picnic table where I could sit and sketch while Andrea and I continued to talk (it's like one long four-day conversation when we visit!). I was so excited to be in a place and to have the time where I could make this kind of sketch - full page, from life, of nature. 
This took about 20 to 25 minutes and I used ink and colored pencil - the blue/gray of the sky is a Rohrer & Klingner ink called Thea in a Kuretake water brush that I love having it on hand. I sketched it out with that ink and added some diluted sumi ink that I have in another Kuretake water brush, and layered on the colored pencil. It was very cold and that's all I could do! 
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