sketching constantly moving children, from life, in coloured pencil

 Playing on the iphone, very fast coloured pencil sketch

A quick sketch of my youngest grandson, constantly moving, playing with an iphone.  He disappeared to the play area of the cafe before I drew his arms.  Done with 2 brown coloured pencils  in a small Derwent journal.  (2 because he insisted on having the first one to do some drawing himself, so I had to find another).

Drawing active children is so difficult! they just moved constantly.   The 2 below of my slightly older grandchildren were very messy!  I attempted to catch the huge brown eyes of elder grandson and the mop of fair hair my grandaughter was trying to see through to draw and the soft curls of the 2 boys.

Below the oldest ones who were so wriggly and active that the drawings aren't successful - more practice needed obviously ....

constantly looking up to talk to me, brushing her hair off her face, leaning forward to draw with hair entirely covering her face etc etc etc ....



Playing a game on an ipad, totally absorbed but moving ++++++  I tried to catch the curls and the big brown eyes and the concentration

I thought that being absorbed in what they were doing they might move a little less,  but no.   I tried to catch them each time they went back to a position, with varying degrees of success.  Enjoyable but practice needed I think.

Comments

Valerie Gardiner said…
Lovely sketches Vivien, they have such life and vivacity because of the movement. I've found the best time to draw the grandchildren is when they are asleep in the back of the car with someone else driving!
7:03 am
Kat Farmer/van Hookens said…
...sketching wriggly kidlets is a art in itself. I now someone who spends a great deal of time sketching people on the go, he does so with a biro, and spends more time looking at the subjects than what his pen is doing on the paper! He has a style of his own, and captures the movement and essence of the people in a sort of scribbled mesh. I've tried but am hopeless. He is what I call a brown mackintosh artist, sort of lurks in doorways and behind pillars, but he gets results, and so do you, these are full of life, fun you lost your brown pencil to your model :-) ....
4:11 pm
vivien said…
Love the brown mackintosh phrase! So descriptive Kat :-)

Oh if I tried to sketch while travelling it wouldn't be pretty! I am travel sick very easily if not driving or in the front seat Valerie :-(. I have sketched them asleep in their pushchair though.
5:11 pm
annie said…
Love these. You have captured them, no matter how wriggly they get. Wonderful memory sketches. You'll always have those moments.
3:03 pm
vivien said…
thanks Annie - yes, sketches bring back memories better than photos I find. :>)
2:11 pm
Shelley Whiting's art said…
I love the energy and dynamism in your line work. Incredible work.
7:28 am
vivien said…
Thanks Shelley :>)
9:18 am
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