With everybody crawling out of their hibernation holes, sketching faces has become easy again…. in availability, I mean, not in the sketching itself.
…Spring faces…
Pencil sketches in moleskine with watercolour dabs.
This past week we had le soleil à volonté! Meaning as much sun as you want. I made sure I had plentiful of helpings of unlimited sunshine, literally drinking in the sunshine and blue skies, turning my face to the sun. And I could see everybody else doing the same. The winter grim is thown off the faces, mouths are turned upward in smiles, little friendly jokes are being cracked with the stranger opposite you and cars stop to give you an opening into traffic. We are all united by the appearance of the sun. If I could capture the effect of sunlight on people and sell it in a bottle, I would be a billionaire overnight!
So. Like all these other cheerful Francais, I also took to the streets, sat myself down outside a café and sketched the faces around me.
I used pencil, which is always hard for me. Maybe I’m influenced by the fact that I know pencil can be erased, but I DON’T want to erase, so I’m hyper careful not to make a mistake! In using a pen, I care less, I JUST DO IT. I added some watercolour, because it looked too sad without colour and after all, today is 20 March, which means it is…PRINTEMPS!(spring!)…
Question of the day: Did you hold a pen in your hand today and what did you do with it….doodle/draw/sketch/scratch your ear/ clean your toenails…?
Africantapestry 
Great faces on a happy spring day!!! People are just interesting!
How joyful! I like all of them crowded together and then splashed with color. I drove o work this morning just as Spring was arriving in NYC – 7:44AM and I was in the middle of a snow squall….
I really like the way you handle your watercolors, as always!
lovely fresh sketches Ronell that you make LOOK easy :>)
and a useful roundup of sensible advice for the down times in that last post
Every word true, Ronell– by you and by the folks above. Wonderful faces, and painted in this way, it does express the waking up, the inner stirrings, and a surge of hope for spring.
annie
Yes, a lovely, sunny expression of Spring.
Today, I used my pen to doodle on a grocery list and to make roughs for a sketchbook page.
Ronell, you work to me is always fresh, spontaneous loosely glorious …. I LOVE these faces — and the sunlight and artistry that has lit them up!
Yes, I held a pencil and sketched in my sketchbook to which I added some watercolor to it … ick… bad paper for watercolor, yet I never seem to learn, I just continue to use it like it does accept water……….. I love your sketches of people enjoying the sun, feeling the warmth on their faces. Lovely.
These really reflect the wonderful sunny ambiance we’re all enjoying lately!
These are so fabulous and you are right the splashes of color are a must! I really enjoy the way you handle your watercolors, carefree and wild, like your spirit I think.
Ah, lovely touches of spring color–beautiful to see all these spring faces.
Spring for France, autumn for us… ironically the first time we’ve seen sun in Joburg for quite some time too! I love the faces with splashy sunny colour, can sense your delight in the season – it’s been days since I held a pen or pencil!
I can feel the energy and life spilling out of you! I’m glad to see you’re getting back into the swing—these are just lovely. Ronell!
Oh these are wonderful, Ronell. I love the addition of watercolor. I love those first warm days of spring and you have captured them well. The sun is amazing after a cold winter. I am actually missing it as I hear people speak of spring and the excitement in their words. I went from cold dark winter to HOT HOT tropics. I could have used a bit of a transition…
Ronell, Your exuberance for the season bounces off the pages of your blog. So nice to see your lovely artwork again… I missed you!
These sketches are terrific! … and to answer your question, yes, I did hold a pen in my hands today, and I sketched a few sights of my the town where I was born and where I’m curently on holiday…