Have you ever had a wish that you finally decided to make a goal? For several years…actually, ever since I was in Jr. High I have sketched and painted in a realism style only. Any attempt on illustration I have tried since has failed horribly. I’ve always thought it interesting that cartoon illustrations have been so difficult for me, yet realism is easy and comfortable. This has given me great respect for those who illustrate exclusively. I have been following some illustrators on Instagram who have a daily sketch going of their personal day to day life. I have enjoyed following them so much, I thought I’d give illustration another try. I’m needing to play catch up on this blog post, so this will be a long list. I’d like to invite you to follow my daily illustration sketches on Instagram here. Thanks!

So here's the story behind the recent practice sketches I've been sharing (this one being the 3rd)… I want to hone my skills as an illustrator and jump into a world that is more imaginative, and in order to do that I need to train my brain to unwind from focusing on details and realism, to focusing on simple lines to 'tell the story'. My first sketch was strictly creative-imagination, I wasn't really trying to match a scene, I was creating something new. The second practice was sketching and illustrating from a reference and attempting to illustrate with simple lines… it instead got sandwiched right in the middle of illustration and realism – a bit of a mish mash – and did not turn out how I wanted. This third sketch I wanted to redeem myself from the 2nd and I feel I did well. I didn't try to finish it, I simplified my approach and did a rough sketch – no color. Ultimately from these practice sketches, over time I'll have discovered my signature style and my goal is to do a sketch a day illustrating Clark's and my day to day life. 🙂 I was talking to my mom last night and I was sharing with her how I want to share this journey with everyone in a completely honest way, and that means sharing even the sketches that I'm not satisfied with – which is something I avoid doing; the words of my high school teacher always rings in my ear "your portfolio is only as strong as your weakest piece" — eeek! But I'm tossing his words aside and instead I want to put my good – bad – and the ugly on display and share my growth. An artist is always learning and this is part of my portfolio I want to excel in, because it has always been a challenge for me and I want to strengthen all my weak parts. So if you're up for following me – I'd love to have your support! I'll be sharing my work both on my personal Facebook profile (for friends & family) and public on Instagram. Thank you!!! . #illustration #sketches #artist #sketchaday #artistlife 🎨

A post shared by Rebecca Emily Cooper 🎨 (@rebeccacooperartist) on

Emotions. . #emotional #illustration #art #sketches #artist #dailysketch

A post shared by Rebecca Emily Cooper 🎨 (@rebeccacooperartist) on

We finally found the entry point where the squirrels are squeezing their fat fanny's in 😒 Funny that we called the professionals 3weeks ago and they said there was a solid screen all intact at the air vents. The scratching and running around in the ceiling was driving me nuts today, so I had my brave warrior of a husband climb up to take a closer look above my office window. Within 30sec he spotted two large tears in the supposed "intact" screen 😒😤. The screen looks ragged like it's 70years old. So, we'll see if the 'pros' can redeem themselves (and give us a discount) when they come to fix it all up. Good-bye squirrely's. Time to find another home! 👋 #keepstrongceiling 🙏 #almostthere #cantimaginewhatsinthere 😦 #somuchpoop 😭💩 . #dailysketch #artistlife #illustration #art #artist

A post shared by Rebecca Emily Cooper 🎨 (@rebeccacooperartist) on

About the Artist

Living the dream as a full-time artist. I'm a Mental Health Advocate. 💚 A creator of realism fine art. 🎨 I'm passionate about creating Visual Comfort Art for the wounded, and inspiring young minds through my children's books (Be Kind Books), to create a more safe and loving world with kindness.💕

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. Oh Wow! These are all awesome! I love the details!! I’d never think of.
    Love the weigh in one! and I didn’t know your chickens were dying–how sad.
    You may have an illness going on, if so you could lose some more. Chickens really share their illnesses.
    Your real sketch of Laurie Kay is really good!! She’s in a better place now.
    Keep up the good work Becky!
    Love you!

    1. Thank you, Mom! <3 I don't know what to think of the chickens. I'm not fluent in chicken-care despite the studying I have done... they're not as easy as Cats and Dogs who communicate their feelings more. :\ It was really sad to lose Ruth. She's one of the two I was hoping would live out the rest. Thank you for the compliment on LoriKay's sketch! It's my last night tonight to work on it if I want it finished for the funeral - here's hoping it works out!

      Love you too!!!

{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}