Meet Manon Tremblay
Manon is sharing drawing tips and demo videos with Sktchy subscribers throughout July. Learn more
What's your background?
I'm from Québec, Canada. I was born way up in northern Quebec, but I now live in the Eastern Townships. As a kid, I was either drawing or reading. Career-wise, the reading took precedence, but I always kept drawing on the side, a constant friend.
What's your medium of choice when you're creating art?
I love pastels, charcoal and graphite, but will also use pen and ink, depending on how the subject inspires me. My favorite tools to work with are Palomino Blackwing pencils, white Conté pastel pencils, graphite powder and my trusted electric eraser! For my ink drawing, I mainly use microns and white gel pens.
How did you build your creative habit?
For me, drawing is a way to get away from the routine, so I made sure I had a small space in my home where I felt comfortable and could control what is happening.
I put music on, clean my working surface and sharpen my pencils (the smell of the wood and general order of things is quite soothing to me) and keep something to drink on the side.
It all helps make the experience so enjoyable that it's not difficult to motivate me to go there and work on a portrait.
When you find yourself in a creative rut, how do you get out of it?
When everything is good and I'm inspired, I take the time to save pictures I like in a folder, save lots of faces on Sktchy – I'm basically acting like a squirrel preparing for winter.
Sometimes I'll just google some art prompts and work from this, or just do exercises: straight lines, hatching, timed sketches and such. That way my hand remembers how fun it is to draw and most of the time my mind follows.
Which of your recent Sktchy artworks most expresses who you are now as an artist?
I'd say my portrait of Destiny Roman is the one that illustrates my style the most. I have used my favorite tools on my favorite paper, and everything just clicked.
Although I love ink and trying new stuff like pastels and watersoluble graphite, what I feel when drawing like this on toned paper is a bit like coming home.
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