Ok, now this post is really behind schedule. But I am so excited that I finally finished up my South East Asia portion of the blog and that I will have time to catch up on my 365 Sketches blog. I am still drawing away, trying to keep it up to one a day. I have misplaced a few sketches, and when I find them I will add them in. Plus the scans are not very good, they are actually iPhone pictures because my scanner is not working right, and I am not going to buy a new one yet. This months drawings are from Philly, North Jersey, Germany, Amsterdam, and Ireland. Enjoy! So if you like what you see, please click follow, and feel free to share. Even more importantly, if you want to join in on the challenge, pick up your pencil and join in. I will be happy to post other peoples art work on this page too. 310 days to go! I can’t wait to see what this year brings!
March 25, 2015, #54
Who is this intense guy? I have no idea, he was in the waiting room at one of my Doctors appointments. But boy did he ever have some feathered hair working for him.
March 26, 2015, #55
Local 44, the place where locals go. Chilling out having a beer for lunch and chatting with the bartender from Fume. Local 44 has 20 beers on tap and has the best beer selection in West Philly. Local 44
March 27, 2015, #56
Watching TV with Booboo.
March 28, 2015, #57
Woodland Cemetery. Its a blustery day, perfect for sketching from the front seat of my car. I spent a long time working on this drawing, but did not get a chance to finish it. The little boy showed up near the end of the drawing with his dad. He was just walking amongst the grave stones kicking leaves. Woodlands
March 29, 2015, #58
My kitchen.
March 30, 2015, #59
Shaka Zulu my cat. I used a large pen tip for this one, getting a much more graphic feel to the piece. I like how this one turned out.
March 31, 2015, #60
Drawing on an envelope of Yvonne. The envelope is pretty much destroyed by coffee stains and what not.
April 1, 2015, #61
Bartram’s Garden, I love this place, and this was a lovely spring day. Bertram’s Garden is a 300 or so year old farm house in West Philadelphia. To me its one of West Philly’s best hidden gems. Though more and more people are starting to discover it. We go there to relax, look at the gorgeous gardens, and hang out by the river. Our dog, Booboo, loves going walking around there. Today was a beautiful day, and we just needed to get out in nature. Not something so easy living in the city. So a five minute drive to the gardens it was. If you want to learn more or visit this amazing place, click on the link below. Bartam’s Garden
April 2, 2015, #62
Random people on the trolley.
April 3, 2015, #63
Dropping off the rents. The line was long enough for me to do this entire drawing.
April 4, 2015, #64
Hey, look its my foot.
April 5, 2015, #65
Random dude.
April 6, 2015, #66
A Tex Mex place near Newark Airport. Chilling out with my buddy Rob Staeger.
April 7, 2015, #67
April 8, 2015, #68
A night out with friends, waiting for the trolley in the underground. I count this as two days because I started the one drawing before midnight and finished the second one after. Neither are that great but I drank way too many IPA’s that night.
April 9, 2015, #69
Girl at a cafe.
April 10, 2015, #70
Man eating Ethiopian food at Gojo. Gojjo
April 11, 2015, #71
A bad self portrait.
April 12, 2015, #72
Waiting rooms are always so much fun. The entire crowd here is falling asleep.
April 13, 2015, #73
Woman talking to her friend.
April 14, 2015, #74
Newark Airport. A very rushed drawing, I actually hate this one. Was not in the mood to draw, and you can tell.
April 15, 2015, #75
Now here I am totally in the mood to draw. We are at a bar in Ireland, chilling out, having a Guinness. Horse Racing is big in Ireland, and these lads are discussing the races rather loudly. It was great fun, and every inch of the bar was covered in horse racing memorabilia.
April 16, 2015, #76
Hanging out at the beach killing time before I catch a plane to Germany. Not a bad way to kill time. People were wind surfing, walking dogs, and playing with their kids in the sand.
April 17, 2015, #77
Hey look at me, I am in Amsterdam, my 45th country. This is a Coffee Shop, but what they really sell here is weed. All kinds of weed. Its like the craft beer bar of Marijuana. But I swear, I did not inhale. Haha, no, of course I ordered up some, but I really don’t like it, so a few puffs was enough for me to say I did it, and then I went next door to a bar and ordered a beer, my preferred poison. Oh yeah, in case anyone wonders, even though I don’t like it, I am all for legalization. Lets tax the hell out of it and pay for our schools.
April 18, 2015, #78
Ok, heres the story with this day. I drove back from Amsterdam, in a mad rush, did not get a chance to sketch. Then, we went to a market in Essen, where Christian knew everyone, ate fish in a bun, brought back groceries to Nikki. Then went to a club soccer game with VIP tickets, where we drank lots of beer, had a great time, and no time for drawing. After that, BBQ at the house, a stroll through the woods to look at crazy storm damage, and then to bed. I might have snuck a drawing in at some point, but I can’t find it.
April 19, 2015, #79
My buddy Christian owns his own Marketing company, so we went to an event for one of his clients, Baker Petra. This place was phenomenal, the most state of the art bakery in all of Europe. They were having an employee appreciation day, so they had blow up pirate ships, Mechanical bull riding, and tons of food and beer. What an amazing event for their workers. I have to say I am always impressed by family run companies, especially ones that have been in business as long as they have. Its really nice not to see some faceless corporation run everything. So if you get a chance, stop by some of their stores and taste their delicious bake goods. Bäker Peter
April 20, 2015, #80
A mom holding their sleeping kid.
April 21, 2015, #81
We decided to climb up in to the hills, hopping over stone walls and past nettles, to find the perfect spot to lay on blanket and draw. Too bad I forgot to tell the ticks that we were on vacation, so I got a nice one sucking my blood on my neck. Irish Vampire Ticks! 
April 22, 2015, #82
The view from the back of the Old School House in Olde Leighlen, where Yvonne used to live. I ran out of time to finish it, but I hope to one day.
April 23, 2015, #83
Oh what a wonderful day this is turning out to be. We are here for Yvonne’s sister Stephanie’s wedding, which was at a gorgeous Manor house. But while we I was waiting for everyone to get their hair done, I stopped by Ducketts Grove, where a year ago Yvonne and I got married. I will always love this place, and if you are ever in Ireland, I highly recommend you visiting it. Duckett’s Grove
April 24, 2015, #84
This is a sketch I did from my bedroom doorway to the traditional gardens. It was so gorgeous here. The door was like ten feet high itself. The room had some of the most ornate crown molding, a fireplace, and a king size bed. You could really sleep thirty people in there it was so huge. I loved it. The whole place was magical. I could not resist sketching this peacock, who spent most of his day hanging out flaunting his gorgeous feathers. I might as well give a shout out to Phil and Stephanie for having such a gorgeous wedding and congratulations! Marlfield House
April 25, 2015, #85
Hanging out at the Cliff House, a rather ultra modern hotel in Ardmore, Ireland. Great views, not the best weather. Too modern for my taste though. The Cliff House
April 26, 2015, #86
So this hill we climbed I have to say was the highlight of our trip. There is a mountain that rings around a lake, a lot like a volcano crater where the front has been blasted away. We climbed to the top of the nearest peak, overlooking the lake, and miles and miles of country side around. The wind was wicked up there so we crouched under some boulders while I sketched this phenomenal panoramic scene. You can see the water off in the distance.There were sheep running up and down the mountain also.
April 27, 2015, #87
Hot damn, its my Birthday. 41 does not come everyday, but you should go out and celebrate. Seeing how we were in Dublin, we might as well make the best of it. So we hit a bunch of pubs, shopped for Wooly sheep stuff for my sisters kids, and saw a great play called the Field. This guy was having a pint, and I swear he looked just like the actor in the play. Gaiety Theatre
April 28, 2015, #88
Well, it has been an exhausting month, with all kinds of craziness. After being up 20 hours straight, we are finally waiting for our train in Newark. Of course the train left the station as we were walking down the stairs, so we had to wait a half hour for the next one. Yvonne is trying her best to ignore me and catch some sleep while we are chilling on the tracks with all our luggage.
michaelbencik.org 
Brilliant drawings
Thanks very much. Still way behind but Ireland is gorgeous. That reminds me an you take a picture of the farm next door from your balcony so I can finish that drawing please
Great drawings and interesting subjects
Reblogged this on jo fox – adventures in art and commented:
Since I first read about Michael’s 365 Sketch Challenge I have wondered about doing it myself. This week however I saw some doctors about my chronic neuopathic pain probelm and they said that they think I have also developed ‘post-infective fibromyalgia’ which, I think, means that, following a chest infection, the pain has spread over my whole body. They gave me a booklet about it. One of the things the booklet suggests is that meditation can help. Well if I meditate by just sitting (which is the kind of meditation I have learned before) then it seems to make the pain worse because the pain comes to the front of my mind. But when I sketch and draw it’s like magic – everything else goes away, including most of the pain, and there’s just the drawing. I think this might be a kind of meditation which I can do which might help. I think it will relax my body and give me a break from the pain so I’m going to try it. 🙂
(Thanks to Michael for sharing this idea on his blog!!!)
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First of all, thank you so much for passing by and reading my BLOG as well as sharing it my friend. It is greatly appreciated. I am also so grateful that you shared your story and message with me. I am glad I was able to make a difference and positive impact in your life. Please share with me what impact drawing has on your condition as you continue to implement it. Also please ask if there is any other feedback I can provide that may be of assistance to you. Always wishing you and your family nothing but the best and feel free to message me anytime.
A friend of mine inspired me to begin this process. His name is Clinton Millsap, and he was working on a drawing a day starting last year. I thought he was nuts to do it, but what he created was so inspirational for me that I figured I would give it a go also. For me a sketch from life a day has become my illustrated journal of life. For Clinton, he is stretching his creativity to the outer limits, doing completed drawings every day. Here is a link to his art. I think you will enjoy it also.
http://www.clintonmillsap.com
I am so inspired by the 365 Sketch Challenge! But I have to add….. I really like seeing this group of sketches collected together like this. The way they relate to each other, and flow along. Very nice.
Sometimes I feel like people can tell what I am doing everyday by following. I decided I gad too many bar shots so I switched to cafes even though its easier to sketch people with out them knowing at the bar. Them next batch should be fun too, though not as much travel sadly. Thanks so much for checking them out.
Looking forward to the next batch 🙂
You are Fabulous
Your sketches are awesome
I so so so wish i could draw
Great Job
Thanks so much for checking them out. Its a tough habit to remember everyday but it is really rewarding.