A 365 day art project… one drawing a day
Flowers are nice to sketch… mistakes are easily hidden, and no pencil necessary. Still thinking about painting these.. yes? No? I’m afraid to. I could try out my masking fluid on the daisy petals and stems…Yes. Agreed?
Just an ink sketch of dandelions. But they are one of my favorite things. And Slightly was being a real attention hound. 🙂 Which means I took like 20 pics of one sketch because I thought he was full of cuteness.
Actual drawing, no cat:
(but there is a little cat hair on the left side, I noticed later.)
Another day I think I’ll color it in.
Grabbed an idea from a safari search, and added doodles. Don’t even ask. I don’t know. But it’s my art for today. He has a rather Audrey Hepburnesque neck. Actually… now that I look at him… It may be HER! I like him better now.
NOT “slightly a favorite”, you read it correctly. My cat’s name is Slightly, and he loves this chair. It doesn’t seem particularly inviting for a cat, to me, but maybe it’s because he wants to sit with me in my ‘studio’ the hours I spend in there, just being my cat… or more likely it’s because I don’t allow the 95 pound puppy in that room. The one that really believes Slightly loves being in his mouth. I’m babysitting today, so just a quick sketch, Slightly’s chair. Sans Slights himself. Who is perfectly safe, and not inside a mouth at all.
Today I decided to try the line drawings again. It’s the end of the Christmas season (Friday was Twelfth Night), so all the decorations must come down. I tried some of my Willow Tree nativity scene, one of my very favorite things. (I hate putting it away!) The creator has already done all of the art, I just have to copy it in pen. The first couple things I sketched in pencil first, thinking I could capture the shape better, but truthfully that made it more difficult and stilted. I think maybe looking less perfect but more instinctual might be better in some cases. Even if it isn’t quite “right.” That’s art, right??
I got a little better as I practiced, and the last one is my favorite. Less is more. A lesson I’m seeing over and over, everywhere. I used a different pen as well, an inexpensive Japanese kuretake brush pen. The others were Staedtler pigment liners. Great pens. But the brush pen brought a nice organic feel.
I tried the angel several times. (the truly ugly ones aren’t even here, even though I probably should post them all.) D0ing the pencil sketch helped me see her lines more clearly I think, but I really only liked my last attempt, although I like the line of the skirt on the one before that.
Wacky pineapple, husband’s suggestion. 🙂 s
Same 90 lb mixed media journal, same Staedtler pens. .8, .1, .005.
(Staedtler .05 and .8 pigment liner pens in Strathmore 5.5″x8″ mixed media journal 90lb paper)
(…or paint, crayon, watercolor, ball point pen, marker, lipstick, scrapbook paper, restaurant napkin… whatever is handy.)
My goal is to make one little piece of art every day for a year. Big or small, simple or detailed. 365 days of practice. What is it that keeps me out of my studio now? It is simply the rest of my life crowding in and convincing me that I don’t have the time. Ridiculous, but I always fall for it. And my life is not that complex. I DO have the time. You can tell what truly means something to someone by watching how and where he invests his time. And so, a twofold purpose to this 365 project…
The first: to see improvement in my work, improvement that only comes through practice and experience. I’m no artistic genius… even a small throw-away scribble can teach me something, and I’d rather try to be as good as I can be myself, than just continue to avoid knowing how limited I really am.
And the second: to develop and improve a positive state of mind and body, and develop consistent habits. Focusing on a small project can be so relaxing for me. It is nothing but healthy. And I think trying to undertake a big overall project with a commitment like this will help develop much needed strength and focus in other areas of my life as well, even if I am less successful at it than I hope to be.
I welcome constructive criticism and advice. Consider this an open forum, and please participate. And invite other people to follow… I don’t plan to chat, just to post my pictures and be held accountable. If I don’t post, ask me why!!
ThreeSixFiveArt 