Tag: Art

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100 Day Project update…

94/100. That’s where I’m at, nearly 2 months past the start date of my 100 Day Project.

Some would say I failed. That I’m a flake for not finishing.

But seriously here.  I drew 94 faces. NINETY FOUR.

In a span of slightly over 100 days. I’m far from an expert at realistic portraiture (not that I was attempting that to begin with ), but I can draw a pretty decent face whenever I want, straight on, 3/4 and profile. If you count the faces I doodled on my desk pad, I probably got the whole 100.

I did achieve what I set out to do, and that was to challenge myself in a way I haven’t before. So what if I’m 6 short!

The ‘last’ face (so far… I think I’ll go ahead and complete the 100 just for continuity’s sake) that I put up on Instagram was one I drew in a rare kid-free moment on my vacation in Greece this past summer.

I think I’m completely over my phobia of signing on to challenges. And besides. I’m not competing against anyone (neither are you), so if I “fail” at something I decided to do for myself, who gives a shit? As long as I get out of it what I intended to begin with, I call it a success.

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That time I started another challenge, this time for 100 days…

Last October, I began a 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. I only got to 21 completed paintings, but I painted every single day. Huge deal for me. I usually create in fits & starts and my creative practice is a very neglected thing.

This current challenge is #The100DayProject, where you pick an action to do every day for 100 days. The focus is on process and practice, not product, and like I said about my creative practice before, I could use a bit of directed energy towards developing it.

The project began on April 6, 2015 and will continue until the 100 days are up mid-July.

My hashtag for the project on Instagram is #100DaysOfNotSoRealisticFaces, where I’m drawing or painting stylized portraits.

My goals are:

  1. to solidify my daily practice,
  2. hone my skills,
  3. loosen up,
  4. explore and develop my style.

Now, I’m worse at keeping my blog updated so I set up some IFTT recipes so my Instagram photos tagged with my 100 day project hashtag will automatically be published as a new photo post. Yay for lazy blogging!

Here’s days 1 & 2:

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30 in 30 update – Day 6

I have painted every single day since this challenge began, and it feels amazing. Wherever this takes me, I’m enjoying the ride. Here’s a glimpse of what I’ve done so far:

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Painting #1: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

Painting of a womans face in teal orange
9×12 acrylics and paint pen on canvas board

So this is it. Day 1 of 30 paintings in 30 days. I had started this face in a class I took at Create New Jersey a couple months ago and decided it was time to finish her up.

I used something new to me to make the outlines of the circles, which you really can’t see since the background is kinda dark. But it’s a dimensional outliner by pébéo. Gotta use it some more to get a handle the flow – it’s a bit splotchy on the canvas. But it’s a fun accent to use. I’ll experiment some more with it.

Learnings & observations so far:

  • Prep backgrounds: It’s easier to paint when I have a few marks on the substrate already, so I’ll prep a few here & there with some backgrounds so I have a place to work from.
  • Just do the work: I was totally apprehensive about finishing a painting, but once I got to the work, it came pretty easily (crossing my fingers this continues).
  • Ears aren’t easy: It’s something I need to work on. I’ve avoided ears on my faces for years, maybe it’s time to change that.
  • Get a handle on the comparison monster: The pop-up galleries for the day’s work on the Facebook group are FULL of amazing art, but I must keep my eyes on my own paper & resist comparison.
  • People can really be awesome: In the group, I’m blown away by how everyone’s stepped up to the challenge, and the support and love and encouragement oozes through the computer screen. The interwebs rock.

Besides this painting, I’ve done a bit of background work on a few surfaces and prepped some more with a few extra coats of gesso. I like a nice, smooth surface to work on, so gesso and sanding is definitely a part of the prep work.

On to the next!

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30 Paintings in 30 Days. Can I do it?

Art table at the ready
Moved things around to make this challenge a bit more of a no-brainer.

I’m about to embark on a 30 paintings in 30 days challenge as put forth in an artist group I’m a part of on Facebook.

I honestly don’t know what I’m doing.

One complete painting daily, when I’ve been known to take months, or even years to complete just one?

I will have to knock off the Netflix binges. And some housework may go undone — but if we’re honest, housework was never my forté. And I’l need to find somewhere in our we’ve-stuffed-every-closet-full-of-junk house to house the paintings once they’re done. Eh, I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.

I’m feeling a bit crazy. Apprehensive. Excited. I can’t say I’ve ever really completed a challenge like this.

I hate sharing challenges on my blog & social networks because I haven’t completed one yet.

I tried NANOWRIMO several years ago and only got to 10,000 words (although that’s a pretty big feat in itself). I have started several 30-day art journaling prompts and petered out around day 20. I even started a website called 30 Day Essentials to explore a particular essential oil protocol for 30 days straight and I couldn’t get past the first one.

So I have my work cut out for me. I need to tap into something I haven’t before to get this done. I will make use of the community on FB. I will post my daily painting on my social outlets and on this site. I need to find someone to whine to when things get hard… someone who will listen patiently and then tell me to go paint.

Maybe I can do this.

Now for the why of this whole crazy endeavor…

I did some journaling about this challenge yesterday and came up with 3 things I wanted to accomplish with this insane (for me) thing:

  • Find my voice
  • Create a series in order to begin a coherent body of work
  • Own It – that is, own my artist-self

I’m looking for an increase in confidence, a development of a daily art practice, and trust in myself and my process.

First painting comes Tuesday September 9th.

I pledge to be gentle, but not let myself off the hook completely. Life happens, but whatever happens I need to have 30 complete paintings by October 9th.

Wish me luck!

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Making my way back…

Hi. *shuffles feet*

It’s been oh… over a year since I touched this blog. Figure it’s time to come back around to it.

If you’ve been following at all (I’ve been unusually active on Facebook lately), I had a baby almost a year ago. He’s absolutely amazing. And frustrating. And wonderful. He’s been the focus of my life lately and I have a very lonely blog to show for it, but I’m not apologizing for it! I made a baby! And if I may brag a bit… a 100% medication-free birth at home. And we both survived.

We also made the move North to be closer to my family. Hi Snow & cold and brrrr…

As with my normal state of being, I have some new things in the works. I’m launching a podcast called “Reclaiming Creativity” in a few days. It’s a podcast geared towards figuring out how to… wait for it… Reclaim your Creativity 😉 after having kids.

I’ll be doing monologues and interviews. First episode is in the can, two interviews with two fabulously creative moms recorded and waiting to be edited.

This post is yet another step in me reclaiming my own creativity.

So is this…

and

And I’ll probably be simplifying my web presence. Thanks to a few things happening at the same time (my sites all being hacked, realizing I need to simplify because I can’t possibly keep 5+ sites running smoothly and with fresh content regularly). Everything will live here.

So… what have you been up to?