Saturday, November 22, 2014

Inktober - 31 Days of Solitude (Part 6)

Here's the final round of sketches. Overall, I'm really proud of the work that I accomplished. Not everything is perfect, some are definitely better than others, but the point is that I got in and sketched, no matter what I thought was going to be good or not. This helped build up my confidence in my drawing.

Not every line I make in drawing is going to be perfect, but that shouldn't stop me from continuing to draw

Enjoy!







Friday, November 14, 2014

Inktober - 31 Days of Solitude (Part 1)

In an effort to get back to filling sketchbook pages (which I'm still really inconsistent with...I got this sketchbook as a Christmas gift last year), I decided to participate in Inktober 2014.

For those of you unfamiliar with it, Inktober takes place each year in October - it's a time where artists take a little time each day in October to complete a drawing in ink. It's a chance to improve our skills and (for me at least) get drawing on a regular basis.

I was hoping to start posting my drawings on November 1st but, then again, life happens (and I get lazy). Still, this is really the first time that I'm posting things from my sketchbook. Usually, I'm so concerned with whether or not the things in it look good (especially compared to some of the other artists I know). But I'm tired of letting insecurities dictate how and when I make art, so here they are.

Why the title? "31 Days of Solitude" refers to the direction the work that I created seemed to take. Because of where I am in life right now (not really busy) and where a great majority of my friends are (super busy), I'm spending a lot of time by myself. While it's not always perfect, I feel like solitude is a blessing in many ways. There is a difference between being alone and being lonely, and I have experienced both lately, so I supposed they both end up in these pages.

Anyway, enough talk, here's the first batch of sketches:





(I wasn't going to comment on any of my work, but I have to say, this sketch is one of the ones I'm most proud of in my sketchbook. I'm thinking of turning it into a digital painting to work on those skills).


Look for more from my Inktober efforts tomorrow!

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Stepping Outside My Comfort Zone

Over the next couple of days, I'm going to be playing a bit of catch-up on here. I've been working on developing my watercolor skills (and trying out some new techniques!) and I filled up my personal sketchbook more consistently than I have in a really long time by participating in Inktober.

To start off, here's some more of my watercolor work (I'm realizing how much I lover working with it). This class is absolutely zero pressure, so I'm trying to get myself more comfortable with unfamiliar methods AND letting myself make mistakes.

After trying to draw trees with pencil and ink, they had started to intimidate me. But doing paintings of trees allowed me to look at them in a different way. 


 I'd done mastercopies before, but never an interpretation of a masterwork. The original piece was "An Evening at Home" by Edward John Poynter. Without realizing it, I had started working in some German Expressionist elements into it.
 (Though it might have been because I had been engrossed in a project about German Expressionism in film for the previous six weeks...)

 The first "abstract" piece I've had to do since high school. Since I am so uncomfortable with the idea of making non-representational art, I really wanted to push myself with this assignment.

Basically, if it felt uncomfortable or incorrect, I put it on the page. That method seemed to work.

This project was a surprise; we got to work in the print lab yesterday. 

I'm preparing to take the CSET in a couple of months and had been struggling with coming up with a third piece that wasn't a painting, drawing, or digital art (which is what I've had experienced in). Because of the opportunity we're having to work in the print lab, I may have another piece.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll post the first few days of my sketchbook work for Inktober.