Images-a-Day Week 2

Here is a little glimpse into my progress with my image-a-day project. A few of these images are doubling for the image-a-day personal challenge as well as the Sketchbook Project.

# 6


#7


#8


#9

First Images from my Year-Long Project

As anticipated, my life this week was far busier than many parts of my summer due to moving and starting back to work. I did however make time for doing a drawing a day, and am proud of myself for not slacking off, and completing a new image every day. It hasn't even been one week, but I know that this is going to be a major challenge for me to continue and make it through the whole year. I am only sharing three images from this week so far, and here they are:

Image #1-Got keys to my new residence!


Image #2- I painted my new room yellow.


Image #3- My dog has very dry eyes, so my mom bought him some goggles to wear when he wants to stick his head out of the car window. (And no, this didn't seem normal to me, also the goggles didn't fit him, so has to deal with the dry eyes.)

ART PROJECT COMMITMENT!

Some changes are about to make their way through my life in the next two weeks: I begin teaching at a new school, and I am moving(not far away though, within Winnipeg limits). With the beginning of these new things, and the end of summer, I feel the need to make a change or a commitment to my artmaking. Since drawing in London, and feeling renewed about how and what I'm drawing pictures of, I decided that I don't want this newfound inspriation to fade. My solution to not getting lost in the working world and having art energy fade is that I am commiting to making AT LEAST ONE IMAGE A DAY. I have been inspired by art-a-day artists and their blogs such as Don Nace who makes a drawing a day as a type of journalling, Kal Barteski a Designer who sought making art as a form of creative renewal, and Somsara Rielly who, to mark her 35th year began a collage a day for a year(And recently finished in July!).

I have decided to set a few rules for myself for this commitment:
-Images can be drawn, painted, collaged, sewn, etc, however a photograph doesn't count unless I put some time into editing, or if it requires a major amount of arranging to take the photo.
-If I miss a day and don't make an image I can make up for it the next day, or can make a bunch of images one day and be off the hook for days following. Either way, by the end of the week I should still have 7 images, one for each day.
-Images must be at last 4 by 6 inches, but one large piece does not count towards multiple images.
-Images can be made anywhere, on anything.
-This commitment begins at 12 AM August 30, 2010 and ends at 12 AM August 30th 2011. In one year's time I should have accumulated 365 images. If I am unsuccessful in achieving this deadline extensions may be permitted, but with a penalty of one extra image for each week it is overdue.
-I can terminate this commitment in the event of: personal tragedies, loss of limb, very major commissions, or extreme hatred of being committed to an image-a-day.
-I do not need to blog each image made.
-Images can include any theme, HOWEVER at least one image a week is to report on a current event in the news.
-Images made for Illustration Friday count.
-Images should feel finished.
-Projects started before this commitment began can count towards a finished image, upon completion of the project.
-Images made prior to August 30th can not be counted, unless reworked and refinished.

Inspired in London; Newsworthy Winnipeg Events

I am back from my trip overseas, and am now contemplating what the next step is for me in my art production. The course I took in London at Central St. Martins was honestly almost exactly what I was looking for in a course. It had been several years since the last time I took a drawing course, and found it really refreshing to go back to school after being away for a long time and suddenly I felt more confident in my own style, in what interests me, and in ways of working. Most people in my small class had either completed or were in the process of completing a degree in either fine arts or graphic design. And there were a few who had backgrounds in other academic areas. The class was very multi-cultural, with everyone from different country, except for one fellow Canadian. It was also really great to be surrounded by talented artists.

I feel like I was reminded of the value of sketching, of getting ideas down and actually observing my surroundings as something valuable to record on paper. For so long I have only been creating things out of my imagination and actually rarely use reference photos, and I think that shows in my work. I usually ignore backgrounds, don't use cropping to my advantage, only sometimes mix media together, and usually don't put a lot of value on anything I make that has a "sketch-y" feel to it, I usually prefer if my lines are more accurate. This course helped me to rediscover the fun in drawing and drawing quickly. I always enjoy drawing, but this brought a new light to it, as we would nearly each day go out to an area of London and sketch it- maybe a museum, maybe a public place, but the idea was to get inspiration from where we were and then go back to the studio to rework some ideas or to use that perspective in a more focused work. The course was titled "Graphic Witness: The art of Reportage." We even went to the law courts building one day and drew what was going on with the court proceedings. These were brand new experiences for me, and I found that I really loosened up and was able to sketch fairly quickly to record things. It was rather refreshing. I sent an email to myself on the last day of classes reminding myself of the things I thought that I had learned, so that in case I got home and felt uninspired I could read the list and hopefully assess what I could do to add a little more mojo into what I was making.

A challenge for myself that I am thinking of doing is to create ongoing images based on what's happening in the news, as this idea of reportage has really grabbed a hold of me. My first such image is this one that I created today, pictured above. The Bodies exhibit is coming to Winnipeg,and is something that holds quite a bit of controversy. The display includes actual human bodies that have been changed, exposed and essentially converted into rubber to preserve the human form. Much of the controversy surrounding the exhibit is whether or not is respectable, honourable, right, or deplorable to display human bodies who likely were executed prisoners from China. Under Chinese law the bodies were lawfully obtained,as their bodies were not claimed, however the whole exhibit brings up human rights issues. I am undecided on the issue, as I am personally really excited to see the Bodies exhibit, but I may change my mind upon actually viewing it.

Here is a link to a free press article about the display: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/bodies-coming-downtown-100513534.html

Drawing

I started this drawing several months ago back in October I think, and only just finished it recently. Sometimes I go back through a box of drawings and will rediscover drawings that were never finished, or ideas that were abandoned. It's actually satisfying to rework them after a few months.

Don't Forget to Create

I have recently loosened the hold work has on me because I was offered a new position, and was able to reduce my hours from a full-time contract to a little less than full time. Not working full time is wonderful! Though at times I feel a little lazy. This drawing is a product of that time off, where in the back of my head if I'm slacking off I have this artist's conscience telling me that I should seize the time I have for art.

I put it up on etsy, I'm curious about how many hits it will get.

Heart Bath

I drew this about a month ago, or more than that perhaps. It was made with the theme Renewal in mind. The idea being that in order to be healthy you need a clean heart. Sometimes cleaning your heart out can be a really good thing-a clean slate, room to breath, and to grow. There is a worship song that goes, "Create in me a clean heart oh God, and renew a right spirit within me." Something to that effect was going through my mind when I started drawing this.

Flying Heart

I signed up to contribute to the website IllustrationFriday.com. It invites artists to submit illustrations based on a weekly topic. I like the idea of a larger artist community getting a bunch of drawings together for discussion and networking. So here goes, The topic this week is Renewal. This drawing didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, the wings are bit wonky, I should have used a reference picture when drawing it. But there are elements that I love about this drawing. Hopefully someone else also enjoys it. It was one of those "I should be sleeping but instead I'm drawing" drawings.

Odd Sense of Humour?

Thankyou to everyone who came out to the Vineyard craft sale! I would call it a success, as there seemed to me to be a steady steam of people flowing through the doors from the time it opened until the closing hours. This sale was a slight experiment to me as I didn't really know what to expect and if I could even sell enough art to make it worth it to have a table. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of sales I made. Between selling both art, art prints and photo prints I was happy with what sold. I think I only sold two original works, and oddly enough both of them were pieces that were not my favourites, and acutally not even my second favourites.

It was to be honest slightly nerve wracking for me to stand at this table and have people view my art and then comment on it. At times it was a relief to have people laugh at the humourous side of my drawings, but by the end of the day I was tired, and honestly found it slightly draining to talk to strangers all day about what I make and why I make it (To any Vineyard strangers who found their way to this blog, it's not that I didn't want to talk about it with you, it's just that it's new for me to have my art out there on display open to discussion). I had many people who made comments along the lines of, "You have a unique sense of humour," or "You have a very different perspective." These are things that I've known all along but it's still odd to have people tell you that.

I did truly appreciate the compliments that were given to me about what I make, as it's good to know that I'm not just some weirdo making bizarre images in my free time, but that at least there are poeple out there (though perhaps few of them) who actually like my images enough to pay money for them. I am talking of more so of my paintings and drawings because I consider my photography interest second to art and it makes sense to me that I could sell a photograph, because that's more accessible to people than a drawing of a Girl with a hammerhead.

Whether or not anyone likes what I make I'll continue to make it. :)

Summer hasn't left yet!

Today I wasn't working, so I decided to take avantage of the fact that it is the third week of September and the weather is actually nicer than it was in August. I did some painting outside today, which is an altogether lovely thing to do. My backyard is large and green, and it makes it extra satisfying to be out there in shorts when it is nearly the end of September.

Colouring Drawings with Photoshop

I digitially added colour to a drawing yesterday, and I am quite pleased with the results! I've never altered any of my work digitally before, besides photographs, but I decided to see what I could do with photoshop. Even though I was only using photoshop at a very basic level, it served its purpose well, and will certainly go back with other drawings to alter them, as I found it very satisfying to work this way. The two pictures I have posted show the image before and after.

Please check out my new creation, I've decided to sell him as a greeting card, but certainly would also sell it as a larger print in my etsy shop if there is an interest in it.

Here is the link to the new card:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30295866

Work Space

I set up my drafting desk a few weeks ago, and I can't beleive that I lived without it for a few months, as only a few weeks later and it is covered in supplies, half finished projects, fabric, and other usable items. This photo was from a few weeks prior when I set it up. Open work space is like a breath of fresh air. I decided to post it because I always like seeing what other people's work spaces look like.

Ink Work

This is what I'm working on right now. I'm re-inking the parts of this drawing that I decided to add colour to. This piece is different for me because it feels a little more serious than my other recent drawings, and there is no creature, or character included in this one(though I am trying to decide if I should add in a person at the base of the tree. -Finished work will be posted soon!

What am I making?

I put this together yesterday. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I like it, but at the same time I hate it. I had this moment when glueing the pieces on that went like this in my head, "I went through art school at university, and this is what I'm making?" I've been wondering that about what I've been making lately, like do I really value what I'm making, or am I just making? It's not that I think there's something wrong with making things, and putting images together, it's just that I think I'm ready to make something better, or more focussed than what's coming out of me lately.

Insomnia

Despite having a lovely eventful day, when I got home yesterday I couldn't fall alseep. It seems that since my job contract ended a few weeks ago I am prone to slight insomnia, which is unusual for me. I have been telling myself that if I'm going to be awake anyways, I should just be making art, so that at least if I'm awake, I'll still be productive. I'll see how that goes for me. Sometimes when I was working I would just wish that I didn't have a job so that I could stay up making art till four in the morning if I wanted to. And now I can.