Day 5 of my 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. I'm using sketches i created from Instagram photos on my iPhone I did as part of a 100 day project and turing 30 of them into paintings. User: @wesbrawner
Original Instagram photo:
100 Day iPhone Sketch:
30 in 30 day painting:
Watercolor, Watercolor Crayon & Ink. 8 x 8 on 140 lb. watercolor paper.
Day four of my 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. I'm using sketches i created from Instagram photos on my iPhone I did as part of a 100 day project and turing 30 of them into paintings. User: @northern_wind
Original Instagram photo:
100 Day iPhone Sketch:
30 in 30 day painting:
Acrylic, Silver Metallic Acrylic & Ink. 8 x 8 on 140 lb. watercolor paper.
What do you do if you feel like you're doing everything you possibly can to advance in your art and yet there seems a lack of opportunity? You try and try and yet it's like there's no traction. Where is that "lucky break"?
You have two choices:
1. Complain about the lack of opportunity and become jealous of those around you who seem to be succeeding with such ease. I could so do what they're doing, you think. But you're not. To be honest, you're barely doing what YOU are doing. It's not luck. It's hard work on what is before you right now, no matter how small or big.
2. Make opportunities. Yeah I know. I hear the push back. The truth is though, if you are HUNGRY enough you can take advantage of opportunities all around you. They just aren't those sexy opportunities that thrust you into the public eye with accolades and acclaim. And let's be honest. If we're going to bust our butt, we want it to count for something BIG right?
What I have found is that you might have to redefine your idea of what great opportunities look like.
If opportunity hasn't knocked, start going door to door.
Are you doing work you love? (If not - then get to it. Stop waiting for someone to ask or invite you to do it).
Ok. I'll use myself as an example. Would I like to have my art valued, hung in galleries and sold for a lot of dough, and soak in all that goes along with being a "successful" professional artist? Sure. But I'm not waiting for someone to come knocking. I keep taking the right next step. TODAY (That's my mantra, as you know well if you frequent my blog).
Practically here's what that looks like:
- I committed to a drawing or painting a day for an entire year. April 4th will be an entire year. I have held to that. And even done more some days. Did I do this because some one asked me to? No. I did it to kick to the curb the lie I believed for too long that I because I couldn't draw in a photo realistic style my art was no good. This experience is more valuable than your could possibly imagine.
- I have taken advantage of FREE (and cheap) opportunities. Visit the Sketch book project. Sign up to not only do a sketchbook but every so often they have other projects to join in on. Most recently it was The "Dreadful" Project and it was free to enter. Sign up for a class at a local art center. Take a class from Craftsy.com
- A fellow artist i follow on Instagram decided to do a #100dayproject and asked who might want to join in. (see my previous post) So for the past 21 days I've posted an iPhone sketch of someone else's photo in my Instagram feed. This has been great because I get to keep myself sketching and benefit from brightening up someone's day when I tag them in my post. They often are flattered & think it's way cool. And I even won a t-shirt from one post :)
- A few weeks ago I joined up with the NYC Urban Sketchers group. These are people who just love to draw. They meet up every Saturday in NYC and sketch in various places. Urban Sketchers have groups meeting world-wide. And it's F-R-double-E except when there's an admission to a place they are sketching (like the Central Park Zoo, which was $12 admission).
- Make things for other people. Give your art away. Give some to friends and family. Surprise someone with a handwritten letter and draw on the envelope. You'd be surprised how this could make someone's day. I did a watercolor painting of my daughter as a surprise for her 11th birthday. Your art is a gift, and while you need to make money if this is a career, there are also times when you need to gift it.
- Use social media to share your art. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest - you never know who might be exposed to your art, like it or even share it. It's todays networking. And if you're an introvert, this is great news as you don't have to have the personality of a mayor to connect.
- Look for local venues to display your work. In april, I will have one piece in a show at a local library. In August, I'll have my first solo show at another library. While it's not a SOHO gallery in NYC, it's getting your work out there that counts!
I don't say all this to brag. On the contrary, I say it to show that everyone has opportunity. Sometimes you just have to get creative, or change your perspective. And before you tell me it's easy for me because I'm a "creative professional" - all that I mentioned above has nothing to do with my full-time graphic design job. This is extra.
So, still think there's no opportunity? Get to creating...
There's a scene from the 1992 movie "My Cousin Vinny" (younger generations - you can google it) where the main characters get their car stuck in the red clay-mud of Alabama. Being from New York and out of their element (to say the least), they seem to be the only ones who aren't aware of this hazard but have to find things out the hard way. But It does becomes useful information for them later in the movie.
"...anyone who’s been stuck in the mud in Alabama knows, you step on the gas, one tire spins, the other tire does nothing." - Mona Lisa Vito, My Cousin Vinny
Ever feel like your Art is stuck in the mud? And no matter how hard you struggle to release it, your wheels just spin? It's tough when you feel like your the Art you're creating lacks traction.
Here are three observations from my own time spent while spinning wheels:
First, allow yourself the grace to be who you are, where you are. Don't be ashamed or embarrassed because you've compared yourself to where other's are. Or because you feel like you've lost time and now it's too late to close the gap of where you "should be."
Second, remember that today you are better than you were yesterday, and if you keep at it, tomorrow you will be better than today. It's a JOURNEY. It's always a moving target, so try to enjoy the journey and process, not just looking to attain a goal.
Third, set yourself up for success. Make small goals, then keep adding to them. You gotta crawl before you run. We know this in other areas of our lives, yet somehow in our art, we convince ourselves it's frivolous to exert that much energy challenging ourselves. Energy is going to go somewhere. You mind as well channel into something that will help you in your art.
No one is going to care about your Art if you don't. Prioritize for it. Work hard. Keep going. Surround yourself with encouragers. Up your intake so you have something to output.
What's one thing you can do TODAY to get yourself out of the mud? No excuses. Go do it! Then tomorrow, do it again, and add to it. Get a taste for momentum!
Sportaldislexicartaphobia is the fear of paintings and other forms of visual art. While most of us will never suffer from this particular phobia, we do in fact suffer from another kind of fear of art. The fear that blocks the creation of art.
I have had conversations with other artists at times and realize that we're all battling some kind of fear. Sometimes that fear gets the best of us and squashes our art (and our desire to create) all together.
Here are just a few that I have seen and/or experienced myself:
(What if they not only hate me, but hate what I create?)
(Doing something new or different seems just too difficult)
(What if I have nothing to say? What if I'm not inspired by anything and can't find my Muse?)
(What if I can't hack it? And crash and burn publicly? What if what I create sucks? What if it sucks and I don't realize it? )
(What if I succeed and am trapped in having to keep producing the same kind of art that made me successful in the first place?)
(I can't really show who I am in my work. It's easier to copy others. Hey, I might not even know who I really am, let alone be able to express that in my Art. I'm too lazy to do the work inside to figure out who I am, what I have to say, and what my style and voice as an artist is.)
Just like in other areas of our lives, we might never know exactly what hangs in the balance if we don't push past our fears. Notice most of the questions around our fear start with "What if...". That means it could be true, but also could not be true. And yet we invest so much emotional energy in the worst case scenario.
There's no one time fix all, rather a battle we have to keep showing up for. But when we do engage the fight, we can take ground and find new freedoms and reap the rewards of battle. Our ART can get a new breath and depth.
The thing is, it takes courage. And consistency. And a community of people around you. It's HARD work. Only you can do it. And no one will make you. Not even this blog post.
So, what fear do you need to face that has been holding back your art?
Not wanting to take that art class for fear of looking silly? Afraid to put your art up for sale because you think no one (except maybe family and friends) might buy and value it? Avoiding sharing your work with others because it's not good enough (you're playing the comparison game) or you feel like it's not your "best work" (perfectionism, anyone?)? Think you're too old to get back to your art, like that ship sailed a long time ago (If you ain't dead, you ain't too old!)?
Maybe today is the day you show up for the fight. You know what it feels like on the loosing side. Don't you think it's worth a shot to see what victory tastes like?
Go get 'em.
{Photo Credit}Did you ever look at a piece of art and wonder how it got to the finished piece before you? It's a rare thing to see art as it goes through it's various stages. Well, today I'm going to let you in on my process for this watercolor still life I've called "A Pear of Grapes". First, I set up some fruit and lighting (for some drama) to my liking. I knew I wanted a few different areas to avoid everything all clumped in the same place.
Next, I taped down a piece of Watercolor paper (Strathmore 140 lb) to a foam board. I'm using Winsor & Newton brushes and watercolor paints at the moment. Also pictured in a kneaded eraser, an HB Graphite pencil and two plastic jars for water.
I started off with a simple pencil sketch to block out my composition.
Starting with the lightest color, I lay down some wash of watercolor paint.
From there, I move on to add more color and a bit of texture, still keeping things light.
I keep layering to get things a bit darker, while still keeping some light areas.
I work the main subject until I feel like I'm at a good place to switch things up (or waiting for an area to dry before working a bit more).
Now, I lay down some color to the foreground, knowing that I'm going to add more texture so I'm not concerned with getting my watercolor smooth.
I do the same for the background, as well as now going back into my dry areas on the fruit to add more texture and lines. I've also added some darker shadows at this point
Now I apply the texture in the foreground area using a darker hue and more pigment of the watercolor paint.
Then I add a little more texture to the background and foreground. And to put some finishing touches, I use a bit of white Gouache for some highlights.
And there ya have it folks. Hope you enjoyed a little peek into my process!
Now that I've got your attention...
I've often heard people say that you should only show your best work. By doing so you control the image people have of you, and the quality of your work. While I agree it's important to put your best work out there, I disagree with it being the only thing people see.
We live in a world that has convinces us we must manage our image and PR ourselves to be the brightest and the best. Show no flaws. Never let them see you sweat. Believe your own hype. But the problem is, we all know that's false. No one is capable of continuously creating great work without any flaw. No one is perfect, yet that's exactly what we try to portray. Because that's what we've been told and taught. Not convinced? Just look at our filtered Instagram photos or Pinterest boards filled with professionally looking desserts and home made goodies.
I believe there is greater value in being human. Being flawed. Humble. Authentic. Showing a more complete image - the "good" and the "bad".
Now when it comes to showing our art in the internet, I believe it's no different. When I started my goal of doing a drawing (or some form of art) a day back in April, I decided that I was going to go public and expose myself. Expose my art. Gulp. And not just those pieces I felt good about. Everything. So since then I've been posting everything on Instagram. Why?
Two reasons:
1. Dealing with perfectionism. You see, if I gave in to those voices that told me what I was creating was not good enough, continually needed more work, wasn't worthy enough to share, etc. - I wouldn't post anything. Ever. But by choosing to post the "good" and the "bad" I was poking perfectionism in the eye.
2. Being authentic. When you're authentic, you are more approachable by others. They see the great work you do, but also see your struggle, your weaknesses. And because of those things, you are more relatable. How may times have you heard "Oh, I could never be as good as So-and-so... I mean just look at their talent. I'll never be that good." Wouldn't you rather learn from someone who has (and continues) to make mistakes but has learned through those errors him/herself?
I want my art, as well as my life, to be approachable. Relatable. Everyone is on a journey. And that journey has ups and downs. Success and failures. To pick out a few "best of" moments or "Masterpieces" isn't an accurate picture. And most often, just results in frustration and separation.
So I want to challenge you today. Go expose yourself. Show ALL of your work. Be real. Relatable. You just might find you inspire more people with your work and journey.
Today I was feeling stuck. I know it happens to everyone, but it's still frustrating. For me, if I miss a day or two of drawing lately it proves to be a somewhat painful reentry. When I'm ready (and desiring), I crave out some time to draw only to be faced with a sort of paralysis. I don't know what to draw. Where do I start? Nothing seems appealing or interesting. I have the internal argument with myself, all while the clock ticks. I can't summon the nerve to draw the people who sit closest to me. I find the furniture around me boring. I've drawn that particular subject before. On and on it goes.
Today, an hour passed while I argued with myself. An hour. I could have done something in that time. Or several somethings. Finally, I had to determine to just draw the thing right in front of me. An empty Starbucks comfy chair. I had drawn this before. But today I had to quiet the resistance and just draw. Do SOMETHING. Act. And it's in this acting that something really does happen. The voice shuts up. You focus. Paralysis is shed. And you create.
It's not a masterpiece by any means, but sometimes it's not just about the result of what you create but how you got there. I was close to packing it in and not creating anything today. But i pushed through. A small victory for sure, but a victory none the less.
I had this internal prompting that was calling me to create more art. Not the graphic design work that was part of my full-time employment, but rather a getting back to my roots, tactile experience of handling some art supplies that I hadn't interacted with in many, many years.
It started when, on a whim, I took a printmaking class at a local art center. While attending this 3 week course, I was turned onto a book called "The Creative License" by Danny Gregory. Little did I know this would stoke the internal creative fires within, that were dormant for far too long.
I decided to try my hand at 365 days of drawings and painting. Danny Gregory wrote "a five minute drawing is better than none". Somehow these words were liberating. Surely I could manage five minutes.
I was off and running. It was forced and awkward at first. But I leaned in. Rarely missed a day and when i did, i did two to catch up. I kept going. At first, filling pages and pages of my Moleskine sketchbooks, then branching out to individual pieces as my confidence grew.
Early on I decided to post my daily work on Instagram (and later Facebook) as a way of keeping accountable, and even posting the work that was in my opinion, sub par. It wasn't about creating "masterpieces". I wouldn't let that perfectionist voice discourage me from keeping on my journey.
Today, is one year. 365 days of at least one drawing or painting. Beyond the work itself, this journey has changed me. It has given me more confidence in creating and sharing my art. It has helped me identify tools I like to work with, and what my style is. It has challenged me in ways I'm not sure I can really express.
It has awakened a hunger and passion that doesn't show any signs of stopping. I want to keep learning, creating, sharing... What lies ahead? I don't know. But as I keep taking the right next step, It's a step more into being who I was created to be.
Want to know what 365 days of drawing and painting look like? Visit here.
