Thursday, February 9, 2017

Playing While I Learn

I often post my artwork online. I'm no pro but I'm having fun learning and discovering what I can and cannot do.  I have sometimes been called brave as I try so many things but really, I don't see the point of just doing what I am already good at. For instance, when I discover I'm having a problem rendering something in particular, the next several paintings will tackle that subject head on, until I feel more comfortable with it. Right now I'm working on my drawing skills.  I have always felt they simply do not exist. I've always been very open about not being able to draw, and have admitted that I often trace outlines from my photographs in order to paint them.

Recently I took a short course online aimed at people who think they can't draw called Drawing Without Talent. The first and last assignments were to draw our own hand, for comparison's sake. I'm amazed at how much better my drawing got in such a short period of time, especially since we had to draw in ink so there would be no erasing. The course gave me some insight on how to tackle difficult subjects and taught me drawing can be fun, especially if you don't stress about the results being perfect.

I had so much fun, in fact, that I will take another course from Sketchbook Skool. In the meantime, I decided to continue the process with a free 28 day challenge from Creative Live. Everyday I get a prompt and in no more than 20 minutes, I attempt to do what it says.

As we are supposed to post our results with the hashtag #28toMake I have been putting my renderings online. But really, do my usual followers need, or want to see this stuff?  Probably not. So, after just two days, I stopped allowing it to hit my Facebook feed. By day four, I was not liking the idea of cluttering up my Instagram page with this stuff either. As I am supposed to post my results, and I think hashtags originated on Twitter anyway, I may restrict future posts just to Twitter. They would be spaced out there anyway, but I could still see what everyone is doing easily by searching for the hashtag.

I do like to celebrate the "where I'm at" moments in my art by sharing though.  Occasionally I have been fascinated by the number of people who would like and comment on something I've posted that I wasn't particularly proud of.  I am, as they say, my own worst critic. So, there may be times when I still want to share on the other platforms. You guys can feel free to scroll on by if you chose to. I'm just playing while I learn. This was, after all, one of the promises I made to myself at the beginning of the year.


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