Hello, From a Blatantly Obvious Fact
I’ve been working on a 100-day project.
You can view it here.
As I type this, I’m on day 40/100. When I started, I was highly regimented and diligent. I drew every morning at the same time for 20 minutes.
Then my parents came to visit…
My days have gotten less regimented and more disorganized, but I do intend to draw exactly 100 vessels, mugs, cups, and multi-sided receptacles for holding my most valuable and highly prized possession - tea.
Mug 34/100
I am very proud of the lighting on this mug!
I started the project to increase my digital art skills. I have taken a number of classes online to learn digital art, but I finally found an instructor that explained the varied steps in a way that clicked, and I had a megawatt lightbulb moment.
I didn’t want to lose momentum, so I began the 100-day project.
The obvious and expected outcome - Better digital art.
The obvious to everyone (but totally unexpected to me) outcome - The 100-mugs project has helped to increase my skill set in other art mediums.
Most noticeably, the lighting and shadow work in watercolor paintings.
WHO KNEW??!
I didn’t know.
I was completely taken by surprise.
There is tedium and freedom in digital art.
There isn’t an obvious stopping point because you can continue to do/re-do ad nauseam.
With digital art, you will never ruin a canvas, chip the pinky finger off a $5,028.38 hunk of Black Belgium marble, rip the paper, overmix and muddy the paint, or slice your finger open with a Xacto knife.
And there are so many functions. So. Many. Functions. You could work on one image for weeks on end and still never finish.
The flip side is because you can simply undo without ruining hours upon hours worth of work, it’s easier to experiment and take chances. Chances that I would be too scared to take on paper.
So here I am, taking wild swings and chances every morning, drawing the same 8 mugs over and over again, and not only is it paying off in the digital world but also in the analog world as well.
#100dayproject
So many mugs.
This has been a dance in the street, playing the violin in my red suede peep toe pumps on kind of discovery, not only because my watercolor art is better but because I have spent so much time in the past admonishing myself for being too curious about other mediums.
I want to try all the art supplies. I want to experiment, play, and metaphorically roll around in them.
And I allow myself to do that to a degree (mostly because I sincerely cannot help myself while armpit-deep and struggling to breathe in an art supply store), but in the back of my head is this voice.
You know the voice.
The voice of self-judgment that is telling me to focus.
To stick to one subject. It chants, “A jack of all trades and a master of none.” The voice accuses me of being too flighty and scared for not buckling down to become a master at my craft.
BUT NOW!
NOW I say, “Shut your face, Geraldine!” while I throw my red shoe at her.
(Geraldine is the name of my voice)
Now, I have evidence that playing and experimenting with other art forms helps all the other mediums, and I now have carte blanche to do what I want!
BOOM!
I’m so excited. Bring on the oil paints, the chisels, the inks, the scissors, glitter and glue, and the pastels.
OH, the pastels! I’ve always wanted to use pastels.
Oh, look what I have!
Your time has come friends!
What is the thing you’ve always wanted to try but never did because of someone’s (probably your own) opinion?