Can you do it? Can you make art every day? To be very honest, I haven’t been able to. I aspire to making art every day but when I try to do it I fail every time. But guess what – even though I fail at this goal, I get back up and keep trying. I truly believe that to fully develop as an artist, I need to make time for it in my daily life.
I love, love, love creating art. What’s not to love about the feeling of it, the experimentation of it? It is a blessing to feel like I’m accomplishing something and learning something. I’m developing as an artist and there’s really no other way to do it but to keep on working at it.
My most recent attempt at daily art-making lasted only a few days starting on July 4 this year. I used the prompts on a page I made years ago at HubPages: 365 Prompts for Art, Journaling, or Creative Writing. The first thing I noticed was that after years of neglect that page needed to be updated. I did that and it led to a new interest in HubPages, and making an archive of my art ideas there.
Circle Woman
The July 4 prompt was “a crystal ball” so I drew a circle and inside drew a woman who represents me and the feelings I’m having while wait, wait, waiting for a house to be built on my property. (Yes, I have great expectations!) I plan to have the house painted green because – what else? Green is my favorite color. I’ve been calling this painting Circle Woman.
This painting got heavy on the black ink. I used watercolors and a Uniball black pen. I wanted to add more color with Gelly Roll pens but I haven’t finished it yet, in the sense that I know there’s more I could do to make it better. However – I don’t know that’s the point of the project. I’m thinking this would be a better archive of pictures if I just see what I can do in one daily session. I want to learn from my art experiments, and from my art mistakes.
From this art experiment I learned something about shading and blending for the face colors, and learned not to apply too much black ink to the eyes!!!
King in the Rain
My second day the prompt was trickle down and I envisioned a person standing on a rainy day with big raindrops on both edges of the page. This did not turn out perfectly. First of all, I didn’t intend to make that person be a king, and it in no way is intended to be King Jesus! Also I didn’t finish the raindrops. I don’t mind my daily sketchbook drawings being unfinished at this point. I think I’m starting a large long-term project and the point of the project is for the art to get better over time.
Not sure what I learned from this. Maybe just that I need to improve my techniques. I like how I have a streak of blue across the face.
Gate to Nowhere
Third day. The prompt for this day was open _______ – so I chose an open gate with a person standing next to it.
As soon as I got done I noticed the gate isn’t attached to a fence or wall. I think next time I’ll remedy that. Also, my figure – though I like the way she’s painted in an abstract kind of way, is in the wrong place. She’s standing beside the gate, not going through it. Of course, since there’s no wall, I guess there’s no reason to go through it.
This reminds me of stories (fictional no doubt) of people finding staircases in the deep forest. Staircases attached to absolutely nothing else. (The subreddit for strange stories like this is r/nosleep). I have at times found it amusing to read stories there. However, my painting of a gate in the forest attached to nothing is really a big mistake.
I wonder if the girl isn’t going through the gate because she knows it is a portal to another realm that she’s not yet ready to visit. I’ll call this composition Gate to Nowhere.
Don’t Skateboard Into Grandma’s Flower Garden
Fourth Day – the prompt is law breaker. I did this after seeing someone else, on video, make a person by laying down watercolor first, then going over that with ink. I call this Don’t Skateboard Into Grandma’s Flower Garden.
From this I learned that it is okay to draw a kid with messy hair.
The Cost of Local Honey
Fifth Day – the prompt is the cost of _______. I decided to paint The Cost of Local Honey.
I learned that I’ll need to take more time blending my watercolors. I think this would have been better if I’d used the “wet-on-wet” technique rather than the “wet-on-dry” technique.
Anyhow, there’s a start to my July art experiments. The project is not “to be perfect” but to embrace imperfection as a learning experience. What I’ve mainly learned this week is Productivity Over Perfection.
Now, on to creating more paintings. I’ve missed several days and am feeling the urge to get back on the horse and ride it.
July Prompts
1. a flaw
2. sterilized
3. pretending
✓ 4. crystal ball
✓ 5. trickle down
✓ 6. open __________
✓ 7. law breaker
✓ 8. the cost of ___________
✓ 9. who took it?
10. the patent office
11. cooperation
12. far back in time
13. a label you hate
✓ 14. a new spatula
15. hidden from your eyes
16. with a shovel
17. birthright
18. lawnmower
19. follow the __________
20. underground
21. turnip soup
22. bouncing
✓ 23. nervousness
24. showers
25. graduation
26. worst case
27. electricity
28. folk singer
29. high class
30. random laughter
31. bowl of ___________