Embarassed, but Free

As I flipped through one of the new magazines on the shelf this morning, I was struck by some of the art inside. What I saw was art without rules or limits - art without a concept of preciousness or perfection. The artists used what they had to create what they wanted.

It's completely the opposite of the way I normally work - I didn't do any measuring or think about the real relationships between elements. I placed wild watercolor crayon marks and quickly constructed a face around them. It's weird. It's lopsided. The eyes are too close together and misshapen. It's perfect.

The product may not be something I feel confident showing off, but I feel like I tapped into something important while I was creating it. I felt unbalanced and challenged without feeling hopeless and lost. I felt happy just to be there: doing the work.

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Ice Skating Characters

A Competent Profile

As I start to become more familiar with proportions and measurements for the various faces I attempt to draw, I am starting to wonder how to make a more complete portrait with my limited time. Do I stick to lines? Do I bring a brush and some ink? Which lines should I include? Which shapes are important to represent? Maybe this is a good time to look at the work other artists have done and try to work out some of their methods.

Ferret

Trying out a challenge to myself - to create "finished" pieces with a limited color palette on a consistent schedule. I am still working out the final guidelines. I think I would like to challenge myself to use a new texture in each piece as well. I've had this unfinished sketch in my sketchbook forever. Even though I'm not entirely happy with it - it feels great to finally have it done!

Rainbow Bisque

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