Resolution 2024 - art anyone?

I'm enjoying the chicken art...reminds me to do more of that myself (add it to the list, haha)
And that little watercolor is adorable; reminds me of a fairy house, or something.

Okay, let's see if I can post an image of that card I made...

Yay, it worked!  Also, I realized it's VERY HARD to draw circles.  Sigh.  Of course she had to be wearing pearls!

Okay, more people, please post what you're working on.  That's so helpful to push me to get more done!  (Plus it's just fun to see what others are doing.)

Part of the problem is that I can't draw yet.  But I did use a protractor to try to get the angles right off the photo.
And part of the problem is I suspect this building is wonky as it looks cobbled together from spare parts.

It's a building I want to paint in watercolour this summer as it's sort of a folly and a water feature.  I keep meaning to look up the history of it.  Whatever it is for, it captivates me.

And I struggle to capture it on camera or paint.

So here we are, blocking out the shape, and trying to choose colours that will use up what's on my palette.



I actually kind of like it better at this stage than finished.



Most of the problem is in the drawing.
And the other problem is it took two days to get to the first picture, I was rushing through the details because I want to paint what's next.  

It looks great.  Although you might feel better about your work if you got a better handle on perspective.  It's a bit tricky but will help a lot, because we intuitively know when things look off because of perspective, due to the fact that that is what we see everywhere in the world around us.

Here is a helpful perspective overview video I found, that would give you some tips to make the actual bricks look better in proportion, just as an example:


what he is doing with the Xs is a simple way to position things.  In any rectangle, if you draw diagonal lines, where they intersect is the center.

I must admit, I too struggle with perspective, but even just getting slight changes can make a drawing really look a lot better.  And it's a pain to have to do all these math-like calculations just to draw--art and math feel SOOOOOOOO opposite--

Yet once you get a handle on some of this (it's all just practice; for some of us, it's less intuitive than for others), it becomes easier to do.  I had an architectural drawing ancient friend of mine try to explain how perspective works, and my mind clamped shut after the first few bits of information, because it became too confusing.  Bless his heart.

I have to learn slowly, using books, and watching videos, repeatedly, because these concepts are so abstract, they sink into my leaky brain drip by drip.  haha.

Also, I don't draw buildings and the like.  They do not capture my attention like animals do.  So the perspective with animals isn't as crucial as with buildings.

And a helpful video overview of shadows, too.   (The title is misleading.  There is no "how to" at all in it.  It's explanation of the principles, really)


I know, this gets too be too much information.

So.........that is why this challenge is so important.  We have to JUST GET IT DONE!!!

You cannot improve while you are just criticizing things in your head.  And you will get nowhere but frustrated just by thinking.  So by doing, we 1) produce something;  2) have a basis from which to move forward; and 3) have fun.

So while looking at my earlier work makes me cringe (this is apparently true for many others, I have heard), I would not have gotten as far as I have if I had done nothing but observe or think or wish or hope.  OR give up when it was too hard or came out looking like crap.  So I create and put it out there, regardless of how much criticism it gets (from me or anyone else), or whether or not it sells.

I just create.

I am trying to give myself permission to play and try new styles and see what comes of it.  Because ultimately, isn't the most important thing to just have fun doing what gives us joy or pleasure?

A pat on the back to all of us here, for taking steps to do something we enjoy, and for having the balls to post it, and for working to encourage and motivate and help each other!

And to work it backwards, here is how you can plot out exactly where your bricks (or any repeating architectural-type feature) would go in a drawing:


If you try applying any of these principles, I'd LOVE to see another drawing of the same scene.  A "before" and "after" you've applied some of these drawing principles and tactics.

I drew a train on a set of tracks, getting ready to run over a birthday cake, for that same grouchy architectural drawing man last year, for his birthday, and he called me and said, "Why did you draw a train with a birthday cake?"

I said, "I am trying to learn to draw in perspective!"

Fortunately, he's not the judgmental type...my very basic drawing seemed so elementary to him, I'm sure, but he did comment, "Oh.  Well, the perspective looks just fine.  You did that right."  

If you don't know how many bricks will fit into the area, though, you'll have to use this technique to draw them in perspective (starting at about 4:20 or so)--


...although he's doing it in one point perspective, and your drawing is in two point perspective.

He does show how to add a perspective line grid, something I haven't done yet but see a lot of people relying on, especially in digital art.  So that might help if you're interested in that aspect.

Flora Eerschay wrote:This year I decided to participate in a book arts community challenge (see "areyoubookenough" on instagram). There are prompts each month, for a year. It usually takes me much longer to make an artist's book, but I thought that maybe it's too long sometimes.
This month the prompt is "spice", and while I'm in Mexico, I keep eating all the SOO spicy foods... with different varieties of chilli pepper. Too spicy often!!
So, time to make some art about it.

My resolution isn't going very well... I have an idea, but it's complicated and I have doubts if it's worth the time. Probably a sign that I should make something more simple. Something that could just be a mockup for another, larger artwork in the future... I don't know. Still eight days of January to not miss the first deadline ;)
(while keeping up with all the other deadlines...)

I am doing something at least once a week, which is better than the nothing I was doing before (unless you count doodling on any paperwork I have in my purse).

I'm making myself take a break and sit down with my kids when they want to paint. I also got myself a gouache painting kit. Gouache sounded so interesting- a cross between acrylic and watercolor but I am NOT used to how it works on the paper.

This might help.   Art prompts for February.

For busy people, picking one per week might work better.

I did it!

https://www.instagram.com/p/C2sfZS4CZRs/

I also like the prompt for February, and maybe I like working with clay on small stuff like this, although it cracks.
Any ideas to make it not crack? 🤔

I LOVE the ombre colors on that tree painting!

Keep posting, everyone.  It's motivating me to stick with it.

well every day is art day for me =)
fortunately or unfortunately, or a bit of both from different perspectives - as i am a full time artist, half craftsperson of functional craft and half more of a "pure" artist, either totally practical or completely whimsical and fantastical is how i roll =)

its possible my new years resolution should be to take some time off making art every day! get out, smell the proverbial roses, take long walks and just downshift into a slower pace with production work especially....crafts is very monotonous and can get to be quite a chore when you do it all the time. i do enjoy it though, even the boring repetitive parts...thats where precision and good crafts come from- once you do it more than a hundred times you really get it.
i've been on quite a storm of making lately, although doing a lot of different stuff so on a learning curve with what i have been working on. made a few hundred simple designs/ art pieces in the months...well like 6 months or maybe a bit longer i have been going at it too much maybe!

anywho raven, i think youre too hard on your self...i like the stuff youve posted. i think you have more talent than you think. skill can be learned but art talent or whatever that special something is...well i tend to think thats just there or it isnt...although i think everyone can and even SHOULD explore some kind of creative outlet.

r ranson wrote:This might help.   Art prompts for February.

For busy people, picking one per week might work better.

Last night I had a look at this list of prompts and came up with some ideas.

What if I had a space theme... or since it's my birthday month, a fish theme?  Or maybe a shire theme since I would love to paint more lord of the rings scenes.  

So I looked at the first week and came up with a description for each and it looked a bit like this.

Experiment:
1. shire - window of small, half burried, backyard shed with curtain not quite hiding a still
2. fish - beakers and one of them has a beta fish in it
4. space - no idea

Layers
1. shire - birthday cake on a table under a big oak tree in winter
2. fish - no idea
3. different layers of rings around a planet.

and so on.  

Then I went to try and sketch these ideas out and I understood.  This is where I'm lost.  I'm still at the stage where I'm copying what I see trying to build up my skill.  But I don't have the skill to put together these ideas... yet.

So I'm looking for drawing classes to try and get over that block.  

r ranson wrote:  I'm still at the stage where I'm copying what I see trying to build up my skill.  But I don't have the skill to put together these ideas... yet.

So I'm looking for drawing classes to try and get over that block.  

I think you might like Mark Kistler's style.  He had a drawing show for kids on pbs way back in the 1990s?  1980s?  He drew castles and wizards and rockets and fantasy-type landscapes.

He simplifies the drawing concepts so that you get effects quickly, without needing to understand all the technical details.  This video he's talking and promoting his courses and answering questions while he draws and explains.  You could draw along, and that might help you get some starting images for your shire project.

He has a couple books geared toward kids, with examples of kids' work before and after learning from him, with some really nice results.  His Drawing in 3D might be worth looking into. It has 3D different styles of letters, plus people, animals, landscapes, creatures, boxes, flags, all sorts of fun stuff.  Kind of like throwing yourself head-first into drawing, with professional-looking results, without needing to learn the nitty gritty details about two- and three-point perspective and reflected light shadows, etc etc.

If you draw along with this video, you'll get a feel for what I mean.

The two year old and I did some painting together today.

I was getting frustrated by the kids' paint and realized that if I can tell the difference between these and nicer paints, then maybe that means it's ok for me to use some nicer paints. For a long time, I couldn't tell the difference and so I couldn't justify paying the price difference. So, even though my skill level wouldn't justify it, I think upgrading my materials will make it more enjoyable for me.

It kind of reminds me of when I started being able to recognize the difference between different plant cultivars back at the beginning of my gardening journey. 😊

Alina Green wrote:

r ranson wrote:  I'm still at the stage where I'm copying what I see trying to build up my skill.  But I don't have the skill to put together these ideas... yet.

So I'm looking for drawing classes to try and get over that block.  

I think you might like Mark Kistler's style.  He had a drawing show for kids on pbs way back in the 1990s?  1980s?  He drew castles and wizards and rockets and fantasy-type landscapes.

He simplifies the drawing concepts so that you get effects quickly, without needing to understand all the technical details.

Mark Kistler has some good books for daily drawing practice too. They are easy to find as used books. I think they are enjoyable.

I wish there was someone who did something similar with the basics of color. This guy, Cesar Cordova, on YouTube has taught me a lot but it's aimed at people who know more than I do and it's mainly oil painting, which I don't want to get into. Still I'm learning a lot of about color theory from him.

Playing with still life and gansai tambi watercolour today.

Watercolour is my comfort paint.

You guys are awesome. What a discipline. A friend of mine said to me once,, " art is what we leave behind."   We were here and paying attention!

Hoping to get started on a children's book with a friend. She has  small herd of geriatric sheep, Iona being the star of the group (looking directly at camera) . She is a skilled author and has several ideas, I just hope to have moments where I may push the worries of the day aside enough to concentrate on it.

Yesterday was my first day this year when I didn't make any art.  

Missing a day helped me understand just how much good art is doing for my health and outlook on the day.