Thanks to some prodding by my beloved Lifemate, I've decided that this is the year I stop saying, "I sure do wish I was better with watercolor," and actually do something about it. He even supported me in this endeavor by purchasing a nice little travel set, complete with a fancy-shmancy water-brush, so I have no excuses. I actually already had a good travel set, but to be honest I like the one he got me better, especially now that I've played with the water-pen (I was a bit skeptical at first, but I'm a convert now). It's definitely going to Go Places with me.
Now, having spent the past two years adjusting to my role as Parent (in addition to my roles of Individual and Spouse), I knew that I'd need to bring that very specific balance of Structure and Flexibility to this project. More structure than 2016's Blog Project, because I've got a better handle on things now, but also more flexibility than 2014's Photo Project because Life. So rather than say, "Oh I'm totally going to do a painting a day!" I rather more reasonably said, "I'm going to do at least one painting a week, and on the days I can't get to painting I will at least do a sketch that might be used for a painting, or a skill drill." And then, because past experience (ie 2012's Art Project) has taught me that there are days when inspiration just isn't there, I created a bit of a Table for myself, to prompt me on those days when I wail, "I don't know what to draaaaaaw!" It breaks down as follows:
Monday: still life
Tuesday: portrait
Wednesday: landscape
Thursday: an illustration from one of my stories
Friday: architecture
Saturday: animal
Sunday: fan art of someone else's story
January: Pacific Islands (this is very specifically because we'll be in Hawaii later this month)
February: Polar/Nordic Regions
March: British Isles
April: Eastern US
May: Western US
June: Mediterranean
July: South America
August: Africa
September: Australia
October: Asia
November: Eastern Europe
December: Germany (because ancestry!)
Week 1: monochrome
Week 2: ink first
Week 3: no ink
Week 4: ink last
So if I don't have a hankering to draw/painting a Specific Thing on a given day, I bring out the Table and figure out what my prompt for that exact day is. Thanks, Past Jenny O; I know Future Jenny O will be grateful for your anal retention.
That's that. But what did I do today, you might ask? Well, I made myself a very basic little color chart, to let me see what exactly I'm working with:
I started with the three primary colors from the set Nathan got me, and made a proper little deconstructed color-wheel out of it, then I laid down the rest of the colors in the kit, and finally added in the colors from my other kit that weren't already represented (with a bit of blending for good measure, just to see...).
Needless to say, I'm feeling quite accomplished, and much more comfortable with the water brush. I'm excited to see what the year brings!
I'm considering joining a #100daysproject in April with a friend. I shared your brilliant table idea with them because it is freaking incredible and definitely something I would need if I do this 100 days business. Thank you for sharing your wonderful brain!
ReplyDeleteOkay, first of all YES YOU SHOULD DO A 100 DAYS PROJECT! I won't lie, doing something every day is difficult, but it's also SUPER worth it, in terms of the discipline it builds and the advances in craft it affords. Having a friend to do it with is extremely helpful, because Accountability. Second of all, I haven't had to use the Table very often this year (less than five times, I think) but it's a Very Comforting sort of thing to have in the background, and definitely something I'll implement for any 365 projects I do in the future (looking at YOU, 2020). Third of all, awwwww thank you! ^_^
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