Daily Artistic Challenge

11/4/13 
October mini watercolor challenge.
In October, I challenged myself to paint a watercolor a day, using images from that day's meditation, dreams or ideas for an art piece I was working on.

Click the link below to view a slideshow of the images that resulted from that challenge.


http://www.smilebox.com/playBlog/4d7a67304d44497a4d44593d0d0a&blogview=true


Day 31:

Late (late) night portrait in Caran D'Ache oil pastel

Woke up late last night and did this portrait. Last one for the month. I think I will continue into August. Will decide today.


Day 30:

Caran D'Ache pencil

Difficult to do the glasses, so I draw myself first without them and add them after.

Day 29:

Caran D'Ache pencils and oil pastels

Late at night but I was on. This may be the closest yet to how I really look.


Day 27:

Caran D'Ache Neocolor II, while in NY

This was also while I was away.


Day 26:

Derwent colored pencils, while in upstate NY

Did this over the weekend, while in upstate New York visiting my father for his 40th anniversary.


Day 25:

Derwent colored pencils

Mostly in warm colors as opposed to the previous days cool colors.


Day 24:

Caran D'ache pencils.

Having fun with the Caran D'Ache pencils. Last night I tried using cool colors only and a three quarter view. Still doesn't really look like me but again I think I caught a mood.



Day 23:

Caran D'Ache pencil.

This looks softer with just the Caran D'Ache pencil. It's funny how none of these portraits yet really look exactly like me. It is taking me a while to get back into this. And yet, they all seem to capture an aspect of who I am at that moment. I am really enjoying this process now.


Day 22 and more or less back on track.

Pentel pencil and Caran D'Ache colored pencils. 

Didn't notice until after how serious and stern this one looks. So interesting to see how these portraits reflect my moods, sometimes when I don't even recognize them myself. 

7/21

pentel pencil only

Tried at first to do a contour drawing without looking at the paper but it got so tangled up that I started over. I like the directness in this one. At first wasn't sure how it was going to turn out. So glad to be doing these as I can feel myself getting stronger with each one.


7/18, 7/19, 7/20

pentel pen

Here's day 18. Decided to do a full portrait.

This was done in a motel in Maine where I had gone to pick up my son from camp, Pentel pen and oil pastel

Day 19. Those were the angel cards that I picked for myself that day. Usually I pick one for the day but somehow two showed up. Interesting combination, honesty and adventure.

This was done after I got back with Pentel pencil. 

Day 20:
I like the way this one looks softer, kinder. It was a special experience picking my son up at camp. A beautiful setting by a Maine lake. A calm, relaxed atmosphere where none of the boys used any sort of electronic devices and instead just spent the entire day outdoors. Wonderful! But great to have him home too.


7/17/13

pentel oil pastel and pencil

I did one side yesterday so it seemed right to do the other side today. This time I had to use my non-dominant right hand to draw. It was interesting-freer. Curious how different each side looks Hmmm.



7/16/13

Pentel pencil and oil pastels

Continuing to try new views. It was interesting to try covering my right eye. Though I am left handed, my right eye seems dominant. (It's confusing because it looks here like I am covering my left eye, but that's just because it gets switched in the mirror) So it was a little strange and disorienting to use my left eye only to see. At the same time, I think there is a life to this that maybe I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. It's nice to always be learning new things.



7/15/13

Pentel oil pastel and pencil

I want to try some new angles. This one is from above so I was looking down into the mirror. This view distorts the proportions of my face in an interesting way. Kind of eerie.




7/14/13

Pentel pencil, then pentel pastels

Oops, I got the date wrong on the drawing. It was the 14th still. Sat with my pad and drew myself drawing. Very quick but I think I got a feeling for the pose. Decided to leave out some of the shadows on this one.

7/13/13

Here is my portrait from late last night. I did it from my image on my iPhone. You know how that phone image always makes your face look stretched out and sort of strange? Well, that's my experience. So it's not my favorite one. But in the interest of inclusivity, here it is.

pencil, drawn from iPhone

That's that. Thanks for reading.

7/12/13

pentel pencil with some white oil pastel

I am starting a new page for the daily self portraits. They seem to want their own place to be. This is the portrait for day 12. Moody and dark, hmmm? Light coming from the side will do that. I learned that it is easier to draw my glasses when I do the face first and then add the glasses. I feel much more connection to my face after doing this for so many days straight. I am someone who resists this sort of daily discipline but really needs it and benefits from it.