A Completed Art Challenge ✓
I’m sitting at my dining room table on a Thursday afternoon, one day ahead of my drawing challenge. I’d like to say it’s because I’m organized or motivated. The truth is, I am so over this thing, that I wanted to get the last drawing done as fast as possible.
It’s been a long time since I’ve participated in an art challenge. And I found this one to be particularly difficult. Usually I run into the issue of “not enough time in the day to draw.” This time around, I had SO MUCH of it, but I did not have the energy. I’m not sure if it was because of the prompts I chose. Or the fact that I did everything digitally. OR it was simply too damn hot to muster up any kind of motivation. In the end, it doesn’t even matter. Whether I changed a prompt, skipped a day or two, hated drawing 90% of what I worked on, the truth of the matter is: I completed the assignment. Not on time. ONE DAY EARLY!
I am absolutely thrilled. The thing I love about these challenges is that even if a piece is a bit weak, when you look at everything as a whole–a collection–it really does seem impressive. And honestly? It IS impressive to draw 31 completed pieces every single day.
There were so many moments when I was having a great time. I made a lot of little discoveries along the way, and I know that I will be able to apply a lot of what I learned to future digital drawings. It makes me feel a bit more confident, and I certainly want to continue drawing this way; as much as possible, whenever I can, especially while traveling.
This was a really pivotal project for me as someone who has been struggling creatively for quite some time. I still feel like I make a lot of things, but it’s always in dimming, short bursts. I miss the electric, vibrant, and dare I say–WEIRD–Artist Me. This was such an excellent exercise in consistency, which is something I lack in every aspect of my life. And while it wasn’t perfect, and there’s so many avenues in which to improve, I am feeling excited for my creative practice in the upcoming months. I always feel most like myself as we get closer to autumn. The colors, the temperatures, the flavors, the magic. It pulls every bit of creative energy out of me and I LOVE to unleash it.
I hope to work on consistency even more. In August, I want to post one moment of my day, everyday, at 4pm. I want to share art, cooking, music, crafts, work, summer outings….everything. The only goal is to just share SOMETHING, on time. This should be slightly easier in a way, compared to a drawing a day. But it’s a really important exercise to help me prepare for September and October. I have a massive project coming up, and it’s going to require every bit of discipline and creativity I can summon.
I really am thrilled. This has been a wonderful experience, but I’m also so incredibly happy to set it aside. I think it’s easy to lean into the romantic idea of being an artist and drawing everyday, but I’m here to tell you, for me at least, I did not enjoy it most of the time! I mean…I did, and I didn’t. It was worth every bit of frustration and doubt that it wouldn’t come together. It is unbelievably pivotal to create these assignments for yourself, especially if you’ve felt a bit lost. And, as it’s an assignment, it will be difficult. You will want to drag your feet the entire time. You will wonder what is the point when literally no one sees it. But YOU will see it. You’ll see those tiny details that change an entire composition. You will see minuscule improvements that lead to drawings that have so much more depth than before. I truly cannot emphasize this enough: do the hard things. Make the mistakes. Get frustrated, but keep going.
Then, and only then, can you sit at your dining room table at 4pm on a random Thursday, crack open a beer, and smile about all the hard work you just did. And that you never have to do this project ever again…because you’ll be too busy moving onto the next one. Cheers!
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