Saturday, April 7, 2018

Another 7 day challenge

I've started a new 7-day art challenge, via Tara Leaver's instagram #mycreativetouchstones. Please feel free to jump-in and add your own creations, so long as you have an Instagram account of your own. Here's mine, if you're an instagram user and want to see what I'm up to.

The gist is to pick a single subject, and explore it for 7 days - with the intension of narrowing your own style: rather than being all over the place. Which tends to be me, by the way, in case you hadn't noticed *wink*!

First, I'll show the three pictures I've completed, over the past 3 days. then explain why I'm exploring these particular avenues.



 Day 1: Experimenting with marks
cross-eyed, but couldn't erase


 Day 2: Added a little colour after sketch, for experimentation
but it may not be a habit



Day 3: Loser than day 1 ~
but not as lose as day 3


Reasons for choosing this subject and medium, for my 7 day challenge:

  1. Time was limited. It's the school holidays, so time was short. Painting was out of the question. Sketching would be easier to set up, and quicker to produce something. It's only taken 15-20 minutes to complete each sketch. 

  2. Challenges with mark making. Normally I use a pencil for sketching, but wanted to see the marks I'd make, without the buffer of an eraser. So permanent, black pen, it was. The goal: to learn how I sketch, without refinement.

  3. The doodling factor. In the past I've used lines and spirals as a form of meditative, "doodling" on paper. After a google search on, "faces", images, were used as models. The expansive nature of doodling, however, ensured no sketch, looked anything like the original counterpart.

  4. Faces. I'm fascinated with expression, and what they convey without words.

  5. Moving past realism. The goal is not, complete abstract, but to move past creating realistic representations.This is so I can create an experience beyond what you get from viewing a photograph.


I look forward to sharing more of how the 7 day challenge, unfolds. Then finally, sharing what I got out of it. I enjoy participating in art challenges, for this valuable learning component. That's why I push past the clock, to join in. Because creating a series, teaches you a lot about your creative process.

Here are the rest of the links in this series:

Day 4-6
Day 7
Further experiments


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