Every Christmas, my family has a fabulous Yankee Swap--all of us, four kids and four adults, with a pile of wrapped presents to chose from, all on the coffee table. This year, I ended up with a Drawing Journal that provides a daily drawing prompt. There are 365 prompts in all, and I'm committed to doing all of them.
This one requested something reflecting Japanese architecture. I do all this free hand, and there's clearly room for improvement, but I'm coming along. It feels really good to have a year-long challenge where I'll learn and improve. I'm thinking I may give the final journal to my Jessica next Christmas. She may or may not appreciate it, but in my mind, I fantasize that maybe the great grandchildren I may never know might look at my doodles and get a kick out of them.
A musician friend once told me that almost all new music is pirated aka "borrowed" from what already exists. There are only so many combinations of notes. I wonder if art is kind of the same. Almost always, I'm googling examples of what the daily prompts require--draw a landscape looking down, sketch a storefront, create different hair styles, etc etc. And almost always, I sketch from a copy of what I find on the internet. I know many artists who paint from photographs, which is pretty much what I'm doing. I put my own spin on it, but for sure this scene already exists.
I should add that as of today, I'm already 21 days behind. That's fine, because my Turtle Therapy way of doing things says that I won't let something I love become a chore. So I'm taking my time doodling. I'll finish by the end of the year, but at my own pace!
Love kj
This seems like such a great meditative practice! (I would need 365 days of stick figures : ) I am jealous of such artistic talent.
ReplyDeleteA few miscellaneous questions:
What medium did you use to create this?
How did JB's surgery go"?
Will you ever finish your cross-country travelogue? (I would love to read the rest)
Also, I would disagree with your musician friend. I believe that with the combination of notes, tempo, length of notes, rests, etc. that there are an almost infinite amount of musical possibilities. It's magical.
Hello my friend 8💜
ReplyDeletejb’s surgery and rehab has gone well, but the post op symptoms—trouble sleeping, aches, etc, come and go.
I put the road trip book aside because a fair amount of feedback indicated I stressed food and friends too much. And because I have two other manuscripts to tackle. But I would love to share the road trip draft with you anytime. So sweet that you’re interested.
My friend said if you listen to all types of music, you’ll hear fundamental repetitions. I like that you disagree.
Love kj
Best wishes sent for JB. Martha recently had shoulder surgery and has the same problem - just can't get comfortable. It gets old quickly.
DeleteI would love to read the rest of the travelogue! One can never have too much food or friends : )
8, oh and the medium for my sketch. Colored pencils for everything but the background greenery. I used watercolor paint for that as an experiment. I think the shrubs came out better than the building!
ReplyDeletePS Stick figures can be fun and expressive!