Practice rounds!

The other evening I sat down and did a few practices for next year. The hard part for me was choosing something to draw! But, as long as I stuck to little sketches, I had them done in about 10 minutes. I'd like to go back and color them in, though. Pen and paper isn't as exciting to me as colorful drawings!
Anyway, here are the sketches.

Not super-good, but interesting. I wanted to do more with the tree one, but ran out of time. =)
Have you done anything creative in the past week?
~Laura~

Doodles, Sketches, and Butterflies

I spent a nice, long afternoon at the library on Wednesday. It's nice and quiet there, and the books are full of inspirational pictures. I didn't get anything meaningful painted this time, and I spent far more than 10 minutes on it! The red plastic Solo cup I use for rinsing my brushes in gave me an interesting study, and a nice, simple, rather Craftsman style lamp gave me another.
I used thicker paint, straight from the tube and with almost no water added for parts of both. That made them a bit different from my preferred lots-o-water style, but experimentation is fun! And I used an opaque Titanium White to add highlights, which I also rarely do. (No, I'm not always the most adventurous with my art! I like to play it safe and not accidentally ruin a painting on the last step!)
I'm sorry there are no pictures of these sketches to accompany this post! I'll get them up in the next one, though. In the meantime, would you like to see one of my older pieces?

This was my final project for a Pen-and-Watercolor class I took from Kathleen D'Angelo back in Fall 2009. Unfortunately, I did not think it through, and wen ahead and inked in the legs and feet before painting the grass! =P Except for that, I'm pleased with the painting.

And now, I've posted this and realized that I forgot about the butterflies! No, I haven't drawn any lately, they're all in my stomach and my mind. Some of the time I get all gung-ho about this Challenge project, and then the next day I think oh my goodness, what have I done? I'm going to have to actually do this! Do I really have time?
Yes, I think that time'll be fine. 10 minutes a day can't be that hard! I'll read my (beloved) books for 10 minutes less, and draw in the spare time, or else skip half a TV show. Won't be that hard.
Be still, Butterflies, before I get out a wee little tranquilizer gun and shoot you!

312in366 Art Challenge Rules and Guidelines

To keep this fun and creative, the rules are few. Orchestrate too much and you'll stifle creativity, but there does need to be some structure. I'll start with the rules.

1. Draw every day possible. Don't worry if you miss a day, you can make it up later if you want to. I won't throw you out, but try to stick to the daily drawings. 
2. Ten-minute artwork must be done on paper or canvas. NO computer art. It is quite possible to be creative and artistic on the computer--beautiful pictures have been made on computers--but this is to be a paper/canvas/cardboard/etc. challenge. Pretty much anything except for computer-done and graffiti.
3. No plagiarism! You can be inspired from other people's work, you can do studies on it. But do NOT try to pass it off as original: ALWAYS give credit where credit is due. 
4. Encourage one another and build each other up! (1st Thessalonians 2:11)
5. Ten Minutes. Max. Stop at the ten minute mark, put down your pencil, close your book! You can keep drawing later, but it's a new picture each day. And each day you get 10 minutes, no more for that picture!  That was the original rule, but I may have broken it a bit...By about 50 minutes...SO. I talked to a few others taking the challenge, and decided to change it to: Draw at least ten minutes a day. I didn't want to just up the time-limit, because some people may not be able to draw 20 minutes a day, or I might have a day with only 10 spare minutes. So, 10 minutes is now the minimum. You may want to write beside the picture how long it did take you, so at the end of the year you can add up all those minutes!

And here are the guidelines. It's just a list on how I plan on doing this challenge, but you can do it with these or your own! Please let me know what guidelines you'd add or change, I'll put them in here to help others.

• Pick a time where you won't be too rushed. After the kids are in bed or before they get up, when you're on break at work, instead of watching that silly T.V. show. Whatever time works for you. I don't know yet when that will be for me, I guess I'll find out in January!
• Buy yourself a decent sketchbook. I like spiral bound, because it doesn't fall apart as easily. I also suggest that you use a 90 lb or 140 lb paper if you plan on using water-based paints. Any lighter weight than 90 and the paper will start to buckle (even 90 is pushing it for me!). The one I plan on using, unless I find a better one, is a 100 page book, so I'll be dividing the pages in half and using both sides. 
• Sit in a spot where you won't be continuously interrupted. 
• Find an idea, then set the timer for 10 minutes. As soon as the time is up, close your book--you're done! If you want to draw more after that, I would suggest using a different paper or book. In 2013, I want to have a book with 312 drawings in it, each one done in 10 minutes. By doing that you may see some progression as the months go by.

I'm sure I'll add some more as we get closer to the kick off, but those are the main ones. 

By the end of 2012, you'll have spent a total of 2 days and 4 hours on 312 different projects. Won't that be something to brag about!

~Laura~

Consider Yourself Challenged!

Ah, yes, a fresh blog and a fresh challenge! Can it get any better than this?
You may understand part of this Challenge by now, having seen it on Facebook or my blog description. Allow me to give some background on this:

This is NaNoWriMo--National Novel Writing Month. A whole month-long challenge where the goal is for writers to complete an entire novel in 30 days. I am not a wonderful writer. All my story plots have holes, lame parts, and a lack of originality.
I prefer to paint. I've fiddled around with watercolors since 2002 or so, and comparing my early pictures with the more recent ones there has been quite an improvement! But lately, between my job, working around the house, distracting books, and friends, my artwork has been suffering. I don't seem to have the time to sit down and paint!
Why is there not something similar to NaNoWriMo for artists, a Challenge that will help them develop their skills? Maybe there is, somewhere, but would it fit my schedule? Would it be easy, flexible, and still effective? Could I do it with friends, would there be online interaction, would I follow through to the end?


That's the origin.
The challenge is to draw for ten minutes a day, six days a week, all 52 weeks of 2012. By December 31st, 2012, you will have spent about two days and four hours on this project! You will have 312(pictures)in366(days). (Next year is a leap year. :)

My Goals for this Challenge are:

1. To develop my drawing, painting, and other art skills.
2. To start a semi-successful blog (I don't dare hope for more!) about the Challenge, and blog about my work at least once a week from January to December--preferably twice a week.
3. To connect with other artists of varying skill levels, giving tips on what I know and receiving tips on what I need help with.
4. To have a sketchbook with 312 drawings in it by December 31st, 2012.
5. To have these ten minute segments each day become such a part of my routine that I automatically continue them into 2013!

Here are the Rules and Guidelines for the challenge.

These goals may change as the Challenge progresses, but that is what they are for starters. Are you interested in joining in? Ten minutes a day really isn't that much to set aside! Please at least start with me. All of you reading this after January 1st....You're welcome to hop in also!

What are your goals for this Challenge?

~Laura~