A Bite-sized Tip For Creating a Series of Art
“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”
— Vincent Van Gogh
The thought of doing a 365 day daily art project can seems daunting. What will I do for that long? What if I get bored or run out of things to draw? What if I quit after a week, like that diet I tried last year? I had such good intentions and high hopes, but at the end of the day, it amounted to nothing, except a reminder that either i’m a failure, a quitter, or I just seem to be missing something in my DNA to enable me to complete the task at hand.
I learned early on that I needed SMALL projects. I can’t think in 365 day chunks. But I can do 30 days. Or even 100 days. So after a little bit, I started to identify a topic that I wanted to tackle for 30 days. 30 days of self portraits, 30 days of pets, 20 days of toes, 30 days of faces... you get the idea. I started to incorporate Instagram and social media. I would sketch people’s photos who would show up in my feed. I would then tag them so they could join in the fun too. It was a great way to be held accountable because I was posting publicly, as well as meet new friends. I started to sketch celebrity photos they posted on Instagram, and tagged them too. Some of them even liked and shared (and occasionally commented to my delight as well) I mean, who wouldn’t like to be included in being sketched by an artist, right? Most people consider it an honor.
I also joined in a 100 Day Project that was being hosted by another artist I was following on Instagram, Elle Luna. She threw out the challenge to join in with creating or making anything for 100 days straight. We would all start and end together, posting and hash tagging so we could all follow along and encourage each other. I did this project twice. The first time, I sketched a black line drawing based on the photos of others, using only my iPhone and a stylus. The second time I did the same, only this time, adding in color to the background and key parts of the drawing. Every day was a new adventure. I would look for inspiration, and others would follow along wondering what I would post next. And some, hoped that they might make it into my project. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I did attempt another 100 day project recently, but I got behind and the subject matter wasn’t engaging me enough, so I only made it to day 60 or so. You've got to choose carefully, or you won't follow through when things get tough.)
It was always a thrill at the end of the 100 days, to create a photo montage of all the images. One giant image to chronicle the past 100 days.
I talk about the importance of this process and gaining momentum in an art making practice, more in depth in my video course “Your Artists’ Journey”.
Check it out if this sounds like something that would be of interest.
What bite-sized tips have you discovered along the way that helps in your art making practice?
Day 66 #the100dayproject #100daysofmikesportraits #art #charcoal #sketch #sketchbook #drawing
Day 65 #the100dayproject #100daysofmikesportraits #art #charcoal #sketch #sketchbook #drawing
Day 64 #the100dayproject #100daysofmikesportraits #art #charcoal #sketch #sketchbook #drawing
Day 63 #the100dayproject #100daysofmikesportraits #art #charcoal #sketch #sketchbook #drawing
What Do You Do When You Lack Opportunity?
What do you do when you feel like you're doing everything you possibly can to advance in your art and yet there seems to be a lack of opportunity? Typically, you have two choices...
What do you do when you feel like you're doing everything you possibly can to advance in your art and yet there seems to be a lack of opportunity? Typically, you have two choices:
1. Complain.
Complain about the lack of opportunity and become jealous of those around you who seem to be succeeding with such ease (which is a lie, of course). "What the crap?" you think. "I could so do what they're doing." But you're not. And you don't. Because complaining is easier than ACTION. And action, leads to change, which can be too scary.
2. Make Opportunities.
Yeah I know. I hear the push back. "I don't have time. I have a limited network. I don't know where to start... what's the use?..." The truth is if you are HUNGRY enough you can take advantage of opportunities all around you. They just aren't those sexy opportunities that thrust you into the public eye with accolades and acclaim. And let's be honest. If we're going to bust our butts, we want it to count for something right?
What I have found is that you might have to redefine your idea of what great opportunities look like. Are you doing work you love? (If not - then get to it.) Stop waiting for someone to ask or invite you to do it. Because that's not going to happen. Pick yourself.
“You might have to redefine your idea of what great opportunities look like.”
Would I like to have my art seen and collected by an ever expanding group of patrons and fans, and achieve all that goes with being a "successful" artist? Sure. But I'm not waiting for someone to come knocking. I keep taking the right next step. TODAY.
Practically speaking what might that look like?
Commit to a drawing or painting a day for an entire year. I have for the past 4 years and counting. I've even done more than one most days. Did I do this because some one asked me to? No. I did it to kick to the curb the lie I believed for too long that I because I couldn't draw in a photo realistic style my art was no good. I did it to keep moving forward on my artists journey. I want to keep discovering. Experimenting. Creating out of a sense of play and wonder.
“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.”
There are opportunities all around us. We might just have to use our creativity to see them.
Visit the Sketch book project. Sign up to do a sketchbook. They send it out on a mini tour before it comes back to live in Brooklyn NY at the Sketchbook Library. You never know who might be impacted by your work.
Take part in a 100 Day Project through social media. Search for the hashtag #the100dayproject on Instagram and see all the awesome projects people are involved in. I'm currently doing 100 days of portraits, using charcoal. (Come follow me @mikebone)
Seek out a local art center for opportunities to take part in classes and exhibits.
Look for local businesses that might be willing to display your art. (Note: try to match the audience you're trying to reach though. It probably won't do you much good to have your Sci-fi Steampunk art hung at grandma's fancy tea shop in town.)
If no one is paying you to create the art you long to create, hire yourself. Then keep hiring yourself. Do the work for you. And keep looking for ways to share it. You might be amazed. When you do the work, and open yourself up, sometimes opportunities come from the strangest places. Stop talking about it and put yourself out there!
What's one next step you can do today to move forward?
Why not share it below? It just might help you commit.
My 100 Day Project Completed
This image represents the last 100 days of my life. 100 Days of sketching photos from my Instagram feed using only my iPhone and a stylus as part of the 100 Day Project with Elle Luna and The Great Discontent.
What a journey. I would choose a photo, sketch it (using an app called Sketchclub), upload and tag the original Instagram user who posted the photo.
Friends. Social Media buddies. New friends. Organizations. Other artists. And celebrities.
Fun moments happened. Like when Emily Kinney (from the Walking Dead) repost my art. Or my portrait of fellow artist Jon Burgerman shared my sketch in the official 100 Day Project email sent out to the thousands of participants. Or people I don't know expressed gratitude and said they were honored to be sketched. Or friends who I made smile because I captured them in sketch format.
I may take some of these sketches and use them for some other projects. As a matter of fact I already started to turn a few into actual physical paintings.
And perhaps I'll continue to do smaller 30 day sketch projects. What do you think? What themes should I explore? This time I reached to include surfing, yoga and some underwater sea life. Leave a comment if there's a subject matter you'd like to see me tackle.
So farewell for now. Until next time 100 Day Project!
30 in 30: Day Seven
Day 7 of my 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. I'm using sketches i created from Instagram photos on my iPhone I did as part of a 100 day project and turing 30 of them into paintings. User: @mel_mercado
Original Instagram photo:
100 Day iPhone Sketch:
30 in 30 day painting:
Watercolor & Ink. 8 x 8 on 140 lb. watercolor paper.
30 in 30: Day Six
Day 6 of my 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. I'm using sketches i created from Instagram photos on my iPhone I did as part of a 100 day project and turing 30 of them into paintings. User: @brookefraser
Original Instagram photo:
100 Day iPhone Sketch:
30 in 30 day painting:
Watercolor & Ink. 8 x 8 on 140 lb. watercolor paper.
30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge
I'm about to embark upon a 30 day painting journey taking on the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge presented by Leslie Saeta. Somewhere around 750 other artists are doing the same and we will be posting our work daily here.
For my theme, I'm reaching back to my 100 day project from a few months ago where I selected a daily photo from my Instagram feed and did a sketch on my iPhone. This time I'm selecting 30 out of the 100 and turning those into paintings. This should be an interesting challenge. I plan on posting on Instagram and tagging the original user again inviting them into the process again!
It will look a little something like this:
Original Instagram photo:
100 Day iPhone sketch:
30 in 30 days painting:
If you would like to join in the fun, it's not too late!