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?
How I found my "Signature Style"
This year I was determined to open my pool early and get ahead of the curve. But after a long hard winter that caved in my pool cover, the bottom of my pool was stacked up with leaves. I did what I could to scoop them out, but I started to get impatient. So I did what any red blooded impatient male would do, I dumped a bunch of chemicals in it hoping to clear things up. Then I added more. And some more. But it got worse. I couldn't see a thing.
Against my pride, I took a sample to the local pool place expecting a pricey remedy, but a remedy none the less. What I got was "Keep blindly scooping and vacuuming leaves". I couldn't add any more chemicals. It was off the charts already in chlorine. So I have been slowly, inch by inch, hour by hour, blindly moving forward, hoping that clarity will come the next morning.
If you've ever been a part of discussions with artists when talking about a "signature style" and you don't feel you have one, it might feel like you're poking around on the bottom of a green pool searching for the answers. Honestly, we all want the magic chemical to bring clarity. Or we want to go to the experts to have them tell us the answers.
But in the search for a signature style, the answer is the same I got for my pool: show up everyday and put the work in, sometimes blindly.
There are no shortcuts to finding your style. No one is going to do it for you. You aren't born with it. You DISCOVER it.
I embarked upon 2 years (and into my third currently) of 365 daily drawings / paintings. This journey was priceless. Was it hard work? yes. Did I feel like skipping some days? Yes. But I pushed on. And something clicked. It happened. Somewhere through the course of showing up and working consistently - my style emerged.
Perhaps in your journey, you are desperately wanting to discover your signature style. You've been reading, searching, hoping maybe today will be the day. If I can offer any word of encouragement from my own journey - just keep showing up and doing the work. Play. Discover. Experiment. Don't be so critical of yourself. Don't restrain yourself so much.
Maybe you're like me. You need to work in time bound projects. Do a thirty day series of drawings or paintings of a certain subject. Then do another thirty days. Or take on a 100 Day Project. Do it with some friends. If you feel like you don't have any local artists to connect with join some Facebook groups or other artist groups online. The truth is, if you want it, you'll figure it out.
Stop trying to dump chemicals in, or seeking the counsel of the experts. Roll up your sleeves and dive in. Now excuse me, I have to take another pass at cleaning my pool. Here's to clarity!