Three Hundred and Sixty Five days ago I started a project to do a drawing every single day and now I have completed the task. I was not alone – Maggie and Alison (click on Aligeebee to see her drawings) were there every drawing along the way, and it was a daily pleasure to see what they had posted on the site. We are off for a jolly in January to see the Indian Textiles exhibition at the V & A in London – where Maggie and Alison will meet each other for the first time.
I would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to the people that have followed the blog and have been kind enough to comment and encourage.
Did I really truly do a drawing every day? Well…….confession time, not exactly; I missed one drawing in June – I remembered during the day but then forgot to actually do it and woke up with a jump the next morning ‘Arggh I didn’t do my drawing!’. The second miss was when I had a particularly busy day coming up where I could see no gap for a quiet sit down so I did an extra drawing the day before.
Have there been any benefits from drawing every day? I would say yes, yes and yes!
I am no longer frightened by the blank white sheet of paper. I am happy to show anyone any of my drawings – my ‘artist’ skin has become thicker, OK so it’s not a very good drawing – so what! My skills have improved, I notice when I draw I am looking not at the thing but at the relationships, negative space and shading. I have developed a ‘style’ or ‘handwriting’ to my drawings and mostly they are wonky and I am happy with that. Having a drawing to do each day gave me a anchor point while everything around me seemed on the move.
Another thought – doing just 30 minutes a day means that I have clocked up over 180 hours of drawing and I know I have often taken more than 30 minutes with a drawing. My shortest drawing? Well sitting having coffee at Felixstowe Ferry, I sketched a boat in 30 seconds and the drawing was done.
So what am I going to do next year? I don’t really know right now, I am waiting until drawing 365/365 is done, but I am thinking that my focus should be on composition and I want to start keeping a ‘proper’ sketchbook like real artists do. I am also keen to do something with the amazing trees that are in the park over the road…………..
Here they are then, the last 9 drawings (now don’t get too excited it is just more of the same). Happy New Year!