AEDM #2: Grief

November is Art Everyday Month

Thank you to Artsyville for reminding me that it's Art Every Day Month. I was planning to get back into creating this month and this is just what I need to get started. Tonight I had time to do a quick sketch. I'm not living in a place that allows for messy painting right now, so I'm thinking I'll concentrate on pencil and watercolor. I'm a little rusty after not having drawn anything for a long time, and another month-long challenge will get me back into the swing of things. I found some videos on Suzi Blu's website that I look forward to watching, too. Woot! Here we go!

Shall I Join the Next 29 Faces Challenge?

I'm undecided whether I want to join 29 Faces this time. I'm in the process of moving and buying a house, so I am unsettled, busy, and without access to all my art supplies. It only takes pencil and paper, I know, but I'm not sure I have the energy to devote to daily drawing right now. Perhaps I will do a few. I like the idea of doing a self-themed challenge of "29 graphite faces." I'll think about it over the next couple of days. The good news about buying a new house all my own is that I hope to create an art studio in the basement of the house, where I can be as messy with paint as I want to be. I dream of playing with color in my own private art space and lining my walls with big, colorful paintings! 

June Guys

I'm joining this challenge a bit late in June, but I found the 29 Faces challenge to be so motivating (and I haven't been quite as motivated to draw since), that I want to join another one. I may not post every day because it's a busy month, summer is just about here, and I'm taking a small vacation next week, but let's see what I can do for the rest of the month. I've been wanting to draw and paint more males. 

Yesterday's Face #29 With Color

I love the variations in watercolor.

I think the reason I love drawing and painting faces is that ...

I'm painting every part of me.

Bringing  myself to life.

29 Faces #29

A day late, but done!

29 Faces #28

One more to go—one more drawing and one more day. I thought I'd try drawing make-up and teeth. I usually avoid open mouths. One eye also looks a little googly. But I'm happy to have drawn another face.

29 Faces #27

I used the same model as yesterday, this time with paint. I had actually started this one first, but then I got my new hot press watercolor paper yesterday and wanted to start over. Today I decided to finish the first one that I started on cheap cold press paper. I'm not entirely happy with it, but I'm tired of messing with it. I had to make the hair up in both pictures because it didn't show in the photo I used. Hair is difficult enough without making it up! Ears are always a challenge, too.

One trick I'm learning is to take pictures of my work in progress so that I can then fix all the imperfections that I don't see beforehand. I keep telling myself I want to do that, but then I just want to post it and get it done for the day.

29 Faces #25

Not real crazy about this one. Actually, I painted the face a few months ago (for Fabulous Faces) and added the background today (a day late). It looks more vibrant and interesting in life. 

I'm trying to achieve a particular grungy effect, but haven't found the right substrate to do so, except for on journal (composition book) covers, which of course are not archival. For some reason, I love painting on thin paper glued to thick cardboard. The cheap watercolor paper that I used for this portrait is too absorbent, but the good news is that I finally got a bunch of Arches hot press watercolor paper today, as well as oodles of graphite, both water soluable and none, as well as more watercolors—gouache and Neocolor IIs. 

I don't know what to play with first.

29 Faces #24

The color doesn't show up well on this one because it's too late to take the picture in natural light. The blue is much brighter in person.

29 Faces #23: My Favorite Edward

My favorite Edward. 

He looks like he has a black eye, I didn't draw any cuts or scars on his face, I used cheap watercolor paper that started to deteriorate, and I got impatient with coloring in his hair, but otherwise, I'm happy. I think I nailed the worried expression, and he looks almost like a comic book character. 

Ohhh ... the jawline.

Thank you to everyone who has been leaving kind and encouraging comments about my artwork. I've really enjoyed seeing everyone else's work and being inspired to try new techniques and materials. Less than a week of faces left to go. What's the next challenge?

29 Faces #22

I actually didn't touch a pencil and only briefly touched a paintbrush today. I gave myself a day off, but I'm posting a face anyway, one I haven't posted. This is a painting I did for Life Book. 

I'm reaching the point in the challenge where I'm feeling creatively frustrated because I don't know how to do what I want to do, which is add color without making mud. 

29 Faces #21

The only paper I had to work on today was computer paper, but I managed to do a drawing. I chose a quote about "home" today because I began the process of looking for a little house to buy. It's pretty exciting to imagine that it will be mine, that such a thing is doable, and in only a few more months.

"I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself." ~Maya Angelou

29 Faces #20 and a Guest Face

I added some dark lines to make the figure stand out more, compared to what I originally posted below. It's still not finished.

Today I've been working on the cover for my latest journal. It's unfinished because I'm traveling and I have limited art supplies (as is so often the case in my life right now). I've learned something: Never travel without white paint and/or a white paint pen for pulling stuff to the foreground and adding highlights when things get muddy. I brought a white Souffle gel pen, but it's not working as well as I'd like. The good news is that I ordered a bunch of new art supplies this morning, and I'm getting some gouache, which will be perfect for "pulling," and for traveling. I also ordered three blocks of hot press watercolor paper, which will keep me supplied with difficult-to-find hot press paper for a while. Do so few artists use hot press? I don't understand why cold press is so readily available, and hot press is so rare.

Today I'm sharing a face from a guest. My nearly 13-year-old daughter recently became interested drawing elves. Here's one she drew yesterday.

29 Faces #19

29 Faces #17

A quick sketch and an experiment with charcoal on a dark background. 

29 Faces #16

I worked on a face today, but I'm not happy with it. Here's one I did a couple of weeks before the challenge started.

29 Faces #15

Hair confounds me.

29 Faces #14

A journal page for today.
With a spelling error. Doh.

29 Faces #13

Stabilo and graphite.

I cropped the picture because his hat looks funny.

It looks more like a helmet than a knit hat.

One eye is also bigger than the other.

Imperfections always become more apparent after posting.