Pear Blossomsbrush and ink, 5 in x 7 in
copyright Rose Welty 2008
At the end of last year, I spent lots of time mulling over goals for 2008. I tried very hard to set myself an achievable challenge. Enough to feel like a stretch, but not too much to necessarily fail.
I did well in January, began to fall a bit behind in February, and now in March, I've achieved very little of what I planned for this month. So I'm having a bit of a rethink. Part of this results from the changing needs of my family and my recognition that I want to enjoy them and not always feel like they are taking away valuable art time! :D
What I Really Enjoy
- digital painting and sketching on the Nintendo DS
- experimenting with CPs
- historical reading of artists, their lives and their techniques
- brush and ink drawing
- basics of drawing - seems to me that sometimes I commit obvious errors and that a study of drawing would really help my confidence (and help me to see better)
- figure drawing - people fascinate me and I really want to incorporate them more into my work, but I need practice and greater knowledge
So, here is a revised look at April.
Business
- Finish still life commission. (I've done one and a half of three in the series.)
- Update website. (This will remain something I do at least once a month.)
- Finish Taschen book on Japanese prints.
- Try and find another book on ukiyo-e
- Keep up Degas reading. (He was so influenced by the prints that I allowed myself to start reading about him this month, but now I've found a few great books and I just can't stop and wait until later in the year. This is partly what has slowed the ukiyo-e progress.)
- Work through some of the Mendelowitz book.
- Sketch people, both from life and from references.
- Sketch with colored pencils, working on my use of color.
- Sketch digitally.
7 comments:
I truly admire how organized you are with your goals and plans. I understand how hard it is to balance everything. It's a good thing to set goals and a good thing to be flexible. That's something I'm having to learn. :)
You're moving ahead and making progress. As long as you move ahead, even incrementally, that's all that counts.
The flowers and branches against the sky are beautiful. I think you've found your niche in this type of work.
Kasie, yes that balance is key, and a tough one.
Jeanette, thanks for your kind words. As you say, progress is progress. This was one of those drawings where it all just clicked.
Its hard isn't it Rose. I know i struggled with a similar thing recently.
Well done for recognizing the issue and changing it early :)
I love the painting! I agree with Jeanette...you found your niche with this one.
It's always an ongoing process, isn't it? I think that's part of what being an artist is about - it's never a straight path to my goals but it is interesting!
The brush painting is outstanding!
I agree with all of the above. Hard to keep a schedule. Wow, I couldn't do that. My art didn't have a chance until my kids were grown.
The ink drawing is just lovely.
Sorry I haven't been commenting. Behind on everything. I have 8 more posts from just you to read. Ahhh. Here I go. Keep up the good work even when you don't hear from me. Ha.
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