21 Days in My Art World : Week 1

I'm currently taking part in a challenge hosted by the lovely Tara Leaver called 21 Days in My Art World. The prompts are designed to encourage artists and creative people everywhere to share their art and process. Most of the participants are posting their responses on Instagram, a few on Tara's Facebook group. I thought I'd post mine here for any that aren't on Instagram. I skipped a few days because they didn't resonate with me or other reasons (I was too embarrassed!), but I made sure to note those too, for completeness. The photos are accompanied by the original comments I posted on my Instagram.

Here is Week 1:

1. Favourite Painting
This was actually my first ever painting on canvas, which I did 2-1/2 years ago, and gave it to my mum for her birthday. I love the details, scribbly background, vaguely botanical shapes and range of colours. I don't feel like I've been able to quite achieve it ever since. Unfortunately I've never seen it hung up anywhere in my mum's house, which has been discouraging, but I try to keep going.

2. Lesson Learned
I still have so much to learn, but the greatest lesson I've learned so far is to never let anyone tell you "you can't ". My Year 8 art teacher told me that, and it was a wounding experience that took me over 20 years to recover from. I let "no, you can't draw", "no, you can't be an artist", "no, you're not good/talented/special enough" stop me for too long. I had to learn to ignore all that before I could even consider that I could do art and be an artist. I truly believe that anyone can be an artist. Don't let anyone ever tell you "no"!

3. Latest WIP
I actually have 6 paintings in progress right now, but just showing you 3. There were a few hiccups in today's session: my favourite paint colour was dried out, so I tried to recreate it with a mix of other colours. I tried to do a stencil and it was all blobby so I painted over it. I didn't like the collage pieces I'd laid down last time, so I painted over those too. With each painting I do, I learn more about layering.

4. Art Book -- I didn't do this one as I don't really refer to books for inspiration.


5. Favourite Tool
This probably sounds strange, but my favourite tool is packing foam pellets. I cut them up to make small stamping tools to make patterns. I also really like bubble wrap.

6. Current Challenge
I tend to have very limited subject matter because of my lack of skill in drawing. I'd like to branch out more, but I don't have the confidence right now. I need to challenge myself to improve my drawing skills and explore new ideas.

7. Colour Palette
My favourite colours at the moment are pinks, purples and blues. Yellow and orange sneak in there a bit, too. I NEVER use black or white. If I want to depict the night sky then I'll usually use a dark purple or blue, but I offset it with an eye-aching shade of orange or pink. love bright colour!

Click here to see Week 2!
[Week 3 is coming soon!]