It has been seven or eight or more weeks since a daily digital drawing has posted. That does not mean that I’ve abandoned daily creativity, rather, the need to branch out from digital work overcame me. This summer, I’ve been playing with other mediums, and having a great time while I learn and practice. It is a self directed art class taught primarily by YouTube videos, trial and error. I haven’t been posting my efforts, because, frankly, it is student work, experiments and pieces (as the photos show below).
When I first started my daily drawing project, I decided to draw digitally because it was a very easy transition for me. I didn’t need to set up an “art space” in my home. I didn’t need to buy materials and papers. I didn’t need to worry about cleaning up after myself. Already on a computer all day for my work, drawing digitally made the daily discipline very easy. Now, after drawing on the computer since February of 2012, this spring, the need to create an art corner, work with materials that would be messy and sticky and tactile, and apply texture to surfaces came to the forefront. I cleared out 20 boxes of books from my office (my favorite science fiction and fantasy authors) to make room for art supplies, set up a table to work, and started to get messy.
My eventual goal is to incorporate digital drawings in to collages and mixed media pieces, and I started experimenting with this last spring. I realized I need to learn more about collage, about mono printing, block printing, and painting with acrylics. I have a day job, so my free time to draw or explore new mediums is limited to the evening (and in the summer, with all the events and social gatherings, not every evening). The freedom to work on a piece, or practice a technique, over days, and not feel the pressure to complete a work in one night, has been a great balance to the summer chaos.
It has been a big mess and a lot of fun. Here are some pictures from my home schooling.
