5-Day Challenge: Days 4 and 5

Et voici, my final report on this week's 5-Day Challenge. It's been a good one!

On Day 4 I continued working with the results I came up with on Day 3 below. It was a short session compared to the others, but I still did it.

results from Day 3

I painted the blocks that hadn't been painted yet (see above and to the right of the white critter?) and I added second coats of paint on most of the other blocks to make them richer.

I'm afraid that in my enthusiasm to continue working on Day 5 I forgot to take a picture of the results from Day 4 so you'll just have to take my word for it.

I spent Day 5's session polishing up. I continued with extra coats to make the colours even more solid, I added black lines where there were none and I fixed the ones that were there:

Day 5 results - close to done!, 12x12 on wood panel

When I look at it closely I see a few tiny touch-ups remaining before declaring it complete, but I'm pretty damn close and it feels good.

So on that note I declare this week's 5-Day Challenge officially complete and a success!

I showed up at the table every day, persisted to complete (or nearly) a piece, and my interest in art and art-making was re-kindled. A success indeed.

Perhaps next time you'll join me?

5-Day Challenge: Days 2 and 3

Here's a quick post on the results to date of my 5-Day Challenge, just to keep me honest!

After the blue pregnant lady in progress from Day 1, I switched to blank surface for Day 2. This is what I came up with:

background in waiting, 12x12 on wood panel

On Day 3 I had plans to continue the soft wash treatment on this background and see where that would lead me, but instead I got the idea to play with Bombay ink and ended up with this:

work in progress, 12x12 on wood panel

I love where this is going. It's such a new direction for me and I've no doubt it was directly influenced by the palettes we created in Mary Beth's Primary Colors workshop at S.A.W. I never expected it to go there, I just followed my intuition - one insight at a time.

I love it when that happens.

Day 4 coming soon...

Squam Art Workshops Day 3: Primary Colors

OK now I'm interrupting my 5-Day Challenge to bring you the last instalment of reports on my classes at Squam Art Workshops.

But before moving on to the class, I just had to post this picture taken by my cabin mate G:

the girls of Brae Cove + 1 (photo by Amy Gretchen)

For me much of this year's S.A.W. experience was about these women, about the comfort, the stories and the laughter we shared around the fire.

It was about my feeling worthy - and sometimes not - of having them in my life, wondering what I'd done to deserve the friendship of such wonderful kindred spirits. When I was done wondering I'd go back to the conversation in front of the fire and promptly forget all about my insecurities. I'd laugh until it hurt. Then all was good again.

Thank you ladies. From the bottom of my heart.

Now on to Day 3 shall we?

~~~

Workshop: Primary Colors

Teacher: Mary Beth Shaw

What I learned: that three primary colours can make a LOT of other ones; that I like purple more than I thought I did; that playing with paints and experimenting with colour is potentially a great way to warm up before hitting the canvas; that scheduling a "lighter" session for Saturday morning is a great way to wind down the workshop portion of S.A.W.

~~~

After Friday's heavy learning this light, playful workshop was just what the doctor ordered. There was music (love, love, love Mary Beth's playlist!), there was laughter and fun.

palette sample using one of the triads

But don't be fooled, just because it was fun doesn't mean I didn't learn anything. Encouraged to experiment with three differerent triads (red, blue, yellow) of different tones + white, it was enlightening to discover just how many colours can be created with only four tubes of paint. Try it, you'll see!

5-Day Challenge + an Invitation

I'm temporarily interrupting my post-Squam trip report to kick off another 5-Day Challenge. I want to paint and this is the quickest way I know to get me there!

yesterday's results: a work in progress, 11x14 on wood fiber panel

she looks a lot like this one, non?

For those of you who are new here, a 5-Day Challenge is when I pledge to go to the table and paint at least once a day for the next five days (or the next four in this case since I started yesterday). And I invite YOU to join me!

Whatever your medium - film, words, melody, paint, yarn, wood, clay, string, pine cones, fabric or glitter - it doesn't matter. Your "art table" might be your computer screen or your dark room; mine involves paint.

It also doesn't matter whether you go to the table for ten minutes or two hours, the goal is to defeat resistance by showing up at the table at least once a day for five days in a row.

It's about practice and play - no perfection necessary.

Care to join me?

Let me know in the comments if you do! I'd love to see what you're up to.

Squam Art Workshops Day 2: Painted Icon

I realized today that my return to work after S.A.W. was easier this year than any of the past three. I suspect is has something to do with the fact that I'm leaving at the end of October to pursue creative and business possibility.

OK I suspect it has a LOT to do with that.

On to Day 2...

practice faces - the one on the left was drawn with a charcoal pencil, the one on the right

with a charcoal stick; both need a bit of work, but I'm happy with the initial results

~~~

Workshop: Painted Icon

Teacher: Misty Mawn

What I learned: how to use a grid to draw a face; that if I squint my eyes while looking at a portrait, shadows become shapes and when I focus on drawing the shapes, facial features magically appear; that I like to draw with charcoal because it's very forgiving; that just because I did something successfully before doesn't mean I'll do it again on a particular day; that I can easily descend into a negative spiral when I'm frustrated and that sometimes, maybe I just need to walk away instead of pushing through

~~~

What a pleasure it was to see Misty again! She was my first teacher at Squam in 2008; in that first class I picked up a paint brush for the first time since kindergarten and never looked back.

I learned some very practical techniques in this class that I look forward to practicing here at home. I also learned a lot about myself and my (in)ability to navigate the tricky process of painting when things just aren't. going. well.

It was a tough class for me - lessons about the self are sometimes the hardest ones, but the good news is that personal turmoil aside, I got to watch Misty work her magic with a paintbrush. And that alone made it all worthwhile.

Day 3: Primary Colors coming up next...