Challenge Gillian pt. 2

My weekly attempts at producing a finished piece of art every week finally hit a speed bump this week. I could not decide which version of a dog I wanted to produce - a pencil drawing or a painting. So I started both this week but got neither finished. But it is not a big deal. This week I will try to finish them both. That way I will technically have done one piece of art a week.

Last week I turned to something a little less realistic. I produced some colourful bird collage/painting/things. With the Olympics taking up so much time I wanted to keep thing simple but didn't want to give up on my challenge. The two weeks before that I drew some more flowers and a miniature cat (2x2 inches). I really need to turn my attention to some larger pieces now. A few months and I will be nearing exhibition season again and it would nice to be prepared this year.

Challenge Gillian

At the beginning of the year I challenged myself to do one drawing every week in an attempt to spark my creativity into a regular pattern. Four weeks in and I have managed to keep up with my challenge with four completed pieces. The puppy in the post below is one of them too (though he hasn't scanned as well as he could have). This hasn't been about producing finished pieces of saleable work but just doing it for pleasure and I think that has been what has kept me going. So often I have to paint and draw things that have to go up for sale but I am always pressured into finding a subject that people want to see. These pieces are about trying techniques and expanding my skill - especially in the case of the graphite pieces. The flower and butterfly were drawn in pen and ink and then coloured using water soluble coloured pencils - something I haven't done outwith my card making. Hopefully I can keep it going - for another month at least.

What's new, pussy cat?

This is my latest attempt at pencil work. My neighbour's cat dutifully posed for me, really getting into the act my stretching, sleeping, looking in every direction and generally being a fabulous model. Although I would love to say it was done from life, it was actually from a photo. Hope that butterfly is safe from tiny teeth.