Love your experiment! Even if you don't do something every day, what you DO do counts as practice towards mastery.
Your attempt to do a daily practice suddenly rang a bell for me. 10 years ago, my father sent me a 9-inch x 7-inch book for Christmas called "Q&A a Day: 365 questions • 4 years • 1,460 sketches." Each page has a date at the top left and a small prompt like "Empty your wallet or purse. What is inside?" or "Can you illustrate the sound of snapping fingers?" (I'm amazed at what I drew for that one back on Feb. 9, 2016; most of my sketches are weird and funny, like the prompts.)
To the right of each prompt is a large grid with four squares. Each square says 20_ _ below it for you to write the date. (I wish I could show a photo of all this but Substack won't allow that.) I filled out quite a few Square #1s with pencil sketches during the first three months of year 1 (2016). And then: NOTHING! I'm guessing at some point I cleaned up the house and put the book in my stacks of coffee-table books and forgot about it.
I know you're practicing painting not sketching, but maybe something fun like this prompt book will help un-button yourself in a small way. I just saw on Amazon that there are quite a few of these books out there (and probably some "used" unused ones), but below is the one I have and am enjoying looking at today (-: Maybe now I'll put it somewhere where I will actually SEE it and use it.
Thank you for sharing this memory of the book your dad gave you! I was an avid journaler once upon a time. I stopped writing every day but after Danny Gregory's course (thanks Rochelle!) I've done more sketchbook journaling and also writing on those sketch pages. They are quick, but very useful. Good for my soul, and good practice. I have loved his videos if you haven't seen any. "Art Before Breakfast," one of his books, is also very nice.
The prompts in the book you mentioned sound like a great way to break out of a rut, try something new, expand your comfort zone, and just get started. Also, it sounds like you get a bunch of funny images when you're all done. Thanks for the link, I'll take a look.
Do you think you'll continue in the book now? In the squares that were empty from before?
Thanks for sharing! You do look a bit like Frida Kahlo especially her in that photo! Life feels a bit richer when you're able to take time to observe it and then express it through your subjective point of view through watercolor or other avenues.
Plus, everyone seeing the same scene or experiencing the same moment can have such a different experience and relationship with it.
But at the same time, I think people are interested to know that others on the planet think and feel like they do. Even when we feel alone, we can realize we're not so alone. We're all here together.
Thanks! I think in the future I'll mostly label them on the back, but for this one I was trying the front. (It's good reference for when someone later inevitably asks the size or paper type. 😅)
Love your experiment! Even if you don't do something every day, what you DO do counts as practice towards mastery.
Your attempt to do a daily practice suddenly rang a bell for me. 10 years ago, my father sent me a 9-inch x 7-inch book for Christmas called "Q&A a Day: 365 questions • 4 years • 1,460 sketches." Each page has a date at the top left and a small prompt like "Empty your wallet or purse. What is inside?" or "Can you illustrate the sound of snapping fingers?" (I'm amazed at what I drew for that one back on Feb. 9, 2016; most of my sketches are weird and funny, like the prompts.)
To the right of each prompt is a large grid with four squares. Each square says 20_ _ below it for you to write the date. (I wish I could show a photo of all this but Substack won't allow that.) I filled out quite a few Square #1s with pencil sketches during the first three months of year 1 (2016). And then: NOTHING! I'm guessing at some point I cleaned up the house and put the book in my stacks of coffee-table books and forgot about it.
I know you're practicing painting not sketching, but maybe something fun like this prompt book will help un-button yourself in a small way. I just saw on Amazon that there are quite a few of these books out there (and probably some "used" unused ones), but below is the one I have and am enjoying looking at today (-: Maybe now I'll put it somewhere where I will actually SEE it and use it.
https://www.amazon.com/Q-Day-Creatives-4-Year-Journal/dp/0804186405/ref=sr_1_1
Thank you for sharing this memory of the book your dad gave you! I was an avid journaler once upon a time. I stopped writing every day but after Danny Gregory's course (thanks Rochelle!) I've done more sketchbook journaling and also writing on those sketch pages. They are quick, but very useful. Good for my soul, and good practice. I have loved his videos if you haven't seen any. "Art Before Breakfast," one of his books, is also very nice.
The prompts in the book you mentioned sound like a great way to break out of a rut, try something new, expand your comfort zone, and just get started. Also, it sounds like you get a bunch of funny images when you're all done. Thanks for the link, I'll take a look.
Do you think you'll continue in the book now? In the squares that were empty from before?
Thanks for sharing! You do look a bit like Frida Kahlo especially her in that photo! Life feels a bit richer when you're able to take time to observe it and then express it through your subjective point of view through watercolor or other avenues.
Plus, everyone seeing the same scene or experiencing the same moment can have such a different experience and relationship with it.
But at the same time, I think people are interested to know that others on the planet think and feel like they do. Even when we feel alone, we can realize we're not so alone. We're all here together.
agreed :)
I also like how you labeled them with paper type and dimensions.
Thanks! I think in the future I'll mostly label them on the back, but for this one I was trying the front. (It's good reference for when someone later inevitably asks the size or paper type. 😅)
I LOVE 9/26! also 9/28, 9/25, and 9/27
Thanks! Which 9/26 one? The pure red one, or the red and green spotted one? Or something else?
The red and green spotted one. It's like peppermint ice cream, but it's a leaf!