My commitment

I have been struggling with self-discovery in my art. I struggle with my formal training, art that I am 'drawn' to, and what I have been told I "should do".

My most formal training is based on layers of a medium. You don't just paint a picture one layer of color and are done. It takes hours and hours of layers of paint. Problem is, I don't like to spend more than a couple of days on a piece of art. I respect the technique, but it doesn't suit me.

I am attracted to clean lines, different weights of lines, not usually realistic things, but portrayals of realistic things. I have always enjoyed cartoons and animation. I like a little stretch of reality.

In the public school system, we encourage kids to have deep meaning behind all of their art. Don't create just because. Tell a story, capture an emotion. But that's never been my style. So I feel like a hypocrite if I try to enforce that.

Art really should be whatever you want. If I follow rules, then I am not being innovative. You don't grow by "coloring inside the lines". So in talking to some art friends, I am going to make a commitment to make art every day for a month. I will dedicate at least 30 minutes to creating some art every day. I may work on the same piece for a couple of days, or may create something new. I am not sure. But I think this is the best way to figure out what direction I want to go in.

Photography has really been a passion in recent years (but really I got my first camera when I was 4th grade I think). I will be teaching photography this fall, but I think I need to fine tune my fine art skills and keep photography as a hobby.

**the picture above is a drawing I did when I was 15. that was a time when i drew every night at my desk, so excited to grow as artist. i need to channel the inner 15 year old aspiring artist again!!

I will post my progress each day. Wish me luck! I am nervous--weird!