AnaviTil
Studio Sale
I'm currently having a studio sale of some of my older and newer pieces. You can find them here https://www.etsy.com/shop/PencilsAndShadows?ref=profile_header
My YouTube Channel
thank you all for watching. I've been on hiatus lately for some rest and introspection
. All is well, still drawing...I've created a Youtube Channel with the idea of posting some videos of me drawing. I would love to know what would you like to watch though, so let me know any suggestions.
Otherwise new drawings will be coming up soon.
Stay tuned and keep drawing
.
Happy New Year!
Sorry about that
I need to get used to it.Hi and welcome,
we've survived the turbulent year that we can finally call past.
Thank you all for watching and commenting, it's always a great source of motivation.
Few months ago we've moved and it took some time away from drawing. Still working up my stamina to do more finished works (I do need to face those fears
). So hopefully I'll break the spell in 2017. Hope you have a good one!
Until next time
What I do, what I ask myself, and how I stay true to myself in my art while keeping my mental health in check in no particular order:
1. I learned how to sharpen my pencils correctly
Sharpen a Pencil like a BossNow the tool that you use for drawing is not important in my opinion. I love pencils, so right now I'm sticking to them. Sometimes I use pencil charcoal or sanguine or coloured pencil but it's all dry media at the moment.
2. How do I know what tool to use?
If I want a certain effect, I go for whatever is easier to achieve this effect with.
I started with the old masters, so I don't get caught in the envy trap.
3. Traditional or digital?
I prefer traditional at the moment, also because I don't have the technology to work digitally. But I also worked digitally in the past, and I think it's as hard as. It's just a different tool and behaves differently that's all. Once you get the fundamentals than the tool is just that - a tool to express your vision.
4. The only stuff I find useful on YouTube:
- Documentaries about art and the artist that I love like Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, Andrew Wyeth, J.S. Sargent, Oscar Wilde, Stephen King... and really anything that inspires me. It can be anything a cooking show (Master Chef Au is my secret pleasure), national geographic, science...
- I also watch and draw from figure drawing lessons New Mater's Academy and On Air Video
- And recently I found Jennifer!
5. I can't afford to pay for art education but...
There are plenty of great online resources, which I admit can be overwhelming at times. I can't deal with overwhelm, so I have to carefully narrow down my sources and focus only on the ones that are useful to me in the moment.
New masters academy is wonderful!
I had a month of subscription last year. I was mainly watching lessons from Glenn Villpu, Steve Huston, Danny Galieote and perspective from Sheldon Borenstein but they have so much more amazing instructors and hours and hours of videos – impossible to do it all in just one month.
This month my lovely partner got me a subscription for Schoolism I chose to do the lessons from Jonathan Hardesty Essentials of realism, and I highly recommend it. I also recommend watching Jonathan's progress video and this interview.
6. I work on my mental health!
As someone who struggled with depression for quite some time, I find it essential and crucial to not neglect my mental health, more so than drawing every day!
I write a blog about depression and overcoming struggles. I'm learning a lot in the process, and although I took some time off to focus on art at the moment, I still have a lot of topics to explore.
I had to learn about emotions and how to get in tune with myself, so I could take a better care of myself and find the right tools to deal with stress, failure and the uncomfortable feelings in a healthy and constructive way.
7. I practice often
and I'm learning how to practice more efficiently for example by using the method of deliberate practice.
8. I readily acknowledge my weaknesses
We all have them as humans and also as artists.
My weaknesses:
- can't see proportion correctly
- impatience – working on the details too soon
- focus – get distracted easily
- too harsh on myself
- laziness
9. I'm learning the fundamentals
I'm learning about the techniques from an atelier. Learning the foundations of drawing and painting (proportion, value, edges, and color). Learning about the block in, angles and plumb lines.
Why am I learning this? I believe that the main constraint in my expression is my technical ability.
Here comes the big issue because when you don't have a trained instructor who can tell you what's wrong with your angles and proportions and so on, you ultimately must figure out a way how to self-correct, unless you're brave enough to ask for critiques online (which you have to take with a grain of salt sometimes).
I take a picture of my work, put it into photoshop and flip it horizontally – usually and especially on a portrait you immediately see what is not working. Sometimes when I draw from a reference, I flip the reference upside down and the sketchbook too and draw like that to correct any mistakes. Other times you just have to ask someone with fresh eyes and honest mouth, the more trained and the more honest the better!
10. I had to learn how to approach the process differently
I haven't finished a work practically from 2013, and it really put me into a rut. I haven't finished a work because I got lost in the artistic U-turn.
I always struggled with the fact that my vision was high up there and my ability not so much. Now I see it differently, I'm completely committed to finishing whatever I start even if I burn it, tear and destroy it afterwards.
It's the process that counts most, and the learning that comes out of all the mistakes I make. Plus, there's something called idea debt.
And if I do a drawing, and I'm not happy with it, I make a list of the things I don't like and make it a point to improve at least one of them on my next drawing without getting too hard on myself, maybe it will take next ten drawings or more. Self-compassion is key!
11. I'm open minded...
to try new media, to get new experiences, to meet new people...
I took up writing. I enjoy cooking. I'd love to learn to dance. I write poems sometimes. I'm learning about the issues of the nowadays world which I often get angry over, so I take a stance and voice it out.
I'm not saying to do it all and sabotage the time dedicating to the drawing, but I believe that there's so much to learn from everywhere else about art that is not necessarily visual art. Once you start to make these connections you'll grow not only as an artist.
12. I'm getting comfortable with my art evolving fluidly
I try as best not to preoccupy about style. I want to forget it, let it be and just draw what I love over and over and over and over. I believe that style comes fluidly and unmistakably, and it will be always changing and improving.
13. Challenging myself
I love figurative art, especially in realism and naturalism. Portraits and the human body. I also like to draw animals. See what's missing there, architecture, nature, perspective, abstraction...
So I bought a small, cheap, and fat sketchbook, and I'm going to sketch outside – trees, buildings, rocks and whatever else.
14. Finding a community.
This one may seem arbitrary, but it's crucial!
Hello my DA friends!
I spend way too much time alone at my desk, and at some point, I've realized that it's not the way to go.
We are humans, social creatures. We need people. And I don't mean just anybody. We need people who inspire us who encourage us and help us along the way.
Without the support of a community, our perseverance and growth are hindered.
15. I share my struggles as well as successes
We often tend to share just the successful parts of our dance. Unfortunately, it can be very damaging for the onlookers. I am a strong advocate for facing our struggles and sharing them. When I do that I'm ultimately staring shame into its eyes, and that's scary as hell but facing the shame will hopefully make me stronger in character.
And I just love when people are honest about how they got to the place they are now, there's nothing more inspiring!
16. Being honest with myself
Some years ago I had a blog for my art and a lot of it was rubbish and no one told me not even me! Deep inside I knew it was not so good, however, I totally ignored my gut and I struggled. I hated all the nice comments because I didn't really like what I was posting.
The lesson is if there's no one who is honest with you, you must be! Introspection always and staying with the uncomfortable feelings afterwards always.
17. I want to stay humble
I will never know everything.
I want to keep on learning.
And I always want to remember my beginnings, the frustrations and hard work and share my own experiences.
18. I accept that progress won't happen overnight
I would like to share this sad article about BASE jumping.
BASE jumping is dangerous, no doubt about that. Many put their life at risk to achieve what they call progression and die because there's simply no room to progress without breaching the safety limits.
Why am I comparing our art practice to BASE jumping?
Well, we may not lose our life in the process of trying to progress but if we push too hard on the progress lever, we're definitely putting ourselves at risk of losing our artistic life.
I'm trying to have fun with my work every now and then, don't push it too hard and have faith in the hours that I put in without obsessing with progress. I guess I want to say: don't take it too seriously, it's not BASE jumping.
19. I weeded out possible threats
This won't be for everybody, and I get it but...
For me it became essential to disconnect from artists who stir negative emotions in me. Especially when I was in the midst of depression. This has nothing to do with the art or the person. I know it's just me!
It can be envy and the idea that I could never reach that point, or the fact that they seem untouchable to me or even too positive.
When I'm ready they'll be back in my feed, until then I just keep learning how to deal with the negative feelings.
20. If in doubt just draw...
It may as well be that simple.
Hope you enjoyed the list and let me know what's your own strategy! I can't wait to hear from you.
Until next time.
Hi!
Every now and then my depression unravels, and I quit drawing. The last episode of not putting pencil to paper lasted about a year. But I'm back to the drawing desk.
You can follow my daily progress here.
Feel free to leave a constructive criticism - know that your opinion matters to me, but please be kind and constructive.
Until next time!