Art Day 101

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced."

"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?"

-Vincent Van Gogh

I find it quite interesting that even an artist the caliber of Van Gogh was plagued with insecurities and uncertainties in his work and artistic ability.  I have always struggled with my art, never feeling it was ever good enough. Art, I have learned, is really a series of "happy mistakes" that result in greater skill simply because of trying.  By never trying I'd never know where my talents lie. Without pushing through the difficulties there would be no growth. I'm learning to understand the creative process.

Yesterday was the day I set aside to just work on my art. I drew a series of watercolor sketches of sea turtles. Working from various photos in travel magazines and relying more on instinct instead of over-thinking, I produced three entirely unique sketches. Although none of them are masterpieces,  each taught me something valuable. The creative process was fun instead of frustrating. None of them are right and none of them are wrong. They are simply what I saw and felt at the time.

Sea turtle sketch #1

Sea turtle sketch #2

Sea turtle #3

After feeling inspired by my progress, I challenged myself to an even higher level by trying a figure. Taking inspiration from a calendar of vintage Hawaiian posters, the following rendering emerged. I learned that hands are bigger than you think [ha, ha] as hers are really too small. Test it yourself by holding your hand over your face and you'll find that they are about the same size.

Was all this worth my time - absolutely yes!

Hawaiian beauty - colored pencil