This is an older posting, but as I clean up my files, I realize it is still relevant to tell my learning journey.
Congratulations! We are ending another school year, another year with COVID. I just got it for the first time. It was not fun. The rumors are true. It’s a very deadly virus and it is NOT the flu. It knocked me out. I’m still in deep recovery mode, four weeks later.
This year has been wildly unsettling for me, for many of us I’m sure. Although the past two years have been tough, for some reason reopening was much harder for me than locking down. Maybe it’s because I live in a bubble, which is pretty much always in lockdown. There have been so many stops to my starts. I call it the “Momentum” year because I just couldn’t get any momentum going. Motivation is one thing. It is the spark that ignites interest. It can come in resolution or a diagnosis. It gets you off the couch.
Momentum is what keeps you going. It is the force that keeps you moving. When you lose momentum, it is hard to get going again. You either need a new motivator (spark) or you need to slog through until the momentum gains speed.
Since I’ve been on a journey of losing momentum, I keep trying little experiments to shake it up a little bit. I’ve been:
experimenting with different styles
different mediums
different color palettes
This has been very helpful. One of my experiments was to take a photo of a painting from Pinterest and turn it into a large painting. 24 in x 18 in is the largest canvas and paper size I have so I consider this large. Here is the reference photo. I think I got it from Pinterest.
I painted the same flower in watercolor, acrylic, and then created it using chalk. All in an attempt to see if I preferred one medium over another. Nope. Still love all three.
What I loved about this experiment is that I got to see if I could recreate something over and over again. I tend to freak out towards the end of a painting or even a drawing. “I love this so much! I’m never going to be able to do this again so I don’t want to screw it up.” I have so many unfinished pieces because the perfectionist in me won’t let me find out what would happen if I just kept going.
This experiment told me that nothing that tragic will happen. My work is not being sold, it’s not even leaving my house. What does it matter if I screw it up. I can start over. Relax.
So, now I’m back to playing in my sketchbook. My pages are filling with simple drawings, I push myself too far too fast, then recognize that “this” or “that” is not my style. I’m going back to what makes me happy – simple line drawings, botanicals, nature. Perfect for summer sketching.
I even have a quote
STOP MAKING SUCH A BIG DEAL OUT OF IT. IT’S THE PROCESS AND THE FORWARD MOTION THAT MATTERS. Berna Hancke-Coles
SHARPENED PENCILS, POUNDED CLAY 