Day one of the 30 in 13 Art Challenge and I’ve decided to draw a viking warrior in cold weather gear standing over a fallen foe? or perhaps friend? how knows! There are a few insets of details I was trying to get better/right. Might take it into PS to color it maybe I wont. not sure yet. Based off a character from Top of the Lake. Although this version looks far too old. shooting for 25-30. Viking is a hard knock life I guess!
September  2013 is the month I habitualize art. That is what 30 in 13 is all about. I know a lot of people that are compulsive creators. They can’t stay still. Their hands and eyes and minds are always moving always thinking about what to make next. I am not one of those people. In fact. I am very much the opposite. I am a master at sitting still, in one place for a REALLY long time. Don’t believe me? I have the Deep Vein Thrombosis to prove it! but that is another story all together.
30 in 13 is about getting back to a time when I made art as a matter of habit. I remember a time when I would always have a little flip pad and pen on me and in any down time, especially at work, I would draw a little picture of this or that. Doodles or characters or objects, whatever came to mind. Those days are long past but really shouldn’t be. I spend WAY too much time doing stupid stuff trying to engage my brain in some for of escapism fantasy, and to a certain extent that is alright BUT it is the slowest dumbest most unrewarding form of escapism there is: watching TV. I’ll throw playing video games in their too. It pains me to say it but those two things have really messed my life up, in a work ethic sort of way and a good health sort of way.
Creating is not a default mode for most people. We are trained from a young age to sit/stand and wait and be quiet and be patient. Why? That seems like a huge waist of time to me. If you have any ‘free’ time you should engage in creation. Open that notebook/sketchpad/iPad/Nook or even cell phone and instead of waiting or busying yourself with some piece of meaningless fluff (TV or People magazine) spend that in between time creating something; pictures, words, music, whatever. Engage your environment and your mind in a new, better way. Observe. Record. Create.
Please join me in September and create! Create! Create!
I am nearing completion of my projects. Senior Thesis is down. Figure drawing is very close and Animation just around the corner. So then where does this leave this blog? It would leave it in a strange Limbo but I’d like to keep using it. There are a lot of changes coming in the next year. During that time I would like to really stretch and expand my knowledge of both design and illustration. Meaning more side projects and development of my existing skill sets. I’ll be posting those projects here as they come. I may modify some sections, like Blood Clots. Hopefully those wont be an issue any more as March 28 denotes one year since diagnosis and treatment should be done by then, and when I say done I mean DONE.
We also have a big deal happening around August 24th. That marks the expected delivery date of our first baby! HOORAY! So things will change. This has been a big adjustment for me and I’m sure there will be even more adjusting, but I’m looking forward to it. It also has been a big motivator. What do I want this child to know about me? That I’m a floater? Just going through the paces? or that I’m a designer? A damn good one. That am an Illustrator? A great one. So those are the things I’m going to be working on, both in skill and scholastically. I’ve been very critical of the educational institute I’ve attended and there is more and more research showing that I’m more right than I’m wrong. There’s the saying you get what you want out of college (and life for that matter), so I’m charting my goals and working towards them, to be a better design in both skill and thought.
I realize that so much of what I’ve done in the last few years hasn’t been motivated by good/positive things, so I’m really trying to let the good things in my life (my job, friends, family, wife and child) become the focus of what I do. Here is to positive and new directions!