2017 Review and 2018 Resolutions

Instagram best nine 2017

As December draws to a close, my instagram feed is starting to fill with artist's best nine posts of the year indicating 2018 is almost upon us. So I guess it's time to evaluate where I'm at with my art and how I plan to go forward.

This time last year I made the decision not to set a concrete resolution for myself since I was just coming off of my sketch a day attempt and wanted to try and see if I would continue the habit of regular drawing without the accountability of people following along. However this year has taught me that if I want to improve on my skills, I need to have some sort of measurable goal to keep me motivated. There is only so many times where I can rely on inspiration or motivation falling from the sky and into my lap (I watched a TED talk about how to make your life better, how motivation is for amateurs and I haven't stopped thinking about it - Click here to watch and get a kick up the ass).

And so I definitely need to set goals for myself in some capacity - no matter how small. Inktober highlighted this for me since by the time October rolled around, I craved the incentive, and the 31 drawings as a result proved it. I just need to find a way to strike a balance of not burning myself out while also keeping up a regular practice.

But before I jump fully into my thoughts and plans for next year, I think it would be wise to look over the work I did accomplish this year and what I have learned from it. Even though I didn't produce as much as I would have initially hoped, what I did make I'm happy with, which is an accomplishment in itself.


Review - favourites of 2017

So let's talk my favourite piece of the year - the watercolour piece I did of my Nana and Grandma a.k.a. the two Margarets. My Nana sadly passed this year at the good age of 89 - she was made of strong stuff - and while looking through old photos, I found a rare picture of both my Grandma and Nana together and instantly gravitated towards it. My Nana was the last of my grandparents to pass and so when it finally happened it felt like the end of era in a weird way. Another harsh reminder that I'm not a child anymore. So to see these two women together who shared the same first name, but where very different people and played different roles in my life, in the one picture made me smile.
The painting came together fairly quickly and I enjoyed very much painting the side profiles. Despite a little mishap with the over use of water in one spot and a furry cheek, I think I managed to capture them fairly well. I uploaded the picture to the Women in the Arts Scotland Facebook page and someone commented that it reminded them of two Italian Nonnas which gave me a giggle. Maybe in a parallel universe they where part of the godfather/mafia. The piece also reminded how much I love working from candid old family photographs. Something I definitely will continue to do in the future.

This is probably part of why I love the commission I did for my friend to give to his gran. There is something about old photographs, especially black and white, that are so classic and esthetically pleasing. The smart outfits, the hair, the atmosphere. I'm sure in years to come people of the future will look at the photos we take now and feel similarly but for now I don't feel like our photos have the same romance to them.
In the case of this drawing there was face swap element from another photo for the grandad, in order to make him look a little happier. My aim is never to make my drawings look exactly the same as the photo. So knowing that I could play about with the reference images to this extent to create a new, unique image, raised my confidence a bit. Also the reaction from my friend Gran was so emotional to see and was another reminder why I love drawing family portraits.

I also had a similar experience with another surprise drawing for my best friend's mum of her late dad and dear dog, Woody.
These are the reactions that make doing commissions worth while.

Another favourite from this year is none other than my Betty Cooper from Riverdale drawing. This is by far my most popular piece from this year and when I drew it, I was genuinely taken aback because of how well it turned out. It's one of the few times where I have been able to see an improvement with my own eyes. Prior to drawing it, I hadn't done any portraiture in solely pencil to that extent for a minute. You can imagine my surprise when my own hand started producing the most realistic face I had done in a while with pencils I didn't particular like at first. Just goes to show that sometimes you can't plan these things and that you should never write certain tools off until you have fully put them to the test. I continued to draw other Riverdale characters, however Betty is definitely my best one in my opinion. However I will say Archie comes a close second.

My next favourite was done at the start of the year and was the first time I had used gouche paints - my Audrey Hepburn piece. At this moment in time I think I enjoy gouache paints more than I do watercolour, purely because I think they are easier to work with. When laying down the paint you have a good idea of how the paint will dry, unlike with watercolour where a colour lays down quite pigmented but then once it dries down it's a lot lighter in comparision. So in order for me to do good pieces I need to be patient and let the colours dry before I move forward. You might notice that don't possess much patience when it comes to watercolour. Similar to watercolour though gouache lasts longer than acrylics because you can still activate left over paint on the palette with just water once it's dried. It's a pleasure to use all round and I can't remember why I stopped at just two gouache paintings this year.

Since I've already done a favourites post about inktober I won't go into detail about these pieces but I will say that the inktober ones that make the 2017 faves are my NOPE Turtle, my Thor: Ragnarok piece and the Scream drawing. Ink is such a challenging but fun medium to work with and I have no doubt that I will continue to use it in 2018. It has helped me improve on my line work, colour values and let go of some of perfectionist tendencies.

And finally I'll give my 13 Reasons Why piece an honorable mention because of how much it highlighted the fan art debate and opened my eyes to the world of copyright. And also how I should probably watermark more of my stuff to help prevent people stealing my work and putting it on phonecases. Yeahhhhh .... That was a thing.


Resolutions for 2018

So where do I want to go from here. My overwhelming feeling is that I want to paint more. I was looking at my portraiture work from 2009/2010 thinking it's time to up my painting game. Even though I have made improvements I don't think they have been that drastic from back then. I might talk about this more next year in another blog post and show you my advanced higher pieces. In regards to how often I want to paint I'll keep the number low so the resolution is achievable. Let's say sitting down to paint at least once a month with the hope of finishing a piece a month.

I also need to use those oil paints I bought at the start of the the year. Why does it say everywhere that oils aren't hard to use but then follows it with a warning to remember to watch out for combustible rags. I'm sorry.... WHAT! But aside from that the oils will be used.

This year I did a few more original pieces than normal instead of solely fan art and I want to continue with that thread. And in line with this thought I think I'm going to get myself a sketchbook soley for drawings that I don't intend on showing anyone. So like composition sketches, ideas, quick drawing exercises. I think it's easy to get caught up with making everything look nice but sometimes you need a space where you can allow yourself to be rubbish. Original pieces don't happen over night and if I can develop my style in private I think that will help raise my confidence when I do finally decide to share personal pieces.

And with that thought it's time to get ready for 2018. Hope you all have a lovely new year when it comes and I will see you in January.

Hazel, xoxo

Inktober 2017 - done and dusted!

Favourites of the month

I did it! I actually managed to do all 31 ink drawings in the space of 31 days. I'm chuffed to bits to say the least. My decision to take part in inktober this year felt like all good decisions I've made in the past, where I don't think too much but instead just go with an instinctual feeling of I'm doing this. It's like my brain actively decides right then and there, not allowing myself time to back out or overthink - no wiggle room. It's a rare occurence since I'm of the over thinking variety, so when it does happen I'm genuinely taken aback.

At the beginning of October I had no doubt in my mind that I was going to finish inktober. My determination only waned in the middle of the month, when I was questioning whether I liked what I was making, and on the last day where due to scheduling I had to fit 3 drawings in the space of three hours. But when your that close to finish line, you're not going to let 3 small drawings stand in your way. I didn't even manage to do 31 drawings in a month in the whole of my sketch a day 2016, let alone inktober 2016 but yet something came over me this year. I put that down to last year being like a training/practice period, so I knew that I could manage an isolated month. It's not as daunting as a year.

Even though I didn't do much thinking beforehand, what I did allow myself to think about was using the prompt lists avaliable, such as the official list and mossery's (which in the end I didn't end up using). I also wrote some notes of possible ideas I could do if I couldn't think up something on the day and put together a sort of toolkit of Faber-Castell Pitt Artist pens, Winsor and Newton Promarkers, Liquid Indian ink with waterbrush pens and a trusty white gel pen. I didn't pressure myself to go crazy with coloured ink and most of the time I limited my colour palette, with a few expections. The nice thing about inktober is that it is the one time of year the monochrome palette is in full swing and in my opinion is easier to make look good.  

Last year's effort

In regards to self improvement, I didn't set myself any goals within the month, such as to improve on particular techniques, but I did find myself leaning towards cross hatching and really enjoyed experimenting with my waterbrush pens and masking tape. So that in itself was an unintentional improvement. And compared to last year's ink pieces I think you can see my progression in how I use ink.

The best part of Inktober is the community feeling of it all. I really enjoyed going through all the hashtags and seeing what everyone was coming up with and how different people would interpret the prompts if they where using them. However I had to make the conscious choice to only look at other people's work for a limited time and after doing my drawing for the day. Otherwise my ideas would just be clouded with drawings I had already seen. 

Here is a list of some of the artists I enjoyed following this month.

• @tingxart - I love ting's gouache work so when inktober came round and I began to see the ink pieces, I was blown away by the creativity. I especially love the original comic pages from the start of the month
• @uniquelab - I love the line work and the choice of coloured ink, the orange pieces being some faves of mine. Beautiful portraiture!
• @Oxanaviktorova - I really enjoy the square format and composition of the work. Plus all the pieces have a flow to them, if that makes any sense. In a way it feels like she's telling a story even when the pieces are related.
• @davidkohlver - his illustration style is so on point and the scary movie theme was so enjoyable to see on my feed everyday. 
• @myang18 - Madison Yang's style is so pretty. She makes everyday settings look so much more pleasing to the eye with her choice of colour. 
• @pentasticarts - I would describe joseph catimbang's inktober pieces as small but beautiful. Creativity in spades and I really loved how he interpreted the prompts.  
• @tania_samoshkina_art - the yellow and black theme made me so happy and the pieces where so fun to look at everyday!
• @leighellexson - her theme was cats and she used pink ink. Need I say more! 
• @sibylline_m - in love with everything she makes. 
• Minnie smalls on youtube - really felt she was coaching me through the whole month. Her theme of the month was houses and what haunts them!

All worth checking out!

I think that pretty much covers it all! It's been a fun inktober and I'll definitely continue working with ink but it might be a while until you see another drawing. Going to give myself a couple days break! Until next time! 

Hazel, xoxo

Go Read 'Steal Like An Artist' by Austin Kleon

Looks as though we have the theme of stealing going for the month of May and this next post will be no expection. I finally purchased 'Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative' by Austin KLeon and it was an extremely quick but helpful read. I've been wanting to read it for a while and with all this talk about originality of ideas and stealing artwork I was reminded of the books existence.

The basis of the book discusses how no ideas are original. Everything comes from somewhere and it is only when you can't figure out where all the reference points are that people are fooled into thinking it's new. This concept isn't completely unknown to me. Back when I took a script writing class in university this was one of the first things our teacher told us. His words where closer to "don't try to wrack your brain for some that has never been done because everything has already been done before you. There are no new ideas so you may as well do what you want!" It can be quite a freeing and comforting thought if you let it. I with that thought I wrote a script that probably wouldn't be fit for a soap opera or channel 5 afternoon movie. Let's just say creative writing isn't where I was destined to go but at least the thought helped me get the job done. 

'Steal Like An Artist' in many ways reminds me of a more bizesize version of Elizabeth Gilbert's 'Big Magic' which I have previously raved about here. Both books cross over in many ways but I feel Kleon's book is more concentrated on the steps of how to become more creative whereas Gilbert questions creativity as a whole and is more anecdotally driven. I love both books for there own qualities but Kleon's book is definitely more suited for those who are itching to get stuff done more immediately. 

Some of the points that really resonated with me in the book where surrounding the chapter "Don't wait until you know who you are to get started". I know have been quite intimitated by the thought of creating personal artworks that represent me when sometimes I have felt I don't even have a firm grip on who I am. But quite rightly KLeon says that it's in the act of making work that we figure out who we are. Part of me wishes that one day I was going to have an epic epiphany and sing at the top of my lungs "I AM HHHHAAAZZZEELLLLLLLLLL!" in the style of Moana, without having to put any actual effort. I'm not exactly great at starting things. So when he touched on imposters syndrome in relation to all of this I felt like screaming "ME!" 

He also talked about stepping away from technology in order to be more hands on and uses technology for finishing work instead of doing it which is something I can definitely relate to. While writing essays at university I found it incredibily hard to sit at a computer and just churn it out. I didn't feel any connection to what I was writing and it usually turned into a bunch of waffle to make up the word count. Eventually I figured out the only way I could actually work on essays was if I split the work up so that most of time I was figuring out my layout, wording and references with paper and pen. Only when I had a better idea of what I was going to say could I step over to the computer and type it up. 

There are tons more things I could talk about from the book but then I might be verging on bad theft. All in all I really liked the book. It practices what it preaches and is filled with great quotes from other creatives and has a ton of great diagrams and drawings. It was a breeze to read yet it has plenty of substance. My favourite kind of book. Highly recommend it!

Hazel, xoxo

The Murky Copyright Waters of Fan Art

Since posting my last blog about my 13 Reasons Why fan art being used to sell phone cases without my knowledge I have had an interesting response - all of which I love to hear. There has been amusement, there has been anger but the response and discussion I'm most interested in is the matter of copyright and permission of use.

Quite validly the point was brought up of whether I had seeked out permission of use of the original reference photo to which I replied that I had not, solely because I had never intended on selling the work since I knew the original ideas didn't originate from me and therefore could make me liable in a court of law if I made any profit. To this I was informed to my surprise that technically any "derivative work" is technically an infringement of copyright and so even if I didn't sell the work I was still breaking the law. Shock horror! I'm a criminal!

I think part of me has always known this could be the case but chose to ignore it like so many others because I didn't see how I could be hurting anyone. For me I was just showing my love for something the best way I know how - Art. Never did I think I was claiming the right to ownership of ideas or stealing property. But it could be argued that I have.

So after this discussion I decided to start doing some more research on this subject and came across this video in which Josh Wattles, an employee of Deviant Art and former lawyer, talks about the ins and outs of Copyright law and how it effects fan art. It's quite a long video but if you have made fan art or still do I highly recommend you watch this.

In the video he goes through Copyright law and breaks it down to simple bullet points showing exactly how fan art breaks the law but also how it can be argued under certain circumstances that it doesn't under fair use and even free speech. He talks about how it shouldn't be wrong to express love for something and how strange it is that you could be brought into a court of law because of that love. 

While watching the video I found myself nodding along whole heartedly. I felt he understood where people like me were coming from. I think thr saving grace in all of this is that I have never sold any works that have derived from other people's work. In the past I had considered it after seeing that so many other people seemed to be making a living out of it without consequence but in the end it didn't sit right. My work always seemed too close to the primary source and hardly "transformative" as argument against copyright infringement might suggest. 

But even so there are fantastic pieces of work out there that otherwise wouldn't be there without fan artists. Fan art could be argued to be the best kind of free advertisement. I think that's where it can all get a bit blurry. Fan Artists create work that other fans want and the original creators are not filling that void. But at the same time fan artists are also building upon ideas that aren't their own. Youtuber, The Drizzly Druid, talks about this in her video "Selling Fan Art is Illegal" and explains it quite succinctly.

Going forward I think I will continue taking part in the fan art community but only for the sheer love of it and I definitely won't be seeking financial gain. However I think it is time for me to step up my game and stop being so reliant other people's ideas to spring board off of. It's time to get more creative and to start presenting my own ideas to the world. Time to get a little more brave and personal!

Hazel, xoxo

Stealing and Taking Credit for Artwork

While I was away on a trip to Copenhagen, Denmark, experiencing all the hygge it has to offer, I received a message on my Tumblr that my 13 Reasons Why watercolour piece was being used as a design on phone cases and sold across many sites. To my surprise my initial reaction was not of anger but more of amusement. But that might have been in part to do with the fact that I was on holiday and in a happy mood. I wasn't going to let anyone interrupt that.

To my knowledge this is the first time my artwork has been stolen and used elsewhere without credit being given to me, however I was aware that it was a possibility. My overall reach isn't the widest however my 13 Reasons Why painting is one that has gained a little more momentum on platforms like Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram. I completely understand why someone would think it was a good idea to put it on a phone case. I'm actually quite curious to know what it looks like on a phone but don't worry I don't intent on buying it. What I don't understand is why I wasn't contacted in any shape or form and that someone felt that they could just steal something that I put time and effort into and take all the credit for it.

The original watercolour piece

I should feel more pissed about this than I do. I would have definitely been more pissed off if I had felt the piece had been 100% mine - more personal and an original idea. However since I feel like the idea for the painting doesn't fully belong to me - the painting is very similar to the original reference photograph with the only changes being made to the background - I don't feel completely robbed. I should probably adjust this way of thinking because the work is mine and is being used for profit that isn't going into my pocket. At the end of the day my permission to use the image should have been seeked out.

Since receiving the message about my artwork (which by the way was really nice of that person to let me know!) I feel like I have been following breadcrumbs to find the route of the problem. My first contact was with Woo Pop Culture who responded to me fairly quickly and told me to "be aware it [my artwork] is on Aliexpress and thousands of dropshippers will be using it!!" They said they would pull the design but as of the posting date of this blog the design is still up on Woo Pop Culture. Currently I am contacting the multiple sellers of the phone case on AliExpress and trying to get information as to who their suppliers are. So far the only response I have gotten is so sorry we didn't know it was stolen and that their supply is bought from a "China website" (I mean is it that hard to send me the link. It's like talking to a brick wall!).

I won't be wasting too much time hunting down the supplier though but part of me wants to find the route of this all. What this situation has done is got me thinking about artwork thievery and fakery online and why people do it. As an artist I make sure to always sign my work if I plan to upload it online just so that if it is stolen you can clearly see that it is mine. But this alone still doesn't deter people from taking your work.

Online and especially on Instagram there is a large art community but unfortunately within that community there is often fakery and thievery. Sadly I have heard of many instances where people have taken someone else's artwork and claim it as their own. Some even tamper with reference photos and claim that they drew the image when in fact they have only tweaked a couple of things on Photoshop. I could never understand wanting to take credit for something that isn't yours or lying about whether it was drawn. You might be surprised to know there are a few people on Instagram who have very large followings but yet are fakes. These people have taken peoples money for commissions and then don't deliver what they promise. It is really unfortunate that these people still get any sort of recognition when the real talented people seldom get any.

Going forward I'm not sure what actions I can take to prevent this from happening again. I really don't want to resort to having to put large ugly watermarks on my work. If anyone has any advice I would gladly hear it. At least this all gave me a good laugh but if there is a next time I doubt I'll be laughing as much.

Hazel, xoxo       

Riverdale Obsessions & Derwent Artists Pencil Impressions

 

If you've been following any of my social media feeds you may have noticed my recent obsession with the new CW show Riverdale. Logically it makes little sense as to why I like it so much. First off it is a teen drama and I have watched enough of those in my lifetime that I thought I was pretty much done with them, especially with (so bad it's good) Pretty Little Liars coming to an end later this year. But when I saw it pop up on my Netflix I couldn't resist the first episode. If it was rubbish I had only wasted 40 minutes of my life and I could move on to the next thing. But seven episodes and three drawings later here we are.

Fun fact I had already drawn someone from

the Archie universe without even knowing it until I started watching the show. In fact she was the first sketch I did in my #sketchaday2016 - Josie from Josie and the Pussycats back when she was a Riverdale Redhead.

But anyway back to this version of Riverdale. The best way I could describe Riverdale would be a mix of every teen drama you have ever watched, filled with cheesy but witty dialogue straight from the 90s, and then with the aesthetic of the 50s with a modern twist and film noir with murder mystery thrown in just for funzies. And not forgetting to mention at least one slow motion moment in each episode (not even a lie... watch each episode back) for dramatic effect. The show is an all round fun watch, plus it is just so pretty to look at across the board.  TV shows that have a strong visual identity paired with fun drama always appeal to me - the other show that springs to mind which is the same in that regard is Pushing Daisies.

After episode one I was hooked and started my usually obsessive research and not too far into my searching I came across the gorgeous character portraits and with my new Derwent Artist Pencils and grey toned paper in hand I began draw. I was hesitant to use my Artists pencils at first because as said in my previous blog post I hadn't really found them all that easy to use. But I will say they do fair quite well on toned paper and blend nicely too. I'd say if you have the skills you can make them work, you just need to spend some time with them and learn how to best use them. I will say though even though the colours are nice I still stand by the thought that the vibrancy of the colour just can't be achieved to it's full capacity with these pencils. In person the drawings look bright and strong but scanned in and compared to their reference you can see how muted the tones are!

My intentions in the beginning where not to one by one draw the whole cast but it's slowly starting to look that way. The colours schemes of each portrait are so beautiful and I can't help but keep drawing them. I started with Betty Cooper because I loved the pink and purple tones but also at the time of drawing she was my favourite character. Episode three, Body Double, is probably my favourite episode so far and Betty's role in that episode is just like..... YAAASSSS QUEEN! From the three drawings I still like my Betty one the best.

I then went onto draw Riverdale's favourite boy but every viewers least favourite eventually - Archie Andrews. All about the Boy is the alternative title me and my friend like to think Riverdale could have been called especially in those first couple of episodes. Every single character is in love with him. JUST look at those looks Jughead be throwing him.

Life before the hand!

And finally I recently finished Veronica Lodge. Her hand was the bane of my existence for those few days. It is combination of all of my weaknesses - out of focus subject, unidentifiable shadows (what are fingers cause I couldn't even see them at first) and hands in use. Thankfully it is now over and I don't need to think about it anymore. However her face was a joy to draw and I loved all the maroons and browns next to the blues and purples.

At the moment I'm taking a break from drawing anymore but if I was to do anymore Jughead would definitely be next and maybe Cheryl. Part of me wishes I did them in my Faber-Castell Polychromos but it's too late to turn back now. But overall I'm very happy with how they are turning out especially since they are the first coloured pencil drawings I have done in a while without having used a base of Promarkers. It's nice to prove to myself I can go back to basics and still have the drawings turns out well.

Anyway... now back to getting my Riverdale fix after that 3 week hiatus! 

Hazel, xoxo

First Impressions of Derwent Artists Pencils

So let me set the scene. I'm in TK Maxx with a friend wandering around all the nik naks before we were about to leave. As I was having a casual browse through the clearance section I catch a glimpse of the Derwent logo underneath a couple of books. Hidden on the shelf was a tin of 72 Derwent Artist pencils for... wait for it... £25. Quickly I whip out my phone to price compare incase I was getting excited about nothing. The cheapest price I could find online for these pencils, which originally retail for £115, is £75. And so before I know it I'm clutching at this large tin with a death grip as if I think someones going to fight me for them. I even caused a whole bunch of glassware shelves to the rattle in fear as I walk by with tin.

If you've read any of my blog posts before you might be aware that last year I spent a good amount of time searching for my ideal coloured pencil - click here for blogs on derwent coloursoft and faber-castell polychromos - and in that search I briefly considered buying the derwent artists pencils but eventually settled on faber-castell polychromos which I absolutely love and highly recommend to anyone looking for a good quality coloured pencil that aren't so expensive you have to sell an organ. Even though I hadn't bought the derwent artists pencils back then I was always curious about them since I knew they where wax based (unlike the oil based polychromos) and are considered a harder leaded pencil meaning they are easier to sharpen to a point making detail work a charm.

Now that I have tried them out the first thing I will say is that I am so glad that I got

them at the price that I did because if I had invested full price for them I would be quite disappointed with their pigmentation quality. Not that they are bad pencils, they just don't have the colour pay off I would expect for the price you pay for them. Even though I knew they where hard, which is great for layering, the colours seem almost diluted and you have to work quite a bit harder to get anything nearer the vibrancy of what the colours on the end of the pencils claim to be.

Before I tried them out with an actual drawing I went through all the pencils and

sampled them to see if they where the same quality across the set. While doing this I found that a couple of colours where more colour true than others and even some felt like they had a slightly different texture. You'll notice a blue square that pops more than the others and when using that one the lead felt slightly softer which I prefered since I didn't have to lean as hard. Overall the darker colours where easier to use over the paler colours such as the yellows.

Even though I knew they where hard leaded pencils I still expected to be able to eventually build up the colour but before I even got to the colour I expected the wax starts to build up making it hard to add more layers leaving you with a slightly faded colour that can go no further- you'll be able to see this with my bug drawing. I will say though that I tested these pencils at first on paper with little to no tooth (the WHSMITH basic sketch pads) which could have some part to play with this issue. When I eventually tried the pencils on paper with more tooth the colours seemed to pop a little more and I noticed it was very important to keep the pencil sharp in order to layer the colours correctly.  

If you look closely you will see the pencil has taken on an unusually hairy sort of texture.

I will continue to use these pencils mainly because they are so easy to use for detailed, light work, but what I think people need to know about them is they have limitations to what they can do. If you're going for a subtle look they are ideal but if you want to pack a punch with colour you're going to spend a long time trying build up colours that might not get to where you want them in the end. Something to keep in mind. Also, as touched on before, they need to be kept sharp and used on paper with some texture in order to perform at their best. The more smooth the paper, the more likely the pencil will burnish quicker making it harder to build up layers a depth.

I think if I can begin to use them alongside my polychromos I could get some good work but I've yet to try and see if the wax and oil will mix well. I get the feeling that I might be using them in the wrong way because some people seem to love them. If you have any tips I'm all ears! Show me your ways. If my opinion changes over time I will be sure to let you know. At least I can say I have tried them now and for the price that I got them for, who can say no. All I have left to try is prismacolour, derwent inktense and drawing pencils. Let's be real though, Caran D'Ache Luminance are the ultimate dream.

Hazel, xoxo

Sketch A Day 2016 - From Then To Now

This time last year I was thinking a lot about New Year's Resolutions. I've never been one to make them and if I did it would always be silly small ones like drink more water or vague goals like get out of your comfort zone more often. And every year I would never follow through with them. And to be honest the idea that resolutions are saved for once a year is ridiculous. Changes can and should be made at anytime but I do understand that the clean slate feeling that comes with the New Year helps push people to try and better themselves in whatever big or small way.

So I was looking back at 2015 and thinking how little art I had been doing. And it suddenly occured to me how little I had done since 2010. Every now and again I would start something but it would usually sit on my easel unfinished taunting and shaming me. I would get sudden bursts of creativity out of nowhere but I wouldn't harness it in the moment and so when I got round to drawing the desire to do it would fade fast. I wanted to change this. I didn't want to feel like I couldn't do it anymore.

So on the days leading up to New Year's I started to think about drawing and holding myself accountable to it in some way. I wanted to challenge myself to be better. In the years I hadn't been drawing as much I could have been improving and developing my style. To think of where I could have been by now annoyed me so much but instead of wallowing in what I hadn't done I decided to make a start on improving. The only way to do that was to start drawing again and Sketch A Day 2016 was born. There was no hesitation, just the decision on New Year's eve that it was going to be my resolution. I hadn't thought about the logistics of how I was going to do it but instead jumped right in. And I'm so glad I did!

I considered January a warm up period where I would start to get to grips of how I would start to make it part of my routine. At first I thought of it as a wind down activity at night where I would spend 30 minutes to an hour sketching before bed and sometimes as a waking up activity. But eventually I began to move it around the day just so it didn't start to feel like work. The time I would spend on each piece would get longer because I began to enjoying it more but also because I started to grow self concious of uploading half finished pieces.

Even though I knew it didn't matter what I drew and what the finished piece looked like, just as long as I did it, I still couldn't shake the feeling that I had lost some skill over the last couple of years. Most of my sketches where small to begin with and I spent a lot of time trying to think how I could make the sketches like a diary of my life and also like a time capsule of 2016. I also wanted to try and draw with different mediums every couple of days to mix things up for both me and whoever was following along.

Thinking soon turned into over thinking and by the end of February/beginning of March I started to grow impatient with myself. I saw no improvement. My sketches didn't impress me for the most part. It was exhausting having to shush my self conscious mind just to make another small sketch. But in a way this type of thinking is what helped push me to make better things and it was a sign I was getting into the swing of drawing again. I knew I could do better and so I did.

The make a splash watercolour challenge came at just the right time. I craved colour but didn't have the time for my acrylics. Watercolours where the perfect gateway. At first, as always, I was rusty but despite that I still liked the colours which meant I always appreciated the final piece. My watercolour period ran into my marker period which then led to me trying out different papers and soon people started to express interest and so I began to take commissions. Now there haven't been that many but the fact that have been paid to draw is a pretty big deal to me. And since I haven't been overwhelmed with them I still have to time to do what I want and I haven't grown to dislike them so I've got an okay balance going on.

Let's not lie to ourselves here. I haven't held up my side of the bargain completely. There have been many missed days and dark periods of nothing. I even spread many sketches out over a period of a couple of days which cheated me out of a couple of sketches. So I don't have a total of 365 sketches to show you. But what I have done is kept my creative juices flowing everyday of the year whether that was drawing, painting, writing, making, reading and even singing if that counts. I'm living a far more creative life than before. I have dabbled with acrylics, watercolour, charcoal, graphite, oil pastels, soft pastels, all sorts of pens, markers and ink. I have used different types of brushes, canvases, paper, mdf and even done a little sewing with felt. I'm sure there is plenty I haven't done. Oil and gouache have still to be touched on but I can save that for next year. All in all despite not sketching every day I have done a lot! More than I have done in the last 5 years combined!

Little did I know on January 1st 2016 that this #sketchaday2016 was about much more than simply drawing everyday. At risk of sounding cheesy it was about putting creativity at the heart of my life. I'm not saying I'm magically living my ideal life at this moment in time. There is still a ways to go but I've taken steps to change my life for the better. I feel like I'm working towards something and I wasn't before. Now I don't have a clear and succinct answer of what it is precisely. I just know that I need art in my life in some capacity. Without it I feel like I'm lying or being someone else.

So where to go from here? As I've said before I will not be making #sketchaday2017 a thing. This time the challenge is to make but without the accountability of every day posting. I want to be able to draw without having to share it. And with that I want to start making more personal and original works. That being said I won't disappear off the face of the Internet. I will upload... just not as much. At the moment I don't know when my next blog post will be. We will all just need to wait and see. For now I just want to thank anyone who has liked, commented and followed me through this year. I really appreciate everyone who has taken the time to show support in any way, shape or form. And if you've made it to the end of this particular blog gold star for you!  It's been a journey.

All that's left to say is I hope you have a wonderful New Year and hopefully 2017 will finally be the year of drinking more water. See you in 2017!!!

Hazel, xoxo

Sketch A Day 2016 Favourites

I knew about half way through 2016 that eventually I was going to put together a favourites of the whole year.  I could see my drawings start to bundle up in scraps of paper and sketch pads. And I can't believe it's already 2017 and it's time to pick out my favourites. So I sat looking over all the drawings and paintings which got me reminiscing of where I was and how I felt when I did them. I have finally managed to narrow it down to the 16 pieces that are within this blog post. 

Funnily enough these pieces where all done from May onwards. Not that I don't like the drawings I did from January to April - in fact there are a few pencil drawings I did of my family from old photographs that I really love for sentimental reasons but they didn't quite make the cut. With the ones I have chosen I feel like I stepped out of my comfort zone and showed improvement in technical skill as well as just loving how they turned out. And most of all I remember drawing and painting them and what I was feeling and thinking.

These are my #sketchaday2016 favourites!

As you can see a large bulk of these are portraiture which is to be expected since I always gravitate towards portraiture. But I've also grown to love landscapes, scenery and animal portraits this year too. I'm glad I managed to step away from portraiture enough to try some different subject matter to help improve my skills all round. 

I was also interested to see what other people's favourites where this year. According to Instagram these are my best nine posts from 2016. There's definite colour scheme going on here.

Here are the best nine from Facebook. Slightly different but also a few in common.

And finally the Tumblr favourites which has been heavily affected by fandoms. The Always doe piece got 149 notes thanks to all those Harry Potter fans out there.  

Across all the social medias it's been a good year! Since I'm not continuing with the sketch a day this year there won't be a favourites like this anytime soon. But I will definitely keep posting when inspiration hits! My next post will be recapping on the year! 

Hazel, xoxo