So, after months of procrastination and broken promises, I've returned to my blog. I will be updating it at least once a week, but more likely more often than that due to the massive amount of work I've had the good fortune and opportunity to produce, yet have sheepishly omitted on this forum.
Loyal devotés will no doubt recall my vows to update more, read more, blah blah blah...sorry guys, but they turned out to be fails and lies. The good news is that job I took worked out very well and gave me a solid year of employment, experience and a shocking amount of autonomy. Shortly after starting at the studio I was recognized as someone who could contribute more than just an animator so I made a move back to supervising and helped turn the studio into a real success. I had another great team, a brilliantly talented co-supervisor and a wonderful boss who let me institute some training initiatives. Soon I was tutoring the animators, holding seminars, giving extra assignments, standardizing quota systems and overhauling the dynamic at the studio to really give some young animators a chance to develop skills and shine. It was a very good job, but as they all do...it ended this past september. I took a month off and started at another studio a few weeks ago and it's rolling just fine.
During my month off, I decided to embark on a project: 100 arts in 100 days. It proved to be a great experience that inspired me to improve, broaden my skill set and gave me the opportunity to touch people (artistically...not creepily). I began October 1st. I began posting watercolours on facebook and I got great feedback, tips and tricks and wonderful words of encouragement and love. Really, if you're thinking of doing it...just do it...you'll never regret it.
I had to stop at 50...not because I ran out of time (even though I now had 3 new jobs, a beefy commute and a 9 month old), but for a real reason. One can ALWAYS find time to draw in any day, so please don't get the impression I would dream of using that as an excuse. The truth is that after 50 paintings, I craved the opportunity to invest more of myself and more time into the works. Once can only put so much into a daily drawing when life is as busy as it is...so I augmented the project so that I could acheive the new goal of 1 art a week for the next 50 weeks.
Naturally, irony decided to kick me in the shin with the first piece (pictured above). I spent all week on another painting...starting, re-starting, trying and failing to find a proper look. So, I went into my message log and got out a request from a friend to paint her, her husband and their dog Molly. I had tried caricaturing them a few years back with little success, and I saw a great photo of them by a river, so I took a stab at it.
You'll notice that this is not my style at all, but I really love the result. In the past I've been too apprehensive and timid with my colours and their application...this time though I went bold and chunky and really loved the results. I am also very excited to continue down this path and see where it ends up.
Ok, enough chatter...I'll be posting the first 50 arts here over the next few weeks along with 1 new painting each Sunday night/Monday morning. Wish me good luck and I'll keep you all posted with my adventures. Thanks for reading, viewing, and sharing...I feel the love and am incredibly grateful to you all.
