Okay, so it’s week 25 and as you can see I have completely missed about a month’s worth of work. And I’ve come to the conclusion that I am okay with that. I realize I’d been coming up with excuse after excuse for not meeting my self imposed deadline and therein lies the rub. I created this “Drawing a Day” idea to spur me on and to give me a goal to focus on. What I discovered was that I actually put myself under a whole load of stress that wasn’t serving me very well.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’ll admit, I have a problem with perfectionism. If I can’t get it right, I worry. If I don’t get it done on time, I worry more. And I end up wasting a whole bunch of energy worrying and fretting and fussing as opposed to enjoying the process of drawing. Of finding images I’d like to draw, of looking at the world through different eyes.
I have also been given the opportunity to take on a very exciting project. You may have read my previous post about my high school drama teacher, Jim Nakamoto. It turns out that we raised enough money to bring back the McKinley Theatre Group to the school, next spring the group will mount a production of “Godspell Jr.” I have volunteered to be the show’s producer and to help lay the foundation, to build on the past success of the group and to help bring the magic of theatre to a new generation of students.
It’s a big job and I’m thrilled to be doing it. But something has to “give” and I decided that trying to do a drawing a day and posting the work is what will take a side line. I’m also working on my writing projects (more to be revealed soon) and honestly, I find that drawing is really more like a quiet meditation. I find when I let go of my perfectionism, and let the lines go where they may and enjoy seeing the colors blend on the page, it’s a wonderful, calming experience. I love showing my work, but I want to just be energized by the process and not worry so much about deadlines.
Thus I have changed the category of these posts. Not to worry, there will be more artwork posted soon. And just for grins, here are a few drawings when I first started taking my drawing class:
And there will be more interviews with artists and friends. Thank you so much for your patience. See you soon in the land of social media, and thanks so much for stopping by.
drawing a week works really well too. you can keep your hand in, creating a pace and rhythm just for the sheer pleasure of it. you could also try redefining the idea of what a drawing is. maybe you could think instead in terms of making pictures… combining collage, photography, writing and drawing. more exploratory, to explain some idea you are trying to put across in your writing.
Hi Keith, as it turns out, today I’d invited some of the members of my drawing class over to the house, we all brought projects to work on and then had lunch 😉 And I like your idea of “making pictures” and I take photographs all the time with my phone. I often think, “oh, I’d like to draw that scene” but I have already “captured” it. But I do still love the exercise of looking that comes with drawing a three-dimensional object and capturing it on the page, I just needed to give myself a break from having to be so “productive” all the time.