Then Drew posted a self-portrait on Facebook earlier this month that she'd done as part of Janine Crum's August sketch challenge. I jokingly said I should do the challenge for comedy's sake, then decided to actually give it an honest try. I'm not good at choosing to stretch my comfort zone (pretty sure most people aren't) and art is definitely not in my natural skill set, so it seemed like the perfectly illogical thing to do.
August is unusually busy around here and I didn't even start the challenge until day four, which was when we left town for three nights, which was right before we had guests for two nights, so it's been less daily sketching and more binge sketching so far, but that's fine. I'm doing something I'm not comfortable with or particularly gifted at simply for the sake of doing it, which was my goal.
I'll post pictures from the second half of the month later and am also putting all of them in this public Facebook album, but here is what I've done so far.
DAY 1: SELF-PORTRAIT - Ay yi yi. Faces are hard and this cracked me up. It was my attempt at copying an old profile picture.
DAY 2: FAVORITE MEAL - I don't have a favorite meal, so I just did one I like. It's shredded do-it-all chicken over brown rice with some roasted broccoli.
DAY 3: CHILDHOOD MEMORY - Every Sunday night of my childhood was spent eating popcorn. Often it was just our immediate family, but it wasn't uncommon to invite people over to join us. We used a wooden bowl my dad had made and I tried to show the layers of wood in it for my sketch, but wasn't sure how to do it right. Actually, I couldn't even remember if the stripes were horizontal or vertical.
DAY 4: SOMETHING YOU LOVE ABOUT WHERE YOU LIVE - Our home has a solar tube, something I'd never even heard of before we moved in. It brings so much light into our home and I want one in any future home I happen to live in.
DAY 5: FUTURE PLANS - I work on a puzzle at some point nearly every day of my life.
DAY 6: A PET YOU'VE HAD - I don't know if she fully counts as a pet, but Mama Cat is less feral than she was when she arrived a few years ago and we feed her. I guess that counts. This sketch was an attempt to copy this picture.
DAY 7: A REPTILE - I copied this turtle from this site.
DAY 8: A MAMMAL - My goal was to sketch the mammal with the simplest face.
DAY 9: AN AMPHIBIAN - I copied this newt from this site.
DAY 10: A FISH - I copied this salmon from this site.
DAY 10: AN INSECT - Making mirror images is trickier than you'd think, even when you're making up the designs yourself.
DAY 11: A MAKE-BELIEVE ANIMAL - Let's just say I like facts more than imagination. I couldn't envision any sort of animal at all, so I just started with the feet and worked my way up the body until some random creature was drawn.
DAY 13: A FERN - Well, it is a fern shape. Right?
DAY 14: A VEGETABLE - Yes, I know botanists would call it a fruit, but it's considered a vegetable by people who are grocery shopping. Since this sketch challenge is stretching my comfort zone to begin with, I figured I may as well draw my least favorite vegetable. At least it has a pretty simple shape!
DAY 15: A TREE - I laughed as I drew this because it looked like a polka-dotted version of the broccoli I drew on day two.
DAY 16: A SUCCULENT - I copied this plant from this site.
I'm only halfway through the month, so there are more sketches coming, but I've actually enjoyed this so far. My sketches won't win any awards and it's been an amusing process at times, but I'm glad I'm doing something that doesn't come naturally to me and it's giving me an even greater appreciation for those who are naturally artistic (and I was already impressed with them).
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