Reflections on 2019

In the beginning of 2019, I had a single, clear New Year's goal that came from watching a lot of a "How to be an Artist" videos. The goal was to "draw everyday."

At the end of 2018, my Instagram was filled with Lego photography, and my dream of becoming a Lego photographer with Lego sending me free Lego never was realized. This was not the goal with Instagram, it was instead to use a cool social media platform to share my art and see other's art. I did not want to become a toy photographer (although that sounds like a really cool job). Therefore, this 2019 year goal of draw everyday was going to help me replace my images on Instagram with art!

Not only was my goal to draw every day, but also to stop reproducing other people's art for my drawings. Drawing other's artwork was a learning technique I followed when I first started drawing again in 2017 to teach myself how to do ink drawing. It was the same thing I did when I learned how to oil paint. What's fascinating is in the beginning you reproduce art, and feel so unsure of yourself. Then one day you are like, "Yup, I'm ready. Let's give it a go!"

So in January 2019, I drew a beautiful ballerina from a photograph who was chosen as her dress had magnificent folds (top left image in the block above). I chose the ballerina theme because I wanted to study figures and how to draw the folds of clothes. The great masters of ancient times were fantastic at doing both. Ballerina photography has come a long way and you get these beautiful photographs that are inspirational when trying to find a great pose and flowing dress combination.

Throughout the winter, spring, and summer of 2019, I drew in my sketchbook staying away from larger pieces. I drew ballerinas, statues, and stained-glass windows. Then for Inktober I went on a quest to illustrate the themes through ballerinas of which my favorite are shown above.

It is amazing to see how far I have come from January 2019 in understanding how lines and shadows need to compliment each other in ink drawings. Furthermore, that you need to take some artistic liberties to make the drawing flow more naturally. By the end of 2019, I was drawing Ballerinas/Dancers/Yoga practitioners exclusively. I even had a challenge (another blogpost) about redrawing the same ballerina over and over again in a variety of styles.

Looking back on 2019, I feel that I was able to accomplish the purpose behind the goal of "drawing everyday." I say purpose as I could not necessarily draw everyday due to life circumstances or even artistic exhaustion. But the purpose was to learn, to get comfortable, and to develop a stamina and push to always be creating. Yet, the goal was necessary as it provided the drive to try to draw everyday. And the days where I didn't draw, there was this sense of guilt and yearning. I think this is the same feeling that gym-enthusiasts and runners get as well.

With a successful 2019 behind me, I begin 2020 with new goals that are supposed to push me even more in this new year and decade. But that will be a later blogpost. With that, Thank you 2019 for being a fantastic art year. Thank you to all those who joined me on that journey both friends, family, and even fans!