Day 198

When this drawing was made, I had several things on my mind - good thoughts and bad, and those that were somewere in the middle. Like a lot of other people, I feel like I can do a lot of good thinking with my eyes closed. There's something about blocking out a bit of the "sensory distractions" that allows a person to focus a little more clearly on their thoughts.

#198 May 6, 2011, Ink
Sounds: Butch Walker & the Black Widows, I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart

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Get better soon Pat!

Day 197

Some days, it's just one of those days.

I try very hard to live by the mantra that if a person is frustrated by certain things, actions, or events, then they should consider whether it will still really matter in a year, or two, or ten, or even a lifetime away.

This is good advice.  But unfortunately, the answer can rarely be a simple yes or no, as much as we might like.

Sometimes it's merely an individualized perception from different sides of the same thing, and everyone is technically right based on their own viewpoint.

Sometimes things in and of themselves are not a major issue, but if allowed to continue they could lead to a chain of events that do make a big problem down the road.

And sometimes considering whether something is really frustrating is a frustration itself!!

#197 May 5, 2011, Pen

Day 196

This self-portrait looks nothing like my original idea.  On the other hand, I'm not sure the beginning thoughts were terribly organized in the first place!  All I knew was that I wanted my face to be a balloon...and that was it.

While making this drawing, I was struck by the fact that it looks a lot like a page from a coloring book.  The irony is that I hate coloring books!  In fact, I rarely let my kids have them when they were younger; rather, I encouraged them to make their own drawings and then add color.  Staying inside the lines was always optional...

#196 May 4, 2011,  Sharpie and pen

Day 195

The Ancient Romans were so incredibly skillful at creating a likeness in portraiture that they felt they needed a new "challenge" in the art-making. This challenge came in the form of adding the element of the subject's personality, in addition to simply what they looked like.  This was a huge step forward from the idealized figures of the Ancient Greeks; true, their sculpture was skillfully crafted, but merely resembled the subjects and would be difficult to be labeled as "realism."

This trend continued with the artists of the Baroque era, who stretched beyond the idealized faces and figures of Renaissance art.  One of the best was Rembrandt (whose self-portraiture is an influence on this project), who emphasized his subjects' personalities and emotions perhaps even moreso than their likenesses.

I have been accused of being a moody, grouchy person.  And I'll admit that I have an occasional bad day - hell, we all do.  And I will also admit that the appearance of my self-portraits have tended to perpetuate that notion a lot of the time.  I've often explained that this is simply the way I choose to portray myself on any given day.  But today was different: a particular chain of events led me from being merely irritated, to downright angry, and then all the way back to nearly ecstatic.  And that is when this portrait was made.

But aside from that situation, I think this self-portrait probably captures me perhaps better than the vast majority of the previous artworks in this project.  I don't take too many things seriously and am always ready to make a joke or quote a goofy line from a movie.  I prefer to be light-hearted and am an extreme optimist.

In other words, this is pretty much the real me...

#195 May 3, 2011,  Ink

Day 194

The imagery looks painful and just a little scary today, but it actually comes from some different places. In my mind, there are two interpretations for this self-portrait.

One way to look at it is that I'm moving very fast.  This is a busy week for me; between the normal day-to-day tasks, it's also finals week, there are various appointments for the kids, and I have a big yard that's in desperate need of being mowed.  It may sound stressful (and truth be told, it is), but I think that's just become my norm anyway.  On the other hand, I have always moved rather quickly: I talk fast, I walk fast, and I tend to keep several things going at once. 

My other interpretation for the drawing is that something is moving toward me.  A casual observer's first thoughts might cause them to think of the wind, but I prefer to go further.  Perhaps it's incredible music played at ear-shattering levels, or an abundance of breathtaking images, or simply the passage of life a being lived. 

This self-portrait was honestly a lot of fun to make.  In fact, when it was finished - rather quickly, I might add - I actually wished I could have worked longer on it...

#194 May 2, 2011,  Ink
Sounds: Foo Fighters, Wasting Light

Day 193

I can't say that I was very motivated to make art this evening. After a long and tiring day, I wasn't interested in sitting down with my sketchbook. Nonetheless, I was prepared to beging working at nearly 10:45 pm. Then a text came in asking if we had heard the news.

Osama bin Laden has been killed.

I'm not an overly patriotic person, but I am fully aware and appreciative of the country that I live in. This is a big day in the history of our nation, and I prefer to let that be at the forefront. Enjoy the self-portrait, but we should keep our eyes on the bigger issue at hand and watch how it affects our near future.

#193 May 1, 2011,  Pen
Sounds: MSNBC News Coverage of the death of Osama bib Laden

Day 192

I needed this drawing. Lately it seems that most of my self-portraits have been started excessively late at night. Life happens and forces this to be the case; if I didn't have to wake up early the next morning, this wouldn't be an issue. But . . . I do, so it is.

Tonight was a different situation, however.  While the drawing was still started late, there is no reason to wake up early in the morning.  In other words, I was able to devote an unlimited amount of time to this portrait.  While I love working loose and spontaneous (as has been the case for the majority of my recent drawings), I always have a blast when I can return to my detail-oriented style for a bit.

I've been sitting on this idea for about a week.  I knew the basic outline for where it was going, but I didn't have the details hammered out.  I started with a giant version of a turtle, a beetle, and a chicken, and I was originally going to be riding in a Roman chariot.  Obviously the basic story remained the same, although the details changed significantly!

#192 April 30, 2011,  Pen
Sounds:  Outkast, Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below