Day 4 - Oil Painting

Okay, so finally I have come to oil. After a few weeks of warm-up, the brushes are out and the tubes are being squeezed out. I had forgotten how hard it is to unscrew a paint cap after months of storage. It almost amazed me how much paint a brushstoke takes. After relishing these initial hiccups, I jumped right at the work.

It helps to plan, especially when making time is more than a luxury.

I chose a simple subject to paint. The work of the artist Patty Baker had been procured a while ago. I just copied one of her paintings. Looks good. She is very inspiring and her usage of cheery colors can brighten any room, and day!

Homework is done! I have a free weekend. :-)
 

Day 3 - Charcoal Portrait Finished

"Do something for 30 days and it becomes a habit." - Unknown

Keeping a log for thirty days seems like a good start. This is sort of bringing me to form a new habit. I am finally able to devise a course plan and trying to score good in it. Well, see the beauty of being your own boss!

You can get an A, when you like it. Oh, and it's easier said than done. Then again, we stick to the plan and see how it becomes a habit. So, with this on our side, we conquered day 3 and finished what we started last day.

• Gave finishing touches to the charcoal portrait. Realized, I need to work on values even more.
• The  suggestions for the likeness*, space usage , and proportions** were used.
• Finished it off with touch of fixative
• Good to have a homework

** Andrew Lumis

I realized it would help to push me better if I had some homework and assigned it to myself there and then. What's more, I even started to prepare for it too.

Day 2 - Charcoal Portrait Started

Not sure why my last post is missing from the blogosphere!

I can no longer recall exactly what was on that post. Ummm, that's not very effective! Okay so, let me take a moment and see.

I think, the last post was about the first day. Actually, that Isn't very brilliant given this post is titled Day 2. So, I guess, it was on what I did for that bigger goal. I read. And I am quite glad that finally I understood the theory behind the value, intensity, hue and temperature.

Reading counts.** But its the doing that impresses the understanding better. Its like, confirming by testing it yourself. So, that was something left for the next day.

I am convinced that if heart truly desires something, that thing inevitably becomes accessible .

• Define expectation clearly to see the outcome clearly.
•  Give it a timeline and work smart. Hard work is essential, naturally. 
•  Make sure you enjoy every part of the journey, otherwise its a chore. And this chore, in turn, makes the next step even a harder chore.

That was pretty much about the first day. getting back to day 2.

I practiced drawing. A charcoal pencil portrait. Worked good on marking the edges, its where the artistic eye comes handy. Worked on values.

 ** Margaret Kessler's Color Harmony

Ideas - the source of everything creative

"The hardest part of any journey is taking that first step." - Unknown

The First Step

While getting back to reading, writing, painting, or anything you love should not be hard, its easier said than done. I wish I could pinpoint the day or the time or the thought that held be from the corner of my shirt and made me stop in my track. Now that, I say it aloud here, I think I can backtrack the chain of events that made me realize the power of ideas. I mean, really what it is.

Is this the same wisdom that proverbially comes with age?

Or even at more profound level, called enlightenment. Whatever this is, its extremely pleasant. Like finding a hundred dollar bill in the inside pocket of the jacket that you so wear often but don't care to check. I mean it was there alright, but it made you happy when you finally owned it!

I know it may sound slightly disconnected at the time, but I have come to realize the timing is really the key between the good and truly refined!  And it is almost divine to have a combination of the life changing idea and the luxury of right timing to atleast jot it down for accomplishing that idea. If I could do that, I would consider it a huge success to get my first step in the right direction.

The Clarity of Thought
  
No matter how good your intentions are and how resourceful you may be, if you don't act at the right time, its all for nothing. As I progress here, unraveling the chain of thoughts, I am finding things more and more incoherent as opposed to what I initially had in mind. It has to go.

So, here is a start over. Some bullet points, some random ramblings and then getting back at ironing out the kinks of expressions and elaborating  for myself and whoever comes along for the ride. Fasten your seatbelts!

 
Here goes

• Write down the ideas. All of them. 
• Smile
•  Be yourself. You are you, because of your past. Accept it and try to make the best out of it for the future 
• Every day is not just a new day. It may be the beginning of something special, so treat it with respect. Please, don't waste a single moment.
• Keep the thoughts in the right prioritized manner. What good is a genius idea that is left unexpressed.
• Work with focus, determination, and with the expectation of the best.
• Just do it, when you know, you can!   

Have Maturity, Display It 

Know what you want. Write it down.
How would you know what you want if you haven't known. Like, how would you know strawberry is your favorite fruit unless you have eaten it! 

Ummmm, wrong metaphor?


Wait, here is what I am trying to say. If you don't know where you want to go, how would you reach there? Okay, this is better. 

Ask Yourself

• What do you want to accomplish in 5 years, 1 year, 6 months, 1 month, a week, a day. Right now?
• If not now, when
• Are different dreams mutually exclusive?  I hope not, otherwise, its gonna be hard, if not downright infeasible.

Label of the New Post

As I start off the new dream, which has to be shared here sometime soon, I have chosen to keep the progress log public. By baring, I hope to keep myself motivated and energized. Also, I hope this will take me an inch closer to my goal everyday.

 

Running running and more running

Ever woke up with an idea and the excitement to do something with it, mostly on the lines of accomplishing what you just had in mind?

I do. Everyday. Except there is not just a single light bulb, its always a chandelier of bulbs, something similar to the builders' grade chandelier. Or like a tangled web of threads, with some ends hanging loose, others just barely showing in knots here and there. Or more like a flood! A dozen or so ideas hit me, each one fighting for attention for the day.

To be continued...