Fall 2022 Newsletter: daily art

Result: It was fun!

Back in early July I began a project, drawing or painting everyday. I stopped mid-August when my brother died. Then, everything was put aside. But I'm here to say that I put in a good month and I learned a lot.

From the start it was hard. Even though I was just beginning, it was difficult to develop a daily discipline. Up until then, I looked upon my work as a casual process, doing stuff when I was in the mood. There was no such luxury on a daily basis. 

Over time though, I started to enjoy my "art time." It usually lasted for a couple of hours and in the meantime, everything was dropped. It actually became my "me time." Whatever I would normally do with those two hours was now devoted to me and my art. 

To keep things interesting, I tried a lot of subjects and a lot of different media. After teaching for over 15 years in person and suppling most of the materials, I have a large inventory here (although I gave away a massive amount to the local high school). So I have lots of choices from ink and watercolor to colored pencil and oil/soft pastel. 

One important thing I learned from the outset was that I had to except that I would create some mediocre--common, everyday--art. I didn't expect to create an outstanding piece every day, but I would produce. This acceptance gave me license to just create. It was liberating.

Below you are going to see some pieces I did. Some are not so great; some I'm feeling good about. I certainly would recommend this process to everyone. It's a creative learning experience, super fun and challenging. I'll probably pick up the daily practice again soon.

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Just a note here, Fall classes are beginning again, so check out the listing at the end of this blog. I hope you can attend. We'll be covering domestic animals for the first five weeks and then wild animals for the last five weeks--using a variety of art media. We meet on Tuesday or Wednesday mornings from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. And it's only $90 per session (not per class, but for each five week session). Come join us, it's a fun group.

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All listed below  © 2022 Jill Jeffers Goodell 

Quick online travel sketch
Cinque Terra, Italy; ink and watercolor

Lighthouse in oil pastel

Flamingo, oil pastel

Rabbit, soft pastel

Lily, soft pastel

Pencil sketches

Rabbit II, black and white charcoal

Goats, soft pastel (1), charcoal (2)

Peppers, oil pastel

Peppers II, pen

Pencil sketches of pigs

Pencil sketch of pelican

From Helen Carliss photo, Italy, oil pastel

That's it, a sampling of my summer work. It is a good project and a great way to keep up your skills. Try it yourself!