Creativity Every Day - week 2

Yes I know I'm a day late - I was having a lazy day yesterday and couldn't be bothered posting. I could of course lie and tell you how busy I was, but we all have those days so there is no point denying it. This week I have been working on finishing the portrait I started last week and I've commensed the final piece for the NZ Art Guild "Borderless" exhibition in Wellington next month as well as 2 other pieces, one is a gift for my Grandmother's birthday (as requested - don't you just love it when they ask for something easy!) and the other is a piece I intend to swap with another talented NZ Artist Melissa McCreanor (in the same colours as my day~dreamer piece completed last week).

All my days ran into each other last week so I'm not sure what I did when - I know there were a few days when very little in the way of actual creativity occurred. Wednesday I got to do something exciting and different however - I had my first session with the scanning electron microscope for my thesis work - this was amazing and definately creative. Unfortunately since its all for my thesis, which is unpublished, I can't load any images for the time being, you'll just have to trust me that they look good. If I ever win lotto I'm going to buy some SEM time so I can look at various things under the microscope and make artworks from them!

Here's a finished version of my portrait from last week:

"Bugs"

A4 graphite on paper

Not for sale

I am happy to do commissions - email me for details tanya@nzartguild.co.nz

I'm very proud of this one! There are still 2 more to do, I hope to start the next one tonight - if I can get enough writing done I'll reward myself with some drawing :)

None of the paintings I've started have been completed - I've still got 2 or 3 colour layers to add before I can get the black lines on and touch ups done so I've decided not to take photos of them (they always look so much better with the black lines on!). I hope to have them all complete for next weeks post.

Creativity Every Day - week 1

Well this week has been a struggle! Suffering from depression, lack of money and lack of sleep have taken its toll on me, but I am pleased to say that through it all I have managed to find time to fit in a daily dose of creativity... well for the most part!

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were spent (among other things) painting - putting the colour into one of 3 pieces which will be destined for a NZ Art Guild exhibition "Borderless" being held at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington in February.

Wednesday I returned to Uni during the day to attempt to work on my thesis but the evening was spent starting 3 graphite portraits for my friends on Stewart Island who I spent New Years with. I did the outline for all 3 before selecting one to work on first. This is how far I got with that one:

"Bugs" - stage 1

Graphite

A4

Thursday evening was back to the brushes to complete the piece I'd put colour on earlier in the week - here's the finished product:

"day~dreamer"

Acrylic

380 x 760 mm

$440

Friday was the worst day of the week for me, productivity in general was low as were my spirits so I allowed myself a rejuvenating evening of reading. When I'm that low I like to get lost in a book - forget about my world and pretend I'm somewhere else - currently I'm delving back into the world of Harry Potter. Although I've read them all once before, I was astounded when I watched the 7th movie how little I remembered and vowed to read them all again before the 8th one comes out. I managed to finished the 6th book (which certainly wasn't planned as when I started reading at about 3pm I was only 1/2 way through it). So although I wasn't being creative I was nurturing my creative side.

Saturday (yesterday) I dug myself out of my little hole by picking up the brushes again and finishing a piece that has been sitting on its easel for almost months now. I started it shortly after the first blast happened at Pike River and in a way its become a tribute to those who have lost their lives for me, which may certainly explain the lack of enthusiasm to finish it. I've re-done several parts of it as I've never been completely happy with it and am still unsure how I feel about it. However everyone who has seen it in its incomplete form has commented that they love it. It, along with the previous painting, will both be heading to the Wellington exhibition (for which I still have one more to create). Here's the finished product:

"Ascension"

Acrylic

1070 x 1070 mm

$810

Creative Every Day Challenge

While waiting for paint to dry today I came across Creative Every Day blog and thought I'd sign up for it. Its not about creating an artwork every day, or posting on my blog every day (thank god - I just wouldn't be able to find time to do that at all!) - but it is about actively doing something creative everyday - whether it be "cooking, taking pictures, knitting, doodling, writing, dancing, decorating, singing, playing with your kids, brainstorming ideas, gardening, or making art in the form of collage, paint, or clay...or whatever!" and if you remove the bit about the kids that sounds completely do-able for me. A large part of my creativity will probably have to be thesis based, and I can't possibly commit to posting more than once a week (most likely on Sunday which is my schedualed thesis-free day) - although I will try.

So starting today... I shall be more creative!

If you are keen for the challenge yourself - why not check out the blog and sign up!