The Hideous Portrait: An Artistic Journey,
warts and all.

So here we are today, with something completely different; I've been brainstorming for a B&B villa logo design. I don't do it too often, but I enjoy the occasional ideation process. Come to think about it, it's the closest I get to systematically creative: Work a concept again and again from different angles until you get 4-5 ideas that are worth actualizing. At some point I realized I hadn't drawn for today but realized this is good enough; while not practice, it's definitely been related. I just remembered however that I haven't done gesture/posture practice yet, and my heart has sunk - since I was on a 8 day streak that will break tonight. Well, I could start doing it now, but that would mean I won't get to sleep enough today too and not sure the healthy choice is indulging my completion-ism or resting. Funny, when I say it, it's obvious! I need rest and relaxation more than I do need practice; yet the opium of the streak is... strong. Anyway, wha

It's already very late, I need to get to bed. What did I achieve today? I feel very disappointed. It's strange because in the beginning I was satisfied. I'm disappointed with the gestures/postures - they don't feel "good enough". Okay, now that I've expressed that, let's give some positive feedback. For a start, the arrangements of shapes into perspective (buildings) with the rendering has been very fun, and satisfying. I like the result. I've also started to develop an intuitive grasp of the way the vanishing points slide on the horizon(s) when the objects rotate, allowing me to create more accurate perspective drawings. There are a few interesting gestures and postures too - not many, but there are some. That's all for today.

Today I did some early gesture/posture drawing practice; I enjoyed it a lot. I raised the 30sec limit for gestures into 45secs and it was so much more fun. Then I did some 5minute long ones.I had the opportunity to try various styles. Spent some more time seeing the actual curves of the body. In the evening though I was planning on watching a movie, and only doodle a bit while waiting for the movie to load, I ended up doodling for a while while watching (listening to) TV trailers until a movie was out of the question. Pity. Anyway, it was unteresting experience; very lazy way of drawing. Anyway I did some interesting faces and also did what is probably the well executed curvy spaceships in perspective. I wrapped up with an improvised exercise where I describe a complex surface by circles on the surface.

So I got up early today. And the energy levels were high enough to allow me to paint another self-portrait. It's a successful one, albeit very rough (I have less than 60mins to finish it). It's starting to lose its novelty - I'm no longer impressed my my achievement. Anyway, what did I enjoy about it? I enjoyed shifting the palette; try and start with a base-color of green. In the evening I didn't have to paint but then I remembered I am already on a 6 days streak on quickposes, so I thought I should at least take it to a 7th. So I tried to do 30 minutes; I did more hands than usual since these are faster, and didn't do any 3 minute studies, only 30seconds ones. I like that I'm improving at drawing hands, and mainly simplifying them, and how interesting the body-gestures come out. Enough for today.

So this is it, at the same time I kept doing practice but also managed to break free from the completely unimaginative work. I still haven't managed to go out, and perhaps this is not the creative thing I've been looking for, but it's more creative than postures on the iPad. So let's see what positive stuff can I discover. For a start, my gestural drawing are likeable. At least I like them. A few of them in particular (the two first) are very much alive; and I like how simple they are yet, full of  gesture. These were all 30sec ones; some were quicker; like 10secs. The rest of the postures are 3minute ones. I satisfied overall they are good. I am really starting to remember some muscles in the legs now. I like a lot the last one that I did (top right box) where I took the posture of a photo and then redrew it from a different angle. I mean why not? I'm studying volume, posture, and perspective so why not? And then, there is the final artwork for today: The general,

Now I'm starting to worry. Am I going to be perpetually stuck in sketching body postures? It's good in the sense that I'm practicing, but where is all the creativity gone to? I tried doing some automatic drawing sessions but it's getting more and more difficult. Then again, I'm avoiding going out, it's too warm during daytime; and not going out deprives me of interesting visual stimulation. Anyway, let's take the good, and leave the ugly on the table. Once again, I did a set of 30sec gestures and after that a longer session of 3min posture studies. I did quite a few out of boxes, though I'm not sure this is the best thing to do. Anyway; I'm once again satisfied with my overall improvement. It's getting easier and easier to discern details. I went on to do a few hands, and then a few athletes and models on the catwalk; slowing youtube down to 25% and trying to capture the motion while in motion. Finally, out of the two sheets the first one in more

More practice. I was hoping I was going to start with posture practice for warming up and something more creative afterwards. But it wasn't meant to happen. At some point the neighbor's kid came over (probably my greatest fan!) and we sat and painted together; The combined result can be seen on the colorful interlude in the first sheet, probably the most eye-grabbing (and interesting) part of the four sheets. It's sad however when you hear 7 year-old kids saying that they don't have any imagination... Nonetheless, the kid's presence, and the extremely low expectations on his part, allowed me to be a bit more silly/imaginative than usual. A road/bridge on lava? Why not? Nobody is gonna ask whether the pillars can hold the weight without melting... Anyway, I'm quite satisfied with today's practice; I did faces, figures and hands, that I've never put any effort into. I've even done some nice attempts at vehicles in perspective. Later on logged onto quic