From Start to Finish Everyday

My 2014 ended with a 17 day tour of Italy. My husband and I traveled from Milan down to Sicily with many stops along the way. We made it to all of the big museums and saw many of the most beloved paintings, sculptures, and architecture that Italy has to offer (which is A LOT). It was inspiring, fast-paced, crowded, wintery, touristy, and exhausting at times.

As many knockoffs as we have all seen of this sculpture, the real thing does not disappoint! 

My husband got a video of me trying not to have a melt down when I saw Botticelli paintings for the first time. Finally seeing art that you have always loved in person can be pretty intense!

It got me thinking a lot about how the old master painters - especially my favorite Renaissance painters - got to be so good. No one becomes a master overnight. I started reading "The Agony and the Ecstasy" by Irving Stone after seeing Michaelangelo's frescos in the Sistine chapel, hoping for some insight into this question. The book is a biographical novel on Michelangelo and shows how he got to be such a great artist. In addition to good connections, self-discipline, and curiosity, he was CONSTANTLY drawing. When he was researching for a sculpture commission, he was drawing. When he had no marble to carve, he would spend all day long drawing. When he couldn't sleep, he was drawing. He never stopped. He always sketched what he was most inspired by - the human body. I suppose that is how many people become masters at any craft. They practice the fundamentals of their art/sport/craft every single day, without fail.

In that spirit, I decided that I needed to draw more if I want to grow as an artist. So, I have given myself a "sketchbook project" where I will be doing short drawings and paintings of what I am most inspired by. For me this has always been the time I spend outside in nature. Every time I step out the door I see different things that I find remarkable and beautiful. I have started documenting what I find on my morning walks, and then making a small sketch of it when I return home. My problem has always been that I paint too slowly, so for this project I have given myself a two hour cut off for each painting. Here is the first week of my documenting/sketching project!

I spend a good bit of time figuring out what to leave out of each picture without losing the essence of the image.

I also change up the colors too.

This one had me pretty freaked out. I have never painted water that you could see through but was also reflective. It's not an easy thing to paint!

I had to break the background down into color blobs to make this one work.

This sketch surprised me by being pretty easy to paint, and also the one I liked most out of the week.

I feel like I started to let the watercolor "do its thing" for this one. This is something that I have struggled with when it comes to watercolor. I like to use it like a pencil instead of paint. I can't really do that for these quick sketches though!

I just liked this picture of Maddie (my corgi/lab mix puppy), even though there are a million details, I gave it a shot anyway.

Now at the end of the week, I can definitely feel a small increment of improvement. There is also a good feeling that comes from starting and finishing something everyday. I would love to hear what other artists or anyone who has to work hard everyday to master their craft is doing to improve and stay inspired.

Keep chasing what inspires you and have an awesome weekend!