Well, we made through, dare I say, an "unprecedented" year. A year that forced us to change our daily routines and establish a "new normal." My daily drawing project helped me get through everything 2020 threw my way. From social distancing due to Covid-19, my mom having major surgery, postponing my wedding, and Hurricane Sally flooding my house, 2020 left some scars. Drawing helped me record standout moments, relieve frustrations, and decompress. For the last month of the year, I wanted to give a gift of "thanks" to everyone who followed my blog each month. To bring some holiday cheer, I decided to use the first 25 days in December as a fun Advent calendar of sorts. Each day I drew an iconic Christmas character from TV. It was a fun project and got plenty of positive response and "likes." For the record, the most "liked" drawing was Burl Ives as the snowman in Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. The remaining month's drawings were a "year in review." To all who took the time to read my blog - THANK YOU!!!!!
In 2020, I did over 365 drawings between 5 sketchbooks. One thing I noticed is how my drawing style changed from the first to the last drawing. Earlier drawings seemed more tight in execution, but from week to week there was a different look to each drawing. Even when it was difficult to decide what to draw I was gaining confidence. An online drawing seminar gave me that much needed spark and helped to hone my style and technique. Yes, there are still several repeated drawing subjects - surfers and waves.
Then there was my satirical cartoons. From the Covid toilet paper shortage, the media's constant borage of (mis?)information, the governments' chaotic attempt at dealing with an epidemic and social unrest, a rise in toxic social media messages, and our own local disaster - a major bridge taken out by a destructive hurricane and a negligent construction company's loose barges. What is awesome with a project like this is at the end of the year you are left with a cool body of artwork that represents each day you have lived.
My projects for 2021 include the continuation of my blog. Hurricane Sally damaged some of my old sketchbooks (luckily I was able to salvage them). Looking through each one while assessing the damage brought back memories of when and why I drew what I did, and in some cases, the flood water stains add new character. Though I will not draw every day this year, the idea hit me to choose a couple of old sketchbooks each month to write about and to include some pictures from them. The other idea which I am excited about is to record time lapse videos of my paintings as they progress. I want to give a look into the creative process from sketch to canvas to when it all comes together as a finished product.
Hopefully 2021 will be calmer than the previous year. I hope we can all be kinder to one another. It's okay to not agree on everything. Instead of alienating one another, we should discuss and listen. We all have different life experiences that shape our opinions and history. Those differences neither make one any better nor less worthy of their own point of view. Let's start to make some positive changes so we can become better humans on this one planet.
Click here to view my December 2020 drawings.
THE SKETCHBOOK COVERS.......