I am sure most who have experienced them would agree, a hurricane hangover is an awful thing to go through. And I am not referring to the giant hourglass shaped filled with that red adult beverage you get in New Orleans. No, I am talking about mother nature’s version of a hurricane. They are brutal. Drawing each day has continued to be a struggle for me this month. It might because everywhere I go there is a constant reminder of 2020’s disruption and destruction. My house is still in disrepair, yards that have a funky mud grey film left from the flood, and streets are lined with tall trash piles of yard debris, drywall, insulation, and furniture. I found myself in a serious funk. Something had to give or change to supply some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. I figured that it was going to be up to me to make a change, improve my mood, and get out of my creative slump.
I had to go in a different direction. I made the decision to do a drawing tutorial that I had flagged in my Instagram account – “3 Key Steps to Dynamic Drawing” by Damien Fulton. I had never done an online tutorial before and was not sure what to expect. But at this point I was desperate for a change at any cost. Within the first minutes of the first tutorial I had an immediate spark of creative energy. Damien is a fabulous artist and instructor. He has done work for Disney and Marvel comics. His paintings and drawings are mind-blowing good. He provided excellent basic principles of drawing, which was a great personal refresher. To paraphrase Damien, to have great dynamic drawings and art you have to challenge yourself and get out of your comfort zone. Avoid getting Stale, Stuck, and Stiff.
The courses made daily drawing fun for me again, and I began to look forward to drawing each day. I had new ideas to put the principles I had just learned into practice. By the end of the lessons, I no longer felt ‘Stale, Stuck and Stiff’ when I was drawing.
Unfortunately for the time being, some of my new ideas will have to wait for the new year. First, I need to get my house and studio back together. But until then I can keep the creativity going with this new energized method of making my art even more dynamic. I am proud to say that no matter what challenges this year has brought forth, I have kept drawing each day. Let's face it - at this point all we can do is hold on and get through 2020, while praying that 2021 is going to be much better year for us all.
Please click here to check out October's drawings.
Cheers.....Riece