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Day One
Challenge: I will complete and post the exercises for the courses I am taking at New Masters Academy. On days with no exercises, I will post sketch book practice or works in progress.
Why: To solidify my realistic drawing and painting skills so that I can become more well-rounded and versatile, (I normally work in abstract) and work towards my dream of becoming an amazing artist.
I have a 2-year art degree, which I got later in life. I was unable to go any further because I already had a bachelor’s degree in English – unless I wanted to go to an expensive private school (nope!). I always felt bad about that until I found this school.
I am nervous to post foundational drawing and painting practice because it’s boring and my work is not good. I am much older and less experienced than probably most of the people here. However, I am putting ego aside in order to get where I need to be.
Day 2:
I’m happy that I’m going back and getting this foundational knowledge. Even though I have an Associate’s in Art, certain topics weren’t covered in depth. I had to go to YouTube for some of the information on cones because the camera panned out for some reason on certain parts that I found challenging. I’m taking the Russian Drawing class and it’s great.
Day 3
No exercises today. Also, I’m clarifying my goal. I will do the exercises that I need to do to fill in the gaps. Otherwise, I will be doing whatever practice I need to do or working on projects. This is an abstract I completed today except for signature and final touches.
Day 4
I watched the grayscale painting demo in my painting class then a little of the gesture drawing class. I wanted to work on gesture drawing because it is a real struggle.
Day 5
Gesture drawing again, my nemesis. I can get a likeness when I spend a lot of time measuring, but when doing gestures, I lose the proportions. It’s not automatic yet. Nevertheless, on the plus side, I’m getting better at communicating the gesture. It’s clear what I was going for, even though it still looks cartoonish and off.
I don’t think the second image posted correctly, but I have to get to work. Till tomorrow…
Day 6
I’m at the end of the Light and Shadow portion of Iliya’s drawing class. I would have had to measure and really study to get the polygons more accurate, but since this was an exercise in light and shadow, I focused primarily on that.
Day 7
I finished up the light and shadow assignment. I’m really looking forward to moving on to the lessons in the figure.
Day 8
Today I worked on painting. I prefer abstract painting, but I’m working on realism this year. This project, below, is a mixture of abstract and realism. It’s a work in progress. I also watched some of the landscape painting class, which is really great. I will probably watch some of the drawing class after dinner and practice if there’s time. I also finished up my drawing from yesterday last night.
Day 9
Today was my last day in the drawing Foundations class. Next time, it’ll be Level 2, The Figure. I’m looking forward to an in-depth study of the figure. Although I’ve drawn plenty of heads, I’ve never tried doing this kind of planar version. The construction was really challenging. What I like about the drawing class, though, is that each exercise I’ve done truly does prepare you for the next set of lessons. I really like Ilya’s class and wish he could look over my shoulder while I’m working. I think that would speed up the process! Nevertheless, I’m grateful to have access to such a great teacher.
Today I started with a 20 minute warm up, 3-minute poses, before getting into my drawing of the head planes. I’m considering the head drawing finished, though I could continue shading it forever. Like all art, it looks better in person, but I’m satisfied for now. I’m not sure how many hours I put into it, but it was plenty. I can really feel myself applying what I’m learning in class, which is awesome.
Day 11
Today I continued on in my Russian drawing class to the skull. We haven’t gotten to the assignment yet, so I did some gesture drawing (3 minute posses) and started another drawing. Today I was really battling fatigue. I had to keep rewinding the lesson (I’m so glad that’s possible, unlike in a classroom!). I also chose a hard pose for my drawing. This is why goals are so important. When it starts getting tough, reminding yourself of why you’re doing all this is what keeps you going! 🙂
Day 12
I watched some of the drawing, gesture, and painting classes today. I’m keeping my focus on drawing but since painting is the goal, I watch a little of the portrait and landscape classes when time allows. It’s helpful actually because you hear a lot of the concepts repeated and see how they apply in different mediums. Below are some 10 second and 2 minute gestures as well as my ongoing personal drawing project. I will start working on the skull soon, though, because I want to throw my hat into the Discord contest, just for fun. Plus, Halloween is my favorite holiday, so there’s no way I can pass up the excuse to make something creepy!
Day 13
Coincidentally, I am on the skull section of the Russian Drawing Course and the skull is the monthly challenge this month. I saw that the section was moved – at first I thought it was removed! In any case, I have decided to take on the challenge of the skull contest. I will have to interrupt the drawing I am working on to get the skull done on time. My lofty goal is to do a drawing and a painting of the skull and submit whichever one I like the most. Today I continued with the drawing I’m working on and listened to Glenn Vilppu’s Gesture Drawing class. I actually wrote a letter of thanks to the support team because I love him and his class so much!
Day 14
I decided to keep working on my own project and start the skull once I’m finished. I’m almost there. I’m intimidated by the skull and the contest, but I think it’ll be good for me.
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