The Art of Shawna Apps
How was it Day 19 already!?? So crazy!
Yesterday was a rough day. I don’t know what exactly the problem was, but I was not feeling well, I was exhausted, cranky, and just plain miserable. After being forced to take a nap, I felt a little better, and was able to sit down and draw 🙂
Title: Crashing Waves
Medium: Graphite pencil on acid free paper
Size: 5×7
I had so much energy today!
I’m not sure if it’s because everyone was back at school, the sun was out, or my office was freshly cleaned, but I got so much done! I guess it was really shocking that I got a lot done because when the boys got home, Kid #2 just stopped and said “Woooooowwww….”, and Kid #3 said “What happened? The house looks so weird!”.
Apparently I don’t clean a lot….
But anyway, back to art things. Number One on my list of course was the Drawing a Day Challenge, and today’s subject seemed daunting. It actually went fairly smoothly, and I really enjoyed working on it!
Title: Falcon
Medium: Graphite pencil and ink on acid free paper
Size: 5×7
This subject was suggested by my friend, Lisa H. She mentioned a bird of prey, and I know my husband especially loves falcons, so it was a no-brainer as to which one I was going to choose.
Hello from snowy Western New York!
This morning was spent shoveling our driveway and then cleaning out the kid’s play room as we had another snow day. I had been stepping on toys or even tripping almost every time I’d try to get to my office, so it was perfect time to get that taken care of. Once we finished with our jobs, I was able to start working on today’s drawing…
Title: Old Barn at Twilight
Medium: Graphite pencil on acid free paper
Size: 5×7
Today is Drawing #7, which means one week has been completed! Woo hoo!
I feel like every day of the challenge there has been some circumstance or another that makes me question as to if I’ll be able to get that drawing done or not (I guess that’s why it’s call a challenge?). Today was no exception as it was a snow day (and another confirmed for tomorrow already!), and I find it really hard to concentrate with everyone home.
Thankfully, my husband took the kiddos outside to clear the driveway and play, and I was able to get most of the drawing done during that time, and was able to finish it up while the kiddos were playing quietly!
Title: Mozzie
Medium: Graphite pencil and white ink on acid free paper
Size: 5×7
I had no idea how this day was going to go. I mean, I was actually going to be home all day (well, except for dropping kiddos off at school…), so that in itself was just such a change after our crazy weekend. I was tired, the house was a disaster, and we were expecting a huge snowstorm to hit around midnight, so I needed to prepare in case the power went out again. My mind was everywhere except for on the drawing, and I think it took an hour of prep and thinking about composition and layout before my pencil even touched the paper.
Once I finally got to drawing, I realized that the day’s subject was just not going to happen. I couldn’t figure out what to draw, how to draw it, and it just wasn’t fun.
I decided to attempt the next day’s subject instead, and I think it went pretty well…
When I woke up Sunday morning, I honestly thought that there would be no possible way that I would ever get the day’s drawing done if I even got a chance to start it. I had church from 8-9 in the morning, had to rush home to get Kid 3 ready for a birthday party, leave by 10 to get to the city by 11 to drop him off at the trampoline park, find something to do until 1 when I picked him up, then head over to the varsity swim team’s end of the season banquet (my husband was the head coach), and then come home and get ready for the week.
Yikes.
When your day has all these activities in it, and you’re missing an hour of sleep due to daylight saving’s time, you know that it is just not going to be a super productive kind of day.
I had hoped to spend the two hours while Kid 3 was at his birthday party sitting at Tim Horton’s, drawing while drinking a cup of hot tea. But, as the city still was trying to restore power and do clean up from the crazy wind storm, they were closed. I tried sitting in the car to draw, but couldn’t feel my fingers after a few minutes because it was just that cold.
Thankfully the mall was open and pretty much quiet. I found a corner of the food court with great lighting, and started to draw.
And somehow, I managed to finish with a few minutes to spare!
Oh man oh man oh man what a rough day.
I have no idea what my problem was, but I just could not concentrate. I wanted to just throw the drawing out the window and never look at it again more times than I can count. After 2+ hours of fighting with it, I gave up.
I moved on to Plan B, another drawing that I had planned for later in the challenge. I got to work, and within ten minutes I was frustrated and again gave up.
Then Plan C started. This particular subject was going to be the very last drawing for the challenge, and as I’m super excited about this one, I figured it’d cheer me up and get me back in gear.
Yeah, well, no such luck. The composition wasn’t looking right, proportions were off, and I couldn’t find my resource image for a particular part.
I wanted to just throw in the towel and walk away from it all…but as I had set a goal for myself, I didn’t want to stop just because I wasn’t feeling it today. I need to push through at times, and that’s hard for me. I decided to give Plan A one last shot, and with only half an hour left before everyone got home, I got her done….
Title: Sunflower
Medium: Graphite pencil on acid free paper
Size: 5×7
Day #2 was….interesting.
The power stayed on for the whole drawing, so that was a plus! But my day was crazy. I dropped my boys off at school, ran a couple errands, got stuck at the mechanic’s for over an hour, and then had to finish up all of my errands. I didn’t get home until way later than I expected, so I only had 2 hours to get my drawing completed before my hubby and kiddos got home.
And amazingly enough, I got it done!
Oh how I love this place.
It’s FINALLY that time! Boathouse is in layout, and the Drawing a Day Challenge has officially begun! Woo hoo!
Day 1 was pretty challenging. Once I taped up my paper and got a pencil in hand, I realized something: I didn’t remember how to draw!
While that may be a slight exaggeration, it’s not too far off. I haven’t drawn in months. Yes, I’ve done Boathouse illustrations, but that’s a different kind of drawing. I needed the super detailed, realistic kind of drawing to happen. And my brain and hand did not want to communicate very well.
Once I started to get the hang of it (about an hour into the drawing), our power went out! Western New York had a crazy wind storm (think hurricane winds), and we were without power for about 9 hours.
However, I was able to complete my drawing within the day’s time limit, and here he is!
I’ve been toying around with a crazy idea lately, and I think I’ve finally convinced myself to try it: I’m going to do a complete graphite pencil drawing a day for a month.
Before you get to thinking that I’ll be doing these huge drawings every day while ignoring all my other responsibilities, do not fear! I will be doing small drawings, only 5×7. They’re still big enough to get detail in them, but small enough that I should be able to take only a couple hours to get them done.
I see some of my friends doing various challenges, from getting rid of a few things every day for a month to vlogging every day for a month, and I think it kind of looks like fun. It also looks like a ton of work, not going to lie 😉
I also want to get better at drawing, to really tweak my skills. And, as the old saying goes…practice makes perfect! Or hopefully in my case, at least better!
I’m thinking I might do this in February. Partly because it’s the shortest month of the year (less drawings!), but I should hopefully be wrapping up Boathouse 3 at that point, and will need a break before diving into book 4 (although after reading the first draft, I don’t know how well I’ll be able to wait!).
Here’s where I need your help: February has 28 days in it, which means 28 drawings. I need ideas of what to draw! I’ve started compiling a list of suggestions, but I need to know what you think I should draw. It can be silly, serious, random, you name it, it’s going on the list! I’ve gotten quite a few suggestions so far, from trees and unicorns, to Doctor Who and my dog, so seriously, it can be anything.
My daughter had the best idea:
P: “You should draw a heart, Mom.”
Me: “Umm, like a human heart?”
P: “No, just a heart.”
Me: “Like a normal every day heart?
“P: “Yeah. You’re going to be drawing something every day, you’ll need an easy day. So just draw a heart!”
So sweet, love her! ❤
Now, not everything will end up being a drawing, I’ll be choosing which ones to do in the end, or maybe just choosing them like names from a hat, it really depends on how many ideas I get.
And yes, I’ve already been asked, but all of the drawings will end up being for sale, and some may even end up as prints. One suggestion will probably even be a Christmas card design next year! The only exception is one specific drawing I’ll be doing; it’s the only one I know for sure that will be a drawing. It will either be for me to keep or for me to give, but that’s just because of the subject matter. And no, I’m not telling you what it will be just yet!
Each drawing will be posted on Facebook at the end of the day, put up on my Etsy store for purchasing, and will be featured here either that day or the following day (depending on my schedule).
So let me know what you think I should draw, and be on the look out for more details coming soon!!!!
Back to the Drawing Board 