#inktober

Since Mom is on vacation it's a chill night that Dad. He poured us both a bit of Jameson.... his favorite right now. And it goes down pretty smooth so I don't mind it either. We had a  dinner together and he told me of the crazy events at work like a trench that caved in and concrete that showed up an hour early. Between talking of the day we browsed newspapers and magazines that had come in the mail. That sort of thing. I like these easy-going evenings.

Well, there are seriously 100 things I want to blog about. Okay, maybe more like 10... or 20. Haha... but with so little time I figured I'd take care of "business". That is, I haven't uploaded my Inktober drawings yet. In the month of October there's this epic art challenge an artist friend told me about, in which you draw one ink sketch every day of the month. It's always exciting the first day or two when there's time to draw and some thought out ideas of what to sketch.

 I've put off posting the pictures because some of them are just not that great, honestly. You can tell when I had time and when I was in a hurry. BUT.... I'm sharing the good and the bad because it shows the learning process. I made a few discoveries by branching out with ink and trying new things. Discovery is what it's all about. Without further ado, here are my 31 days of #inktober.


Day 1: #inktober. It was fun coming up with creative images for the letters. Though I could have done better on the 'R' perhaps. But seriously.... what makes the shape 'R' in real life?!


Day 2: Cutest poem I've ever heard. My sister taught her daughter to say this when she blew kisses. Adorable! Plus, I've always wanted to try sketching dandelion seeds blowing in the wind.


Day 3: I wanted to draw a shipwreck. I found an image on google that suited my imagination, but now that I look at it I think it's just a whaler ship? I cannot tell. But... you'll notice that in the sea are lyrics to one of my favorite songs, "In The Eye of the Storm". :)

 
Day 4: The family crest. I especially like the motto: "Innocent but not fearful."


Day 5: ...I had no clue what to draw. I was starting to lose ideas. So I began with shapes and odd things. I kind of like how it turned out.


Day 6: Once again, a little lack of inspiration. It was late at night... should have been in bed... Must. Draw. One. Sketch. ....so I found a few items on my desk and sketched them. Shadows and all.


Day 7: Another day without inspiration was upon me. I had to break out of the funk. I took a receipt that I still had from a visit to Chipotle, cut it and taped it to my paper (double-sided tape of course). With the little umbrella girl protected I drizzled ink diluted with water down the paper. One of my favorites from this #inktober.


Day 8: Having discovered mixing ink with water and letting it run down the paper, I decided to give it another go.


Day 9: It must have been debate night. A stick figure was all I had time for. He is a cute version of Uncle Sam, if I do say so myself.


Day 10: Not a great sketch... but an amazing topic. Babies. I think there was a big discussion about abortion around this time, so it was a matter close to the heart.


Day 11: A field down the road full that inspired this one. Pretty simple because I didn't have time for much else.



Day 12: Tried some more ink/water art. This one turned out curiously. I haven't decided if I like it yet... but that is the nature of art.


Day 13: I didn't put a lot of effort into this one. The shading turned out terribly. Wasn't a very comfortable sketch.... but hey, you can tell what it's supposed to be, so that's good.


Day 14: This was 4 failed attempts. Without any more time or inspiration it was all I had for the day.


Day 15: Humming birds. Zinnias. Oh bring back Summer, please!


Day 16: This one is pretty off the wall. Just entirely random. But I was trying ideas and concepts from a little book on how to draw basic sketches. It was pretty fun.


 Here's a close up of one of the random buildings. Almost a little Edgar Allen Poe.


Day 17: It was Elton's birthday. Inspiration enough! I drew an okay likeness... but still. Faces are so difficult!


Day 18: You just can't spend every day making art. A friendly Box Elder Bug was kind enough to pose for this quick sketch. It was more of an exchange, really, as he was late on his rent payment. He payed me with his photogenic modeling services instead. He is still residing in my bathroom and seems to especially like the sink.  


Day 19: It was a busy day. Perhaps the night of one of the presidential debates? This was all I had time for. Officially one of my family's favorite jokes is to say, "Wrong." in a Donald Trump-like manner.


Day 20: This is a throwback. I didn't draw a sketch but this was one I'd deemed unworthy last year and therefore didn't include in my 31 sketches. It was better than stick figures and therefore it was looking great this year! 


Day 21: It was my sister, Emily's birthday. That was inspiration enough. I tried using a grid in order to get the proportions right.


Day 22: I can't even remember why I drew a rose. ...but a few days later I discovered a special lady named Rosie died. It's Rosie's cheerfulness that I remember when I see this picture.


Day 25: Mr. Darcy. Well... or at least that who I was trying to draw. Terrifying likeness. The ink did not cooperate. I put shading in the wrong places.... oh dear. *wince* It really did start with good intentions.


Day 26: During the trip to Colorado we discovered this little inside joke about my uncle. Uncle Mark is the funniest fellow you'd ever want to meet. Always smiling and joking around. Perhaps it's all the weed he smokes... ;)


Day 26: From a photograph I took in Colorado at St. Mary's Glacier National Park. The trees there looked like they were from The Lord of the Rings or some other fantastic tale.



Day 26: 'Lil Bit. The cutest dog, ever. My Aunt and Uncle in Colorado have two adorable pups and so 'Lil Bit was my last subject for the day.


Day 27: Inspired by a photograph of my friend, Courtney! It was a sunset, silhouette shot. I asked her for an inspirational quote to add to the picture and she suggested the song lyrics. Perfect!


Day 28: Snowflakes. They actually just started out as patterns. I was hoping for something much more like flowers or.... I don't know. But I definitely wasn't going for snowflakes!


Day 28: This was an attempt to draw raindrops on a window. Not my best work... haha.


Day 29: I wanted to spend time with the family, so doodling random shapes and designs was the only thing I could manage while also visiting.


Day 31: This concept was burning in my imagination for weeks. I wanted an artist friend to sketch it for an article I wrote... but they were unable. So I took it upon myself. Murica.
By this last day I'd finally figured out that grids make people easier to draw, and I'd discovered a nice Speedball sketching set with pen tips that actually make detail possible with ink. Now I know for next year!

And so that is all, folks.