Art by the Inch is the companion challenge to NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. For the writing challenge, you're to write 50,000 words during the month of November. It's about 175 pages. For the art challenge, you're to create 10,000 square inches of art during November. It's about four full pages of art every day.

I love the idea of Art by the Inch, tho 10,000 is way too extreme for me! In 2004, I did over 2,500 inches and I compiled all my drawings into a bound book. I love that book and I was eager to make another book this year.

But I got off to an extremely shaky start. I looked at my blank peice of paper, started drawing a horse, noticed it wasn't going to work after about the third line, and freaked out! "I cannot do this!"

I changed tactics, and tried to do some Scribble Art... the idea is to scribble and then find a picture in the scribbles to emphasize. I scribbled for a long time. And didn't find a picture. Apparently all my imagination has gone up in smoke?

I got out my Dover books and drew a heron over the scribbles. It's pretty a pretty warped bird, too. But I got Day One out of the way!

Unfortunately, Day Two wasn't much easier! I complained to my SO that the art challenge wasn't fun and he gave me a good talking to. ;) About how we are not starving artists anymore, and at least I'm making a go. And later he reminded me that I need to get all the crappy art out of my brain to make room for some new good art. nods, nods.

Day Three I tried something totally different... I cut out shapes from different coloured paper, watercoloured on them, and glued them together to make a brilliant fishy scene. I enjoyed doing it, and I love the result! I hope I can get another idea for one of these layered cut-up paintings, because it's fun!

Some calligraphy practice. The definition of abecedarian is from A Word A Day... a brilliant email I've been getting for many years. I save words for precisely this purpose: to practice my calligraphy! The background of this one is Prismacolor Art Stix (coloured pencil crayons).

And a sketch of my lovely stuffed animals, their names in calligraphy.

Oh, and by the way... I'm adding "Static8.com" to all my drawings to make it tougher to steal them. Hotlinking and graphic theft are a part of Internet life, but that doesn't make it right, or ethical. By incorporating my site URL into my graphics, at least people know where they came from.

Static8 > Journal > Archive > 10 Nov 2006 Entry