Even when I am not creating art, it is ALWAYS in the back of my mind. If I’m not creating something, I’m always secretly desiring it or dreaming up my next big art piece. In an ideal world, I would just sit down and paint/sculpt all day while listening to some of my favorite bands play over the radio. (Come to think of it, that was my life before I had kids.) But, lets be honest – life happens. For a lot of us, dinner must be made, kids must be taken care of, the 9-5 job must be completed, health must be tended to, things must be cleaned, errands must be run, and a multitude of seemingly never ending tasks must be done before we can ever get a rare minute to sit down for that blissful (and sometimes blissfully-frustrating) moment of getting lost in creating a piece of artwork.
Having said that, I have since then taken the bull by the horns and started creating time for my artwork. (Artists aren’t only limited to creating artwork, ya know! 😉 ) I am slowly becoming this oddly scheduled and organized person that I’ve always needed to be. There is this great quote by Benjamin Disraeli that goes, “He who gains time, gains everything.” Interestingly put Benji…..interestingly put…..but I getcha….
In the mean time, I like to make sure my art skills don’t get rusty, so I like to do some sketches every now and again. Here is a quick eye-study I did a few months ago. It was all sketched free-hand with (black and white) charcoal and graphite pencil. It took me about 45 minutes or so. And sorry about the poor lighting and quality – the pic was taken with my phone.
Freehand Eye Study by Brandy Davis. Graphite and black/white charcoal.
The contrasting light and dark areas are key here, which is why I used both back and white charcoal. Remember, to make things “POP” you have to use the darkest darks, and the lightest lights! Having said that, this was sketched all in good fun.
It’s funny, if I haven’t done any artwork for a while I get a little scared that I maybe “forgot” how to draw or paint. But come to find, artwork is a lot like riding a bike – even if you haven’t done it in a while, it’ll all come back to you when you’re ready for it. Proof that art is just waiting to flood out of you – you just have to let it.
Anyhow, expect some cool stuff to come. (I recently set up my art station, and I am ready to bring some amazing ideas to life – so stay tuned!) In the meantime, Happy sketching! 😉