Bird

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it.
Today's is a bird.
#drawingadayclub

Shire horse and art tip

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.

Today's drawing is a shire horse.
Today's tip: Try to be the shire horse not the racehorse. Press and even artists, like to portray artists as unreliable and flighty, this may be because they wish them harm, or it may be because it makes them interesting to write about,  but ether way, it can sneak into your thinking about art. Forget it! Leave the the fidgeting and kicking to the racehorse. Be the shire horse, get that cart and lean on it, overcome it's resistance to starting, drag it up hill. The beauty of art is, if you do this, you will very soon look behind to see you have left both shire horse and racehorse on the ground, because you have become the kestrel, whipping over uphill ground, now irrelevant to you!

#drawingadayclub #kirsteenlyonsart

Irises and an art tip

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.

Today's drawing is irises.
Today's tip: Try to restrict your colour. Paint boxes come with all these tempting little trays of colour, but it's seldom a good idea to use the green for leaves, brown for trunk, blue for sky, yellow for sun... you end up with too many and it's not harmonious.

I find you can use any colour for anything as long at you restrict the number in each artwork.

#drawingadayclub #kirsteenlyonsart

Jasmine's friend drawing

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it.

Today's is my daughter's friend drawing.

#drawingadayclub

Jasmine drawing again.

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it.

Today's is Jasmine drawing.
#drawingadayclub #kirsteenlyonsart

Page of rabbits and art tip

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.

Today's drawing is a page of rabbits, and a little pencil test in the corner.

Today's tip: Things are not really made of lines, they are areas of colour, and light and shade. Try out a little light and shade, pencils have a range, shown in the corner of the picture, get some nice soft ones (2B, 3B... the Bs are soft) and take some part of the drawing as dark as you can.

#drawingadayclub #kirsteenlyonsart

Bluebell and a tip from Andromeda

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.

Today's drawing is a bluebell done with pen and splashing water on no colour-fast tissue paper. Playing basically! I have included a picture of my process.

Today's tip is from Andromeda Edison

http://www.independentwords.com/

Andromeda Edison I help writers get their books self published and often cheer on a writer to complete their book so I can edit it. 

One thing I often find myself saying is to just write a little every day. To not worry about the selling, what the editor is going to say or anything else. Just concentrate on what they are trying to communicate and communicate it. Don't worry right that second if it is the best you could have done, if the editor is going to change it. Just do it. 

Some of the most beautiful writing I have seen has come from people who are just telling their story.

Grey-white owl and shadow black cat.

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.

Today's drawing is: The grey-white owl and the shadow black cat met at the edge of the forest and listened, and listened, and listened...

Today's tip is: Don't be lazy, many things can be done with a fat brush and a scribbled line (like this one) but sometimes you have to draw every leaf - do it, people will gasp at the sheer hours you put in. (I pretty much save this for my textile design, as I tend to do the drawing a day in the night).
http://enchantedtextiledesign.blogspot.co.uk
#drawingadayclub

Birds in flight and tip from Lee

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.

Today's drawing is birds in flight.
Today's tip is from actor director Lee Purcell.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002517/bio

Lee Purcell This is actually harder than I thought , as during a lifetime ( still going strong) of art, I have gone through several evolutions of how I create art and several different types of art. I think my best tip (s) ( at least for today) is be true to yourself as an artist, don't be afraid to experiment and discard those experiments. When your heart and breath beat faster and you're experiencing what might be considered fear it's really excitement and adrenaline and you're on the right track. Try many different forms and genres of art, you might just surprise yourself. And remember, you can pursue more than one type of art at a time! One last thing, don't think you can run away from being an artist because you can't, it'll just chase you down and jump in your face until you give up and just be an artist.

Here be dragons!

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.

Today's drawing is a dragon.
Today's tip: practice! Study or work out how something is done and then practice, I can't overstate the value of it. Do it until you never want to see it again and then your a third of the way there! I sort of knew this but drawing every day for 476 days has taught me it better. I have not progressed so much as an artist since University (where I also got made to draw every day). After all, wouldn't you like to get gasp-worthy good at something before you die?
#drawingadayclub

In an infinite universe, do you suppose they exist somewhere?

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it.

Today's drawing is a unicorn.
#createadrawingaday

More apple blossom

I'm creating a drawing a day, for two years, and sharing an art tip too.

Today's drawing is more apple blossom, there is tone of it in the garden just now.
Today's tip: Spend some time on organising. This is especially true if you want to make money from your art, but still worthwhile if it's art for fun. Put materials where you can find them and see that you have a clear surface to work on... eliminate the excuse "I would work but I've no space, my space is not set up, my space is being used as a dog house..."

#drawingadayclub

Sea

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.

Today's drawing is a seascape.
Today's tip is: semetrical is usually not best, put things in groups of three and five(whole objects or just dark parts of a whole). Put horizons in any part of the page that is not the middle.

#drawingadayclub

Boat on a grey sea

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.

Today's drawing is a boat on a grey sea. I use only tone, if you have trouble with colour, you can do this to cut back the problem, but if you come back to colour, here is a tip to help.

Today's tip: This is the colour wheel, (picture underneath) the colour is arranged in the order of the rainbow or natural spectrum. Colours next to each other go together restfully, colours at opposite sides make each other look brighter and are called complimentary colours.

#drawingadayclub

Apple blossom

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.

Today's drawing is apple blossom.
Today's tip is: I don't know best for your art - you do!
#drawingadayclub

Birds in the apple blossom and an art tip

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.

Today's (actually yesterday's, sorry) drawing is birds in the apple blossom.

Today's art tip is: learn a little bluffers vocabulary, so if it looks like a kid did it that's "deliberately nieve" and if it's scruffy and lines everywhere that's "sketchy and energetic" if you can't even tell what it's supposed to be that's "experimenting with abstraction". This goes over very will with, teachers, lecturers and public alike as they don't want to be the only one in the room who does not get it. You can also get a friend to stand by you and nod wisely at all your comments for extra credibility!
#drawingadayclub

Serval and an art tip

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.

Today's drawing is a serval, we went to Tilgate Park today and they fed one a rabbit! This is a compact little predator.

Today's tip: Art teachers talk a lot about perspective and proportion. I have invented my own simple definitions for these, which I include here, but as always, if you really look, you will see what is there without needing a rule to tell you what is there.

Perspective is simply the way in which things (or parts of things) look smaller as they get further away. For example roads get smaller (narrower) as they get further away.

Proportion is simply how many of something can you fit into something else, or how big is it compared to something else.

Pony and art tip from Andrew

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.

Today's drawing is a pony.
Today's tip is from my brother Andrew.

Andrew Hodgson: Now that we have the internet, it is easier than ever to find someone who is a 'better' artist than you. IGNORE THAT AT ALL COSTS! Be inspired by others of course, but what you have to do is find your thing, what makes your work unique and special. Work on it and pursue it with a passion. That doesn't mean you have to make it from bricks or something, it can be a really subtle thing you just bring to your work naturally. And remember, someone is looking at your work and thinking 'I wish I could do that'.
#drawingadayclub

Two Craines and an art tip from me.

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.

Today's drawing is two cranes.
Today's tip is: Try to help others, think of them as your future CONTACTS not your future competition. Also helping is rewarding and inspiring in itself.
#drawingadayclub

My son and an art tip from Elizabeth

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.
Today's drawing is my son done with a graphite block.
Today's tip is from writer Elizabeth Bailey.
http://www.elizabethbailey.co.uk

Elizabeth Bailey "Avoid the cliche. If you're finding your work samey, try turning things on their head. There's always another way to say it, or draw it. Do something you don't usually do. Take a risk."
#drawingadayclub

Girl with sunglasses.

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.

Today's drawing is my daughter with sunglasses on her head, done with a graphite block only, to make me work crudely.

Today's tip: Try things, media, techniques, art forms, thinking you are no good at art because you don't draw well with an HB pencil and an evil school art teacher, is like thinking you are no good at sports because you can't swim crawl. There are other sports, there is even other swimming.
#drawingadayclub

Pin the tail on the tiger.

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.

Today's drawing is the, pin the tail on to tiger that I made for my daughter's tiger themed birthday party (she did the tail herself). We are also making tiger bunting!

Today's art tip: From Cher Johnson.

 Cher Johnston I'm not famous or anything and I don't have works of art shown anywhere but I did teach painting classes for about five years. One of the things that I used to tell my students is that they should take it home and leave it out on the kitchen table overnight. Then the tole fairies come at night and in the morning they will like it much better. I guess my tip is that when you get to the end you need to put it down and walk away for a bit. Sometimes we can keep going after it's finished and ruin it's not a good thing.

Fading seahorses​

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.
Today's drawing is: fading seahorses​. My daughter ( who is interested in conservation) tells me that if men keep fishing them at current rates they will all be gone in 20 years, she is 8, so if we give her 10 years to grow up she will have 10 years to save them, I hope they get some help before then.

Art tip: Care. It hurts but it's worth it. About your art, about your message. Indifference is not self defense, it's self anaesthetic.

If you go back to the derivations aesthetic and anaesthetic are opposites.

#drawingadayclub

Flowers

I'm creating a drawing a day, for two years, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.

Today's drawing is flowers.
Today's tip: Ideas beget ideas, don't save your best ideas up for some unknown future when you will have run out or can charge more or whatever, work on your best ideas today and you will have more, better than your previous best.

#drawingadayclub

Rent and taxes

I'm creating a drawing a day for two years, just for the art of it and sharing an art tip too.

Today's drawing is called Rent and taxes.
Today's tip is: Try not to give up, you don't have to be the most talented if you are the last one still standing.

Stag in water soluble pencil and tip from Gill.

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it and sharing an art tip too. Lately I've been asking the artists I admire to contribute a tip.
Today's drawing is a stag in water soluble pencil, which I'm still experimenting with and trying to get the most out of it.

Today's tip is from painter Gill Bustamante.
 https://www.gillbustamante.com

Gill Bustamante My art tip would be a) figure out what effect you want to create with your art on other people and b) find a medium/language to do it with c) get on with it and don't let people who love to 'advise' you put you off!

#drawingadayclub

Girl in water soluble pencil and tip from Felix

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too. I've hit on the idea of getting some of the artists I admire to give me tips. The first of these is from photographer Felix Kunze.
 http://felixkunze.com

Felix Kunze "In the beginning of anyone's career (which is where I am), it is easy to get the idea that one must give up one's values and integrity to get ahead. To suck up to people you don't like just because they are in a position of power, or do projects because of promised 'exposure'. I started off far too stubborn and chose my projects with my heart first, brain second. I'm apparently unique in the world of photography because I do hardly any unpaid work for other people. The only unpaid work I do is my personal projects. 

Stick to your guns. Don't be an ass about it, be kind, be thoughtful. But don't confuse kindness and naivety. 

Build a career based on your value set, not that of others."

#drawingadayclub

Scotland, mountains and sea, stories and secrets.

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.
Today's drawing is Scotland, mountains and sea.
Today's art tip: Examine all conventions for your self. In art, as in life, some conventions are there because they work well, for example: windows looking dark in the distance, or top lip darker than bottom lip, others are perhaps obsolete, or false to begin with, example: brown tree trunks (they are usually silver, grey, green or black). Use your own looking skills, they are the true gift an artist brings the world.
#drawingadayclub

Fans

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, and sharing an art tip too.
Today's drawing is fans.
Today's art tip is stolen from my dad: "Get it right in the next one." This is a great tip, it stops me obsessing about some mistake and puts the future in view.