Magic Manifest

Launching Digital Adventures on Wednesday was a LOT of work, and I've been diving into physical mediums since to kind of balance everything out. I've been working on class content and think I'm spending too much time with my iPad, so yeah...paint on my fingers, please! ​

I'm trying to adjust to new medication that has me up half the night, so my drawings are coming through thin skin, nerves close to the surface, nearly exposed. No filter, just doodles as I use art to cope and use the time wisely (watching marathons of TV shows on Netflix feels like such a waste of time, if I'm to be awake until 5am!). You can see my notes scrawled in the corner of one of the pages. The other is a drawing done on thick paper, ready for paint, as soon as I settle on a color palette. ​

Spent the day filming March's journal spread for Creative Warriors, playing with new colors, experimenting with tools, palettes, and ideas. ​Nature, animals, totems, guides. What are we hiding behind and what do we wear outside? Tonight I am working with the imagery of a gazelle, though I would love to do more masks, or maybe simply focus on faces. 

How do you like the unicorn girl's 80's blazer with shoulder pads? Sometimes, you have to go with the mistakes and roll them into beauty instead of fighting with them. ​

Loosen up. Play. Add details. Tell stories with imagery instead of words. Dive into your own magic wardrobe and show me what your forest looks like. Who would I meet upon arriving? What does the landscape look like? How does magic manifest? ​

Write Everything Down

For an art journaler, I am terrible at writing things down! I'll get an idea while driving, or out with friends, and try to remember it....but then I forget everything except that I HAD a really awesome idea and now it's gone. Arg! Has this ever happened to you? I try to implement things if I'm near the studio, but sometimes, well...you're just NOT in the best place to work! 

So I decided that this year, I was going to carry a journal with me and write everything down. Ideas, phrases, even images or inspiring collections of color! No more missing out or forgetting (my fibro-brain is terrible at remembering things). I dug out a Moleskine sketchbook I've had for a few years and only used a third of, and tossed it in my purse, ready to capture all the stuff my brain thinks up. 

There are diagrams of projects or technique ideas, of course, but what I'm really thrilled about are the times when I see a pattern or image that I love -- that I'd usually try to remember for later -- and do a quick sketch. Working daily on the iPad has really made doing imperfect and spontaneous drawing so much easier, and I get lovely journal pages out of it! 

This page was inspired by a sweater a woman was wearing in a TV show I was watching on Netflix. I adored the collar and colors, so I doodled it! And then just....kept going! Having a steady journal companion allows me to be creative whenever I'm struck with an idea, and just because I've drawn this once doesn't mean I can't do, say, a more involved journal page or painting of it later! Repetition's a great teacher, right?

What ideas have you lost? Why don't you join me in writing things down more; you'll quickly fill a journal with how inspiring life can be! 

Materials Used: Gelly Roll black gel pen, Tombow markers, Copic Markers, Dylusions Ink, Moltow Paint Pens, gold Uni-Ball pen
(And yes, I usually have all these materials in my purse, just in case!)

29 Faces in May; Face #1

I’ve seen the posts for 29 Faces in May all over — Tam recently posted an in-progress video, Gulfsprite’s posting a photo of each day’s face, and others are showing them on Instagram and Twitter. As someone who just learned how to draw noses and finally feels confident enough to attempt more portraits in her journal, this seems like the perfect group event to join in order to practice and improve my drawings. 

But I didn’t do my first face until last night. 

Sitting on the lightrail platform, waiting for the next train to come through, I noticed my cell phone battery was a bit low. Not wanting to use it at all, afraid of being stuck downtown at First Friday without any way of contacting the outside world, I kept it tucked in my purse and pulled out the little graph paper notebook from Jill Bliss that I carry with me every once and awhile when I think I may have time to write or doodle while out. 

I thought, why not doodle a face? There’s nothing else to do here, really! My friend hadn’t shown up, and even though all I had was one of my mechanical pencils in the bottom of my purse. 

So I started sketching. 

The thing is, I’m a few days behind despite a few false starts. I’m still new to sketching faces with all their features and proper shading, and can take days to get everything just right. And even then, I’m not completely happy with the results. I doubt myself. Resketch features that look “wrong.” Start coloring them and get stuck (I’m much more comfortable shading in black and white). 

And part of the challenge, part of the fun, is sharing what you draw. The journal pages or paintings you create. I’ve been so scared to do any portraits because I didn’t want to post things that look “bad.” 

Yes, even I get these feelings sometimes! 

But what I learned last night, drawing though the night as I waited and rode the lightrail, I realized that this isn’t about doing 29 perfect portraits. It’s about working through them to create that one lovely, pleasing portrait near the end of the month. 

What a wonderful opportunity to practice and hone my new skills! And to share that progression with others so they may build up the confidence to try something like this themselves! 

I’m hoping to “make up” the first few days’ worth. For now, meet my first portrait, drawn at night, using what I had on hand — no fancy supplies, no paint. Just me and my will to learn, discover, and improve my skills. 

Who’s with me?

PS. I post a lot of in-progress shots over on Instagram. You can follow on the web or add me: samanthakira (the images are also posted to my twitter stream).