Starcraft Marine

Good Monday morning to you! I'm thinking of this Art-a-thon space as a place that I can stretch my wings a little. As artists, we're constantly challenging ourselves in little ways with questions like, 'can I draw this', 'is there a better angle to draw from', 'does that line look right'. While dealing with the minutiae of growing each and every bit of art, I think we can sometimes miss the bigger picture.

Certainly we can't always hit every point or try to grow every aspect of our art and ourselves at the same time. However, I do think that we can focus on a particular aspect, trait or behavior to improve until it becomes habit, and eventually reflex.

This inexorably leads me to my own particular goal. While drawing something every day won't be terribly difficult for me, I think that drawing something every day that I value will be. You see, I constantly undervalue my art. I even have a term for it. "Throwaway art". It's the doodles, sketches, drawings that sustain me through my day, the things I can put down in a few minutes and then forget about. I can't tell you how many times I've sketched something out, only to have someone come along and tell me how wonderful it is. What do I do with it? Give it away, without a second thought. While I recognize the good that this can generate and the joy that people have when I give it to them, I also need to value my own art and effort more.

That is why I'm here. That is why I'm posting. That is what I'm practicing... in addition to all the different scribbles and techniques and tools. Come back tomorrow for another installment!