Try something new today (plus: art in progress!)

“All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today” Indian Proverb

I love the idea that each little seed we plant, whether that be an action, conversation, idea, or intention, creates space for something new and beautiful to bloom in future days.

I see this art class I’m taking (Lilla Rogers’ portfolio bootcamp) as a large number of those little seeds.

If you remember from my last post, I’d done a mini assignment of things I carry around with me in my bag.

The assignment was outside of my comfort zone (as is everything about the class!), but trying something new expanded my horizon just a little bit. January’s main assignment expanded it even more.

For the main assignment this month, we had to explore the bag contents of a famous person and include those items on a children’s book cover. I got JK Rowling as my person and beyond feeling totally unsure of how to begin, I was excited to draw for a person who lives half in reality and half in a magical world.

Some preliminary sketches

I first created a more realistic portrait of JK Rowling as I really don’t draw people and it’s a skill I’d love to have. I got my portrait to a semi-likeness that I was happy with, but the cover draft just wasn’t feeling fun or energetic enough to be a kids’ book cover.

I ended up scrapping this cover entirely and what I drew next feels so much  more in tune with my style.

This is my still rough and in-progress cover of her purse being snatched by a large lizard (dragon?), and if you look closely there’s also a little one eating her way through the bag so that everything is falling out to the ground below. I think this interpretation feels playful and fun and I stopped worrying about how realistic the portrait looked. This is more me and I can’t wait to finish it.

We’ll have two assignments each month through May, so I’m really excited to try other new things that might previously have intimidated me or that I wouldn’t have thought to try.

Get out of your comfort zone today and plant a little seed for something new. I don’t know where these assignments will lead me but being part of a vibrant (and talented!) group of artists and beginning to paint again has invigorated my spirit. Here’s to doing what we didn’t think we could or would.

Have a wonderful day!