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Tell us your three favourite mediums and one you hate working with on most surfaces.

Art challenge:
1. Pick a reward for doing hard things. Coffie, snacks with your friend "Todd (insert cool art friends here)", or purchase that art thing you always wanted to try out but never purchased.
2. Work with your least favourite medium and create one 30+ minute drawing or painting.
3. Have your reward, Play, relax and enjoy after your training efforts. You deserve it!
4. Then create a work 60 minutes or more; with the mediums you love most, grinding your vision into the fibrous surface.

Show your work! Both the 30+ and the 60+ minute drawings by placing a link in this discussion.

Hated Medium Points
30 min- 10 points
45 min -20 points
60+ min- 40 points

Bonus points for colour and triple points for foreshortened or odd angles.

All artists willing to participate via critique will give 1-5 points-aka: If they don't draw something for the art challenge above.
But! 6-15 points can be given by artists who put in the effort to take on the art challenge- aka- they do draw something for the art challenge above.

The Artist with the most points will be declared Artist of the December moon. If any of us have social media, we will show off the winners work and talk about what we like best about that picture.

This way, we can all help each other out. Make each other better, and help each of us get a bit more eyeballs on our art, if you're lucky, a patron or gallery or two.

The deadline is November 30th, Just in time for holiday sales.

I can't wait to see what you come up with and your recommendations. Good Luck! Let the implements scratch!

All the best,

JCML Fine Art.

Ps. To make this fair, I will allow you to decide if I should or should not participate, since I made the rules.

Try woodless pencils. You can use the chaff to draw with a paintbrush, and there is no wood shavings mess to clean up to achieve an artist tip. All you need is a woodless pencil and a sand block.

I prefer these to mechanical pencils because you can get a broader range of line variance that you can not achieve with a mechanical pencil. Pluse! The led is much less likely to break on you.

I recommend Evneed. They have the broadest range of wordless pencils I know are currently on the art market.

Happy pigment pushing!

All the best

JCML Fine Art

• Jcmlfineart edited this post on October 12, 2021 12:44pm.
• Jcmlfineart edited this post on October 12, 2021 12:45pm. Reason: spelling mistake

The Narrator is Hidden within the Artist

I feel part of what you are asking, Shana has to do with how visual taste is expressed in art. It's a space to talk about taboos, our current cultural references, how we view the history behind us, and the future ahead of us. That surface is where we display political views, jokes, repeat memories and give or find encouragement to or for the viewer.

But more than all the above: I think it's about what you, the visual writer, have to say. In my opinion, you need a reason for the work to be valid, whether you are a viewer, patron, agent, critic or artist.

Stories do that for all humans because, since humans remember existing, stories teach us and allow us not to feel alone. We love to be a part of a community- some of us less than others, but we all require others to be mentally sound and helthy.

We necessitate having a story for any work to be compelling. It's how the gallery sells the work, why the viewer keeps looking and why we make art.

~ To further my argument: Who here is energised by creating work they have absolutely no interest in talking about? Not me.

~I should say here: If you feel something and put it onto the surface, but the artist doesn't want to talk about the actual meaning of the art verbally instead of in visual form- that, in my opinion, is still a visual story. The audience might not understand that meaning, but that is a misinterpretation of the viewers' understanding of the artist's translated story onto the visual surface.

I wrote about this narrative idea the other day to another artist who said they were in a rut but were shy to share any of their art. I asked them if they were willing to let the artist in them die? Because half of why we make things is to say something, anything. I feel it's the reason we as artists pick up that implement and scratch across its surface with a medium.

We may be "making it for ourselves", But that is telling yourself a story. It may not be a compelling or interesting story, but it says something to anyone with eyes who looks at it.

The other half of why we are artists is our compulsion to share and feel connected- it's that communal thing again. Humans need humans, even if some or more of us creators feel alone, outcast and different. Sometimes there is nothing so satisfying as one jigsaw puzzle piece fitting into another; no fighting fits. Humans, I feel, are no different in that need for occasional unity.

So if you are shy, share. Stand up for your art, cause none will care about it the way you do. When you pick up your implement, say something that has guts. Be so brave it makes your whole body shake just for a few seconds and then begin. None of you are unworthy of any story you need to tell. Please don't let the artist in you die.

So, do you call that the inspiration of life? I do.

All the best,

JCML Fine Art

Dumplings,

Suppose you don't stand for your work. Then no one will. No one.

Nobody will care about your art the way you do. If you find your soul flies across the page, then let people see it. They see your face, don't they? Those who know and care about you? Yeah? So why would you shy away from what makes you happy? Why not share your joy in your art face? Just Fucken sing it, sister! And let the world be damn-ed. You did that. Stand up and say, "This is me"-(the Greatest Showman- This song make me tear up Every time I hear it or watch the movie) show tones style.

Artists have to have a "thick skin and an elastic heart"- Sia.

I am worthy of telling people what is in my heart, whether that's a study, a gesture or any formal artwork. Do you think you are worthy, regardless of people being shitty with their crap opinions of your visual story? I am.

Part of being an artist is telling people what you want to say. If you hide what you want to say, how can you stay inspired?

Maybe you are in a rut because you are feeling shy about telling your visual stories. You have a voice, and it will go silent if you don't use it. Your inspiration will fail, and your pen will drop. Are you ready for the death of the artists in you?

Ouch! Right?!

Find what you want to say, and your pen will follow your thoughts. But only if you share your strokes, or die. The choice is yours.

Cheering for you,

Michellerose Cusack

JCML Fine Art

Shanna,

I don't think there is an honest answer to this question because there is no correct answer.

Humanity loves to give an opinion, do things and look at things. It's part of being a human and is as natural as breathing.

Example under the same principle: Why do we go on vacation? To gawk, eat and comment on what we see and eat. Right?

But Meanings... even if you are not religious, I feel religion is near the same relation in thought process because it's like asking "Who is right?" and "Who has the right to declare that: They, as a group, are more right than the next group." That they are all somehow more valid because they are the most valuable part of the wheel, the axle on which the wheel turns.

If there is an answer, it is the word "Meanings", as in multiple. What it means to the artist and what the critic gets out of their view of those meanings makes most viewers think an artist is valid. It's why the general masses love artworks of popularised artists. They (art works) are well known, comfortable in their familiarity and therefore the broad masses make up their meanings based on their knowledge of that famous artist- often before they make up their own mines as to weather the art, has value, is done well or even moreso what they, the viewer, feel it means to them with all the fallowing emotional attachments made by assioation to that artist, and the critique, agent, or patron who gave that artist its start in the world of fame.

I think this is why accruwing patrions is so important to any artist. But we need to go and find them so that a critque will look and so on. Its tough to find out where to start this process as an artist. But if you can get a steady relationship with your customers, are active in your public community, and are willing to get involved in the things your target patrons are into. You will be more steady, You may get more gallary views.

---->Really this is a well loaded topic that can snake on itself like a art nouveau staircase. I guess thats why you picked it. Good shout.

Thanks for taking me down the rabbit hole. Alot of this is stuff I need to address sooner or later. But most likey later as I am still in school. There is a lot of art cake here and I feel sometimes overwhelmed by the chunk I cut off with my fork after drinking the tea that shrinks me like in Allice and wonderland.

All the best,

JCML Fine Art

AuslerDraws,

Suggestion 1:

Don't draw All of the outlines of the figure.

Instead, Pretend your drawing like you are writing Moris code. Drawing or keeping only the ones that emphasise the gesture and emotion of your visual story.

Why? The brain is fantastic at "Filling in the blanks", letting the viewer do some work for you.

Suggestion 2:

Change how you hold your pencil.

Using an artist grip to draw from our elbow or shoulder makes longer, more beautiful, less sketchy lines.

Or! If you do this already, draw with your weak hand, your mouth, both feet and with the crook of your elbows, knees, or armpits.

Why? The drawing is Supposed to be a physical experience. If you want to learn about line quality, learn how your body moves. Also, when you use a weak body part to draw, your brain is not relying on top-down processing. Instead, it (your brain) is working bottom-up and is more engaged in the process of drawing and learning than if you draw with your strong drawing arm.

----this kind of exercise basically stops autopilot from taking over and from you creating the duplicate drawings over and over again.

If you try any of the above, but notably if you choose one of the tasks from suggestion 2, you will be extra tired. Have a reward ready because you will continue to repeat the experience, even if you feel frustrated in your lack of control due to the prize. So whatever reward you choose to make it a good one!

Happy lingering line experiments!

All the best,

JCML Fine Art

Ps. Try to rotate your picture before you post it. For some, it may discourage them from giving advice. Nobody will care about your art or learning the way you do. Show your enthusiasm and investment in your work when you present it. I know it sounds hard when it's just a gesture, but it is the small bits that make you stand out.

eeveeiscurrentlydrawing,

Try working with negatively.

Take a sheet of paper and cover it in graphite or charcoal. Then will an eraser only draw the highlights. Then come in with a paintbrush and "sweep away the pigment to reveal the mid-tones. After you are finished come in with black and white pastels and finish your drawing.

And if you really want to be brave, do the above with your weak hand.

Why?

All form is only revealed in the presence of light. So maybe if you study how light slides across the form you will be so focused on this you will learn something that will help you later when you work positively.

The latter reason also goes for the weak hand. Sometimes we can be so hyper-focused we can forget to learn as we push pigment. The goal is a distraction to learn. The brain is weird like that. If we always do the same things. It gets bord, even if we are not. So sometimes we got to trick our brains into paying better attention to what we are doing to find sucess.

Last suggestion. Work larger. Working on pages A2 or bigger help your whole body get involved, making form easyer to execute.

Keep scratching at that surface.

All the best,

JCML Fine Art

BettiePage75,

So if google translate got your words correctly, this was your first time doing figure work. If that is correct, you did a lovely job keeping the feeling in the position, which can cover a lot of inaccuracy with grace.

I suggest you focus on your proportions and make the core bean structure of the torso be your main property in the works you draw. Also, know that hips are like a big open box that holds the innards in place. I feel you will be more able to make your works more 3d with efforts like these.

All the best in your work,

JCML Fine Art

M. Eteng,

I feel you have lovely gestures, but I would like to see a bit more mussels in your works. Looking at them made me instantly think that you may have sacrificed flow for solidity in space.

This may just be your style. But a bit more bulk, I feel, will bring up your art to the next level.

Thanks for sharing.

All the best,

JCML Fine Art

M. JianPhoenix,

Try changing your hand from a typical writing hand style to an artist drawing hand style. It will help create longer, more elegant lines. I know it may feel clumsy for a while to draw that way. But that clutz-y feel will ebb away with time, and your drawings will benefit from the change in how you hold your pencil.

(A larger size paper will also help you feel freer to remove from your elbow or shoulder.)

I think if you focus on your lines. Say as you did with your core drawing lines: But only draw as many lines as needed to create body core lines; not complete the figure, which would help you immensely. Rember the brain can interpret quite a bit of information from drawn lines as well as the open un-drawn spaces on the page. Not all stripes of your pen need to touch each other for the brain to understand the figure as a whole.

I would advise drawing the least amount of lines. Try not requiring all of the lines to continually touch each other will help you see that the whole outline of the figure need not be present for the viewer to understand the structure is a solid object in space.

All the best,

JCML Fine Art

danharris009,

I would try working with lighter pencils. It looks like you are using a "B" Pencil and that you press somewhat hard onto the page. I would suggest that you work on the essence of your line quality.

Using an "H" pencil, it is easy to "scratch" the page when you press too hard. When that happens, and you erase then make another mark over it, the mistake mark is more apt to show. This will force you to think about the pressure you place on your pencil. It will also make you more sensitive to the line quality you create on the page.

Also, since it is so light, it is easy to come in with darker pencils to make a drawing more dramatic if you find you got the excellent basics to make a fab drawing.

One last reminder. The brain is incredible. We don't need to draw every line. You can remove half or a quarter of the outer lines of the object, and most of the time, the brain will fill in the blanks. That means we do not need to outline the whole of the drawing. Just sections we feel are the most important to the visual story we are creating.

I hope you find some drawing nuggets here to help you move on to the next stage in your pigment adventure. (Also, Know I fall prey to some of the same issues you have. You are not alone.)

All the best,

JCML Fine Art