daily-ish notes…

  • on pi comics.

    I used to draw a web comic more and paint a lot less.

    I note that fact today because the premise of my comic was centered around the notion of dad jokes, and the patron saint holiday of dad jokes is, obviously, pi day.

    My parenting humour aside, my efforts have paid off and my daughter spent yesterday afternoon (a day off school for other reasons) baking a celebratory pie.

    No joking about that.

  • on maintenance days.

    Some days you need to just put aside time to do maintenance.

    On your tools. On your supplies. On yourself.

    As a guy who runs multiple websites, I need to set aside time once per month or so to do routine upgrades on the software, clean up log files, and make sure all these systems are running soundly and securely.

    The same habits apply to my art supplies. Once in a while I need to tidy up, clean my brushes and plates, test the collection of pens, and get rid of the various wrappers, tissues, and bits of trash that have accumulated around and in my kits.

    It’s not a day that lacks productivity. It’s a different kind of productivity that is necessary to stay productive.

  • about the details.

    I’m not a details person.

    In my head I think I’d like to be, but it takes a special sort of mood for me to focus on the little things.

    So, when I’m in that mood and that mood corresponds to a point in time when I happen to have a paint brush in my hand, I can make interesting things happen.

    It turns out I can paint fine details when I want to.

    It turns out that I need to find the right mental space to actually want to.

    It turns out that when I want to those fine detail paintings actually turn out pretty good.

    How do you create space for optimal creative output?

  • of peaks and valleys.

    I’m in a bit of a valley right now.

    I’ll admit, the daily drawing has resulted in a few recent pics that I haven’t been in a rush to upload and post. Anyone who reads more than a page or two on this site will know that I’m not a professional, but rather a guy who is trying to document his self-taught approach to learning to paint watercolour. By self-taught, of course, I mean lots of reading, lots of watching tutorials, lots of comparison, and lots of trial and error.

    This valley has been a few successive days of the error part.

    That happens.

    And while I do get down on myself when it happens, I need to kick myself in my own butt and remember that error is part of learning and the valleys are sometimes just as important as the peaks.

    So, I had a nice peak early in the month (in my own personal opinion) and while I may be in a valley now… another peak is likely just about to show up in front of me. Or, at least that’s the mindset.

  • on brush care.

    A couple yards of fabric, a sewing machine, an evening of work, and a simple idea.

    I spent Wednesday after work and until bedtime using my crafting skills to make myself a paint roll-up, a slotted case into which I can tuck each of my paintbrushes into a neat, organized row and then roll it up into a carry-along case.

    Rather than stuffing those brushes into pencil cases, stashing them into the random plastic sleeves that they came in, or storing them on random shelves around the house (where they were probably left to dry) I can now keep them neat and tidy in one place.

    Ten bucks of materials, and two hours work.

    Nifty.