#Inktober 31 drawings in 31 days

   I found out about Inktober last October about halfway through the month, then I forgot all about it until today when I came across it again on a blog I follow! So glad I decided to  give my blog some attention today.

   Inktober began with one artist setting himself a personal challenge to ink every day for the month of October. Pretty soon this idea caught on and Inktober became a Thing. I think it's a fun thing so this year I will be joining in with thousands of other artists all around the world. And of course you don't even have to consider yourself an artist to do this. Just a couple minutes every day, or a couple hours if you have them handy, and that's all. There's nothing in the rules about having to have a perfect drawing, just put ink on paper, date it and you're done. Out of the 31 consecutive drawings I'll do, I'll think it had been worth my time if I just got a few good drawings. It's about the practice. 

  It is simply a personal challenge to draw and ink or pen drawing on each day of the month of October, that's 31 days. The rules from the Inktober page are:

1) Make a drawing in ink (you can do a pencil under-drawing if you want).

2) Post it on your blog (or tumblr, instagram, twitter, facebook, flickr, Pinterest or just pin it on your wall.)

3) Hashtag it with #inktober

4) Repeat


  Here is my drawing for the first day of October. Because spring is here and we can all go barefoot!

 My mind was half out of the window when I drew this, Tigger was grazing in the garden and I didn't want him to have a go at my lettuces. All he got was half a mouthful of parsley.

I have created a pintrest board for my Inktober artwork:

Inktober 2015, Felicity Deverell, artist

And just to share some inspiration here are a few boards from a few artists from previous years.

Inktober 1

Inktober2014

My attempt at a 365 day challenge. 

I got to 220 and used a lot of pen.

I hope you take up the challenge with me! I'll also be posting every day on 

my facebook page.

Falling in Love

Richard Schmid

   When you fall in love you don't just 'fall in love' and that is it. It is a growing process and the more you love the more you are able to love. That is just like painting with me. After spending the last few weeks really immersing myself in learning about art and watching some long demonstration videos from amazing artists like Morgan Weistling and Jeff Watts, I'm all caught up in this affair, which is going to be one which will hang on to me for the rest of my life I'm afraid...

   I've been learning so much and trying to put it into practice in my own paintings, which I'll share photos of in my newsletter next week. Sometimes it works and I'm on top of the world thinking I've finally getting it! And then a couple of hours of painting later I realize that this painting thing really is an impossible mystery and the great artists are just some extraordinary people with gifts that only they are born with. My love affair is elusive; hopeful and hopeless by turns, but when you are in love you never give up and everything is possible. I'll keep on going and one day perhaps I will be able to paint like some of the worlds greatest painters. Here are some of their works that inspire me and lead me on.

Susan Lyon

Mary Qian

john singer sargent

Matt Smith 

Scott Burdick 

Edward Harrison Compton

Tibor Nagy

Painting by Jeremy Lipking

Richard Schmid

The Artist's News

   Here is my March Newsletter about what I've been up to and my latest work. I still don't have a good camera, saving for it though, so the photos arn't always the best. But the drawings I was able to scan.

March Newsletter

Field Hut, Tararua Ranges New Zealand

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Inspiration from the Masters. True Story.

   Have had a nice quiet weekend to myself, usually I'm off doing something with my friends, there's always something going on these days! I could have gone hunting and kayaking to an island but I thought it must be time for a quiet weekend and get myself into focus for the rest of the month.

   I've been reading my favorite art book, Richard Schmid's Alla Prima II, and doing a lot of reading of Articles on the internet. Just getting fully inspired really. 

   I somehow came across The Master Secrets. A website/blog of Kathryn Lloyd an enthusiastic artist and lover of art who has interviewed many amazing artists. Her interview with Daniel Gerhartz is very inspiring, and with Rosemary & Co brushes--very interesting and informative. It's good to hear interviews in which the interviewer is also an artist and can ask good questions that I want to hear the answers to. 

   One article I read, Finding your Artistic Voice,  contained advice to young artists about how to find a voice or style. Being a young aspiring artist myself which all that advice is aimed towards I am thinking I should take it on for real. I've known it for so long having heard it repeated over and over from many successful artists. Just paint, paint, paint, and draw, draw, draw. Do your best work. Don't worry about style, go after the important things. Learn the craft. Be honest.

   That is exactly what I did in the pastel portrait of Tabitha. I spent all my efforts getting every measurement right, making each mark have a purpose, and not thinking about style or effect. The result was what I consider my best portrait to date.

   And I suddenly realized one aspect of what I've always heard and sincerely believed only didn't understand. Only because I applied what I had learned was I able to really understand it. I should say begin to understand it. The more I learn the more I realize I have to learn! 

  This month I am going to start working hard to apply everything I've learned so far. I have a commission to work on, heaps of Virtual Art Academy assignments to complete, and heaps of ideas for lots of drawings and paintings. I already spend most of my time doing art related stuff, but I always seem to be caught up in other little jobs and leaving the fun 'til later. I need to forget that I have a hundred things to do and just spend all my time having fun with charcoal and paint.

   Might need to order some more art supplies about now...

   I'll keep you posted with photos of some of my new work. Look out for some brilliant progress!