The Challenge

This year i have set myself the challenge of doing things i would normally avoid, due to fear and self doubt.

One of the challenges i set myself was to attend a life drawing class to practice my drawing skills. I've always felt too shy and self conscious about my level of ability to go to a class before so it was with a significant degree of fear that i attended my first ever class last Thursday.

The class was nothing like i expected, firstly i didn't find myself feeling awkward when the young male model bounced onto the modelling platform in all his youthful glory. I gave myself a pat on the back for that. The first few poses were only held for minutes at a time. By the time i had sketched a hand (i needed to build up courage) the class leader was already asking the model to change - i broke out in a sweat trying to keep up. Fortunately, the poses got longer and I was able to relax into it (second pat on the back). Being able to really look at the naked human form was fascinating, the thing i noticed most was the muscle definition and how beautiful just one feature can be.

Having to draw quickly as a warm up was a great exercise, it made me realise that i am far too precious over the details. By the end of the session i managed to produce something i was vaguely happy with and I also felt a sincere gratitude to the young model for affording me such a great experience.

I have a long way to go before i master scale and perspective but i will definitely be doing more classes, having seen the improvement i made in my sketches just in that one short hour i am sure i can create something to be proud of after several.

Take a look ..... (apologies for the darkness of the photos)

Style is a philosophy..... I think

I've recently got into blogging so have spent many an hour scouring the internet for other blogs that cover style. What i've noticed is that many focus just on a persons style in clothes. As good as those blogs are (and yes i subscribe to quite a few) i'm blogs that cover style in all areas of a persons life; you know, from decor to art and so on.

It got me thinking about my own approach to style hence the title. For me style is about all the aesthetics in life and the choices we make to actively develop a style of our own wether it be in the art we create, the clothes we wear or the home we make around us.

I keep a scrap book into which i paste images that appeal to my own sense of style. I've kept it for years, slowly adding to and editing the pages. It may seem like a slightly silly thing to do but it has helped me to really fine tune my tastes by seeing them laid bare (it's amazing how quickly you'll see a pattern in your tastes that you were never aware of). It also helps me to catalogue what i have and what i would like so i make purchases that i really love (although sadly i don't yet own any vintage cars!).

Here's a collection of some of my pages, created to group form, silhouette, humour and mood. I hope you enjoy them.

A different kind of painting

For the first time in over a year i had the sudden urge to paint my fingernails.  Out came the Chanel, how i love their cosmetics.

This got me thinking about nail art so i had a look around and here are some of the wacky and wonderful finds... (All Images are courtesy of LoveToKnow).

http://skincare.lovetoknow.com/Long_Nail_Pictures

New Paintings

I have wanted some Bull Horns above my bed for as long as i can remember. Not being able to get my hands on the real thing i decided to paint some. The photos not the best (i can't eliminate glare at the moment when photographing inside) but you'll get the idea. I wanted the background plain to start off with but changed my mind after painting the horns. Instead i've tried to capture the dust and dirt of the PBR.

 

This second piece i started today (you can see it's still wet). Eventually the blue will go, being replaced by a darker colour. I'm pleased with the way its going so hopefully i'll keep it on track!