Monthly Guide - Easy Does It (Page 2)

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Monthly Guide

A collection of 34 posts

Aug 2022: Gazing

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Aug 2022: Gazing

Last month I wrote to you about how my creative process was in a swing toward the inhale side of things - it felt quiet, receptive, dormant. I wrote about beginning, again, which is the natural rhythm of things and the most important skill an artist can have. But even

July 2022: Begin, again.

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July 2022: Begin, again.

I haven't really painted in the past six weeks, at least not in an expressive, personal way. Looking back in my sketchbook for June pages there are just 3 diagrams that I made for the shop. My last free sketching page is from May 21!

How to make a self portrait

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How to make a self portrait

Note: I wrote the draft of this piece using voice transcription as I took care of my new 4lb puppy, Miyoko. I’ve now gone and edited out all the puppy bits (hi sweetie and wow your teeth are so sharp and how can anyone be so perfect?), which I’

June 2022: The Selfie

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June 2022: The Selfie

Every June I paint a self-portrait for my birthday. It's a way to spend time with myself, notice how I'm changing, and knit that together with how I'm evolving as an artist, making it into a physical thing that, too, will begin to age.

May 2022, Part 2: Skills

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May 2022, Part 2: Skills

Hello EDI friends, In Part 1 we explored how to approach consistency and skill building without getting washed away by a pressure to be “good.” This week I’d like to build on that idea. The pressure to be good masquerades as something that will make our creative practice more

May 2022, Part 1: How old do you have to be to make a bad drawing?

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May 2022, Part 1: How old do you have to be to make a bad drawing?

In Making Comics, Lynda Barry asks: how old do you have to be to make a bad drawing? This brilliant question catches on all the snags in our tangled thoughts about good art and who gets to make it. And if we let it, it dissolves them right out. I

April 2022: One thing at a time

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April 2022: One thing at a time

One thing that makes art-making a satisfying experience for me is exploring one(ish) thing at a time. When I was just beginning, trying to paint a realistic portrait was not very satisfying because it asked me to attend to a lot things I wasn't skilled at -

March 2022: How to Paint a Thing

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March 2022: How to Paint a Thing

Years ago I had a yoga instructor who would start every class in child’s pose or another restful place, and make sure we knew: “this is always available to you. You can come back here any time during the practice.” I would take that invitation seriously, sometimes spending half

January 2022: How to Begin

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January 2022: How to Begin

I began making art when I was 30. Well, I had taken an art class in 4th grade too, and I also had a book about how to draw a Mickey Mouse. But I feel that I was still a genuine beginner (lopsided stick-figures and all) in 2016 and that