Month 1

With the first month now officially over it seems like a good time to reflect on how things have gone and contemplate the possibilities for the future of the project. When I first took on the project it was due to me not having done much drawing over the last few years and this was something that I wanted to rectify. The reasons I had developed for not doing work were numerous ranging form having nothing to work towards, not enough space, not enough materials and mostly not enough time basically I would find any minor excuse to procrastinate further. The thing I always thought was my main problem was my generally disorganised nature meaning that any spare time I had was seemingly short, something that I now see was completely untrue. Furthermore I tend to be someone who avoids moving laterally through ideas in favour of a much more sporadic and chaotic approach, this normally means that I get an idea, a spark that fuels a creative outburst that ignites with a flourish but rapidly fizzles out of existence. My main hopes with this project as I've highlighted before was that I see it as an opportunity to provide some focus, something for me to drive towards, also as it's now in the public eye I have that element of pressure that was normally lacking. A further advantage I thought would have come from the project was as I involved drawing in my day to day routine it would allow me to become more structured and organised in my approach. In stead though I find I'm as disorganised as ever having just replaced the generic activities I would have done, those that would have left me with no time for drawing with the actual activity of drawing... which now leaves me no time to do those generic activities. In effect I've merely integrated drawing into the chaos that already existed rather than come close to resolving it, but the important thing is I'm at least doing something constructive.

I have also been thinking a lot more about the end resolution to the project, what form it may take and what the possibilities are, to me it seems that an exhibition is a logical outcome. However As with any project in it's early stages that is still to be defined it is not a good idea to get too bogged down in the outcome. The reason being is that this is the type of project that has the ability to grow and evolve, by having a clearly thought out end point this early it runs the risk of stagnating or becoming too restricted. In saying this though at this point they are just thoughts on where it could go rather than were it will be so it shouldn't be too much of an issue at this stage. The thoughts then so far are:

• Should it be 365 framed images,would this be cost effective? time consuming?
• Would it work better as 12 framed works, by month and possible arranged in the frame in a vaguely calenderised format?
• Could the concept and design sketches also be fully realised and integrated into the exhibition?
• Could the blog be turned into a book?
• Will the chosen venue impact upon the overall aesthetic of the exhibition and what the possibilities are?

These are all important things to consider as I look toward the future of the project, so I suppose this would be the most apt time to talk a little about where I go from here. First of all one place I will be going is Austria on holiday, that will actually be in only a few short weeks and although I will be in another country I still mean to carry out my challenge and should also be able to still post the drawings whilst I'm away. The main things I want to do over the next few months is attempt to bring more colour into the work, possibly even by using painting or watercolours, as well as this I hope to experiment a little more with techniques and processes to see in which direction I can take the drawing. The reason being is I have been thinking about what actually constitutes a drawing, so far much of what I have done has come from photos and rough sketches. In the case of the rough sketches these are then redrafted before being posted, is it a case that the rough draft should actually be classed as the drawing or is it always necessary to present something cleaner... would it possibly even be a good idea to include the rough drafts and sketches so that you can see how the thought process that has led to that work came about. This is worth considering over the coming months, should the drawings become more conceptual, experimental or should they remain analytical.  

Day 31

'A Clockwork Orange' Pen and Marker on Paper

Keeping today's entry short as the one month round up will be following this post, so that should give you plenty to read and ponder over. The reason for today's 'draw' comes again from this idea of using a play on words to create a literal, visual representation of the phrase or thing it describes. I had been toying with the idea of putting together a collection of illustrations and poster designs for films, in a sense an alternative poster that has a more literal take on the title rather than being related to the content of the film, In this case Stanley Kubrick's film 'A Clockwork Orange'. There is the potential here for a whole series of works so this is something that I may revisit from time to time over the '365 Draws of the Year' with the potential of targeting or setting up a small film festival, taking well known films but trying to do something that is different but instantly familiar.

Day 30

'Ulster Museum Window Study' Pencil on Paper

Today's 'draw' is a study of one of the features on the exterior window of the Ulster Museum, the Museum itself was designed by James Cumming Wynne and built in 1929. It has been referred to as a 'brutalist' building due to the mainly due to the extension that was added from 1962-64, designed by Francis Pym, It's a fascinating building and I recently had the opportunity to attend a short film screening there. The film was about Owen Luder an architect that rose to prominence during the 60's with many of his buildings being designed in this 'brutalist' style, although his buildings were popular in the 60's many of them have now been torn down which was the focus of the film, and the talk that followed. There was something that he alluded to that I found particularly striking, that being that when he started out as an architect, the notion of an architect living to see the buildings they designed torn down in their lifetime was unheard of... However he has lived to see quite a few of his buildings torn down. The talk itself brought up many intriguing ideas and thoughts however this was the one that really stuck in my mind, that process of investing so much time into something seeing it taken to its resolution only to see it fall out of favour, deteriorate and eventually vanish. There was something else he said which sums up very well this notion of the lifespan of the buildings he designed which I am going to attempt to paraphrase,

" In the 60s my buildings were rewarded, in the 70s they were applauded, the 80s they were questioned, in the 90s they were ridiculed and in the 00s they are being demolished."

He raises quite a pertinent point that I think reflects very well on some of the regeneration and rebuilding that we see happen around us each day. As he alludes to the buildings themselves were once highly regarded, they were important, fashionable and necessary. It is then as this necessity changes that we re-evaluate and in many cases cast aside what we find we no longer need, the things that no longer conform to our expectations. It would seem that much of what is built is done so out of a necessity, in the moment it is deemed as crucial to meet what ever the need of that time is. Unfortunately it means that as time passes and the need changes people can become complacent and those buildings that gave the city it's identity, the places we've become accustomed to, those that were once integral now becomes an after thought. What this means and again something that Luder alluded to, is that in many cases something which although in a terrible state can still have a function or a viability and in the right hands could be re-invigorated, re-built and re-born. This is something that you can see happening all around you as many old buildings, many fantastic buildings are destroyed to make way for a new supermarket, car park or gaudy apartment block. I can understand if something is beyond repair but when there is the opportunity and with the right level of tact and elegance to preserve those aspects of the city it should be done. These buildings in a way have given the city its character, its persona and made it interesting and the worst thing is, as I implied before, that the buildings are an after thought. So the normal process as we experience it is that the building is replaced by a Starbucks, a Tesco express or a KFC, a few months later when we pass walked past we think didn't that place used to be there?

I'm going to leave you with a further thought from Owen Luder that I think sums up the whole thought process I've vaguely outlined, 

"It's about educating people through what it could be rather than what it is."

Day 29

'Shoe' Pencil on Paper

Back to more familiar territory today with a pencil study... there's not any particular reason for today's 'draw' other than I wanted to draw an object... but as usual it conjures up a few thoughts that I'm obviously going to now allow to spill out over the next few paragraphs.

Walking is something that is a major part of my everyday existence and it's about the only exercise I manage to fit in on a daily basis. I tend to walk pretty much every where I go as I have done since I was a kid for various different reasons:

- I Cant drive nor have I ever taken a lesson.

- It's cheaper than a taxi.

- Most places I need to travel to are within a 20 min walk from where I live, for those that aren't I need to go there so I walk a bit further.

- I'm not a big fan of public transport as I tend to be a magnet for crazy meaning that all the drunks, people who shout at things that aren't there, people who smell weird and generally the type of people you never want to sit next to on a bus/train seem to always sit next to me.

- I'm a little too impatient to wait on people so at least by walking towards my destination I know I'm getting closer to it rather than waiting for a lifetime.

- It's exercise

- I suppose I kind of enjoy it.

It's one of those activities that allows us to collect our thoughts and I guess in some ways when you get to your destination I suppose that you do get that vague feeling that you've actually achieved something. It is also an activity that can be quite challenging and rewarding, as I found out fairly recently after partaking in a 50km charity hike in the Mourne mountains. Some friends of mine had got together a team but a few weeks before they were due to take part someone dropped out so I volunteered my services, even though I hadn't really had any training, it was a case of underestimating exactly what it would entail. The hike started at 12 midnight on Fri, involved a 2 hour orienteering exercise and having to walk through the night and into the next day. The physicality of the task coupled with not being able to get any time off work prior to taking part meant that it was pretty tough but I have to say that the feeling of crossing the finish line was something that was... well exhausting, really excruciatingly exhausting, in saying this though it was quite uplifting as well. I then see this drawing challenge in a similar light, I know there are going to be times where I'm going to struggle, times where I'll think what the hell have I gotten myself into... but I know for a fact that once it's finished I'll have achieved something and I'll have that sense of elation that goes hand in hand with carrying through with any challenge. I think then that over the next few months it may be important to attempt to integrate more people into the challenge as well, start up some collaborative work as this seemed to be a major part of being able to keep going during the hike, mainly as it's one thing to let yourself down but letting someone else down is much worse... so you tend to keep going to ensure that those on the journey with you keep going as well. It's definitely something worth thinking of over the next few weeks and see how I can get more people involved in the '365 Draws of the Year'.

Day 28

'Sound Installation Concept Sketches', Pen on Paper

I haven't really done anything like this is far but as a lot of my work tends to be sculptural in nature I thought it about time I integrate that into the 365 Draws project. I don't want to take to much about the specifics of the concept as it's all there for you in the drawing but the above idea is a possible collaboration with a friend of mine, who happens to be a graduate in music.

My initial hope has always been that by beginning to draw again, by sharing ideas and thoughts it will help to give me a creative kick up the arse to put it bluntly. So as I mentioned when I first started the blog the notion is at the end to have some sort of resolution to this project in terms of an exhibition, as things have ticked along it has caused me to think what about the illustrations, designs and concepts that may be drawn over the course of the project... could they also take on a life of their own, is it possible that they to could be brought to resolution themselves? 

This is definitely something I want to explore in the coming months and something I will cover in more detail in the monthly round up that I have planned. Furthermore there are two very important things I have learned since deciding to study art, firstly any ideas that pop into your head write, sketch, doodle or fabricate them using some sort of medium. The reason being that by doing so it helps the idea gain some momentum, some sort of direction it basically takes it from just being an idea and gets it that little step closer to becoming a reality, admittedly a very small step but a step none the less. The second thing is that it's important to circulate, collaborate or generally make as many connections as possible, it is by doing so that we can find new ways to take something forward. A perfect example of what I'm referring to can be seen in the above idea, I have always been interested in technology, building, sculpture and problem solving so my mind tends to work that way and allows me to generate ideas, see where there may be an issue and allow me to figure out a way to solve it. On the other hand I have no expertise in creating music or even where to start, that's where having the right connections, friends and collaborators to share these ideas with comes in. We can give something a new dimension and help it to evolve in a way we would previously not have considered as we now have that base of knowledge to build from that was previously lacking. So if anyone reading this is deciding to do anything in a creative context my advice would be firstly to write everything down as soon as possible so you can keep the idea fresh and give it life. Secondly visit places and people that have a link to what it is you want to do, make those connections and hopefully this will help to generate new outlets and directions for your ideas.

Day 27

'A Tree Somewhere' Pen on Paper

I had some extra art work on today that I need to finish by tomorrow, which will be very time consuming so decided to squeeze in a quick drawing during lunch at work. So took a little walk outside and happened upon this tree, figured that was as good a subject as any especially as I've spent countless weeks at work staring at a computer screen... so I suppose that is the reason behind today's 'draw'.

It struck me as I was sitting that a mound of wet grass staring at a rather large tree and sketching frenetically as people walked by, that this type of behaviour possibly may have come across as a little strange to say the least. It then got me thinking that out of context, the behaviour of many of the people that we see each day could be seen in a similar light, we often see things out of the ordinary and are quick to judge... at times it's hard not to. We have all come in contact with people that we would consider as being eccentric for one reason or another, however what we may consider not to be normal someone else might say is perfectly logical... so then could it be said that normality is subjective, as it depends upon the persons involved? There is also a slightly different perspective involved here as well, that being of the person responsible for the actually behaviour in question. Again there is something inside them that decides that their behaviour is appropriate, is logical and is completely normal so to them in the context they have created it all makes sense. To give an example my brother often told me of whilst travelling to work each day he would see the same woman, at the same time, pushing a pram down the same stretch of road... in rain, hail, snow or shine she was there. Not particularly strange in that context by any means, well other than the notion that she was taking a baby for a walk even in adverse weather. However when you find out that she was actually pushing a small dog in the pram rather than a baby it takes on a complete different direction and now begins to verge on the eccentric side of the scale. To me this behaviour is overly eccentric but there will be people who know her or read this who will for one reason or another see this as nothing out of the ordinary. For the most part strange or eccentric behaviour is all about perspective, it depends which shoes your feet fill as to how logical or absurd something can be.

 

Day 26

'Don't look a gift Horse in the Mouth', Pen and Pencil on Paper

Decided to take a little break from the more figurative drawing of late in favour of something a little more obscure, a little more out of the ordinary.

The whole thinking behind today's 'draw' came from a conversation about the slang terms and colloquialisms that we use on a daily basis, mainly that when overheard by people from other countries, cultures and in some cases even those living only few miles down the road they can struggle to grasp exactly what is meant. Also how in some cases just by being in close proximity to people who use these slang terms consistently that we ourselves begin to unconsciously assimilate them into your own lexicon. At this point I'm going to stray of topic slightly just to highlight how much I have wanted to use the word 'lexicon' in a phrase, conversation or sentence for quite sometime, for no real reason other than I think it's an awesome word... unfortunately it just never seemed to fit the context, thankfully my attempts at seeming intellectual during my daily ramblings gives me the perfect excuse. A further point I like to make at this juncture is the the over use of long words (something I can tend towards) more specifically though the word that define this, that being 'sesquipedalian'. I find it curious that they would choose a word to define this situation that is in itself over long... it's fair to say that I'm fascinated by words and the use of language in general which funnily enough actually brings me back to where I was before diverging on that tangent. As I had been discussing earlier we do tend to use phrases daily that only those who live in close proximity will understand, however if we move home or are in a new place for a period of time then we can pick up this lingo without realising and integrate it in to our own speech patterns. This is possibly how much of the more generalised phrases that we use on occasion like, 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth' or 'every cloud has a silver lining' have come to be used on a much more widespread basis. As over time these phrases have spread from their point of origin through a sort of cross pollination of language that has been taken from place to place.

In the case of today's drawing I was actually thinking of the origins of a phrase and how sometimes the information can become confused over time or attributed to the wrong people. With the case of the above image initially I thought that the phrase was linked to the Trojan Horse that the Greeks used to infiltrate the city of Troy, as someone in the past had told me that was where the phrase it had come from, however something about it didn't make sense in this context... if they had of looked in the gift horses mouth then surely they would have found the men hiding inside and that would mean the phrase would be that you should always look a gift horse in the mouth. So I did a little digging and found that it is actually more closely attributed to St. Jerome and was originally 'never inspect the teeth of a gift horse' a response in reply to some literary critics on his writing. The notion behind it is that a horses value is determined by its age which can be ascertained by examining its teeth, due to them becoming longer with old age... coincidentally where the phrase 'long in the tooth' is said to come from. The phrase then suggests that we should be happy when receiving a gift due to the thought behind it rather than questioning its value. So the drawing then is an amalgamation of both these thoughts to hopefully highlight that sometimes we can misinterperate things or misunderstand them for a number of reasons and it is always good to look at where things have come from to get a better apprehension of what is being implied.

Day 25

'Neanderthal' Pencil and Charcoal on Brown Paper

Decided to stray a bit from the norm today again by working outside the sketch book that I've been using thus far for the drawings. In this case using brown paper, pencil and charcoal to sketch the skull of a Neanderthal (Homo Neanderthalensis) who was thought to have been around in Europe until about 30,000 years ago, again it is an object I photographed previously in the Ulster Museum.

The reason for drawing this skull at this point was due to the whole notion of a 'Neanderthal' however rather than making reference to an extinct human species or sub species, I am instead alluding to a Neanderthal as a person who is crude, boorish or slow-witted. Also for clarification I use the term Neanderthal not to suggest that these people are by any means unintelligent, instead I allude to those types of people that make even the simplest of tasks taxing, not even because they are actually by any standards of below average intelligence. Instead it's because they have played up to their perceived inadequacy for so long it acts as an excuse to have someone else spoon feed them information and hold their hand through the most primitive activity, which in truth requires nothing more than basic common sense. I'm sure if you think back it's difficult to think of many days where you have failed to come across someone who fits the aforementioned description. I understand that there are plenty of people, who are for want of a better way to describe it quite clearly simple, however these people have many other redeeming qualities and are usually very endearing. To clarify things more I'll outline the type of people that I am thinking of... They are those loud obnoxious people that you hear talking on their phone on the bus that for some reason seem to think that by putting the phone up to your ear it creates a sound proof bubble that enables no one else to hear them regaling their BFF of that weekends sordid exploits... I don't care how cracker, beezer or belter they were I don't really need to know in that much detail. They are those types of people who for one reason or another need to have the last word in any conversation even if they aren't directly involved... did I say last word? word in this case is to eloquent a way to describe the noise that comes from their sound holes. Instead it's more of an obtrusive hum, deafening buzz or an ear-piercing shrillness that angers you so much you could vomit through your nostrils. They are the type of people that will say or do something so ridiculously offensive or intrusive that it noticeably causes the people it's directed at to feel uncomfortable, not only this but they are then incapable of apologising as they have no understanding of how it could be deemed so... instead they use the same typical defence mechanism of, ' lighten up, you know I'm only joking'. They are the type of people that have no consideration or ability to empathise with their fellow man, rather it's a case that they force their way through life with a moronic, misplaced bravado that they mistake for confidence. All the while attempting to highlight their affability through the impetuous buffoonery that they have mistaken for a sense of humour. The worst possible thing about these types of people is that they seem to be drawn to each other, which only facilitates their idiocy and allows it to continue and spread like some sort of plague... soon enough you find small huddles of these people cackling like hyenas every where you go. Is then understandable to conceive that  not everyone has managed to fully evolve yet? or is it insensitive of me to even suggest that the actual Neanderthal men that existed over 30,000 years ago be likened to the idiots of today?

Day 24

'Memento' Pencil on Paper

Today's drawing stems from something I talked about previously that being nostalgia, my reasoning for this is when tidying up some things earlier I stumbled across the above object, a small toy car that I found in my Granny's garden when I was bout 6 or 7 years old. It's amazing to me that even though it's been almost 20 years since I found it, it is one of only a few keepsakes and memento's that I would find it quite difficult to part with, as it's one of those things that for whatever reason elicits a flood of fond memories each time I stumble upon it. As I mentioned before we are by our very nature sentimental, we like to be reminded of what has passed, the memento's we keep are symbolic of attempting to hold on to what is important to us. The strange thing is although I would never consciously discard the above item, I tend to forget about it, forget that I even have it in my possession... so if it was a case that it was ever misplaced the chances are I wouldn't realise. In many ways this could be said of the actual memory itself and I want to leave you with this vaguely paradoxical notion to gestate over... if we ever completely forget to remember something then how can we remember that we ever forgot it?

Day 23

'Cuckoo' Pencil on Paper

This was the proposed drawing for yesterday but due to the fact it would have taken more time to do than I had available I postponed it until today.

Birds are something that I have used in my work before, having done some sculptural work in the past that involved creating cardboard sculptures of birds that were nesting in canvases for an art exhibit a while back... I'll try and post an image of them at some time soon as a reference point. The reason for the birds is probably due to the nature of the work I was making up to that point, most of the work I made was sculptural based and the works themselves were made from found and scavenged materials. The idea of making something functional from the things that other people throw away in many ways is mirrored in the way that birds build nests from materials that the find, in many cases creating these elaborately woven and amazing structure's. I have always liked the idea of being able to find use in the useless, or creating something from that which has seemed to have lost it's purpose and has now been discarded. Not only this but it's the notion of being able to give new purpose to those materials and creating something that is valued, admired and coveted that i find fascinating. 

Day 22

'Reading people's Faces' Pen on Napkin

I had actually started a drawing for today which I will postpone until tomorrow, the reason being I had been celebrating my birthday this weekend and as part of the celebrations was heading out for food with a few close friends. We went somewhere close to home, which fortunately was bring your own alcohol, but unfortunately rather than booking it's a case of turn up at the right time and you'll get a table or have to wait for an hour. Thanks to one of the guys phoning ahead it seemed that a table was pretty much kept for us meaning that as soon as walking through the door it was food time... but due to a mix up as another party of a similar size phoned a head too it turned out it wasn't our table, so we were ousted. This meant having to wait a lot longer than expected which almost led to me not being able to get a drawing done, again it seemed I was going to need to improvise.

As we sat around having a few beers aiming to pass the time as you normally do in any social situation, by talking about sometimes banal but often interesting and funny things. In these situations there always seems to be one point of the conversation that for one reason of another tends to stick in the mind... normally as it's a comment that's a little left of field, or something that everyone can get a lot of comedy value from. On this occasion due to a conversation opening up regarding people's obsession with how the look, one person made a comment that rather than seeing people's obvious flaws he looked at everyone the same. Which led onto the thought of rather than seeing a persons features, everyone looked the exact same... a bulbous blur with the person name appearing across the centre as the only distinguishing characteristic. At the time it was quite a funny thought but on reflection it is also quite poignant, I decided then to draw an interpretation of what had been mentioned with the only tools I had to hand a stolen Biro and a bunch of napkins. It is quite an interesting thought that although were all made up of the same characteristics, eyes, nose, mouth, ears', etc. that each of us in their own way looks unique. If we were just a bulbous blur with a name attached, would it make a difference to how we view people? It's hard to think that it wouldn't... due to the fact that much of our personality is linked to our appearance. Our thoughts on how other people perceive us, how we perceive other people and how we actually perceive ourselves has a major effect on how we project ourselves in certain social situations. Our appearance then can cause us to feel insecure, confident or even indifferent but should it be something that we get so hung up on or should we try to just let things be as they are and worry a little less, as essentially were all just a mish-mash of seemingly similar characteristics with our very own uniqueness.

Day 21

'man sleeping on the bus who then woke up and caught me starting at him', Pencil on Paper

Went up home this weekend to catch up with my family which is why I was unable to post Draw 21 until today as I have no internet access at my family home. 

The reason behind today's draw was mainly due to me having to get the bus home straight after work and rather than not fit a drawing in, I decided to use the 1 and half hour bus journey to help me keep on track. Initially I had another image in mind for today but managed to forget to bring that with me so I ended up having to improvise somewhat. After consider a few different options, and the possibility of taking of one shoe to have something to draw, I looked across and spotted the guy across for me was almost falling asleep every few seconds. At this point I knew exactly what it was that I was going to draw and all I had to do was wait for the inevitable to happen. Deciding to draw a stranger on the bus without them knowing is a difficult task, especially as you have to spend quite a lot of time staring directly at your subject. Whilst my subject was asleep this wasn't much of an issue however the people in seats near me had a clear view in my direction so it did mean I had to be careful otherwise I could have looked a little strange. To combat this I basically pretended to be holding an object that I was studying and taking a brief pause every once in a while to look at the ceiling of the bus as if I was pondering over something deep, meaningful and of the utmost importance. It all went pretty well until the guy I was drawing woke up suddenly, looked straight at me and of course there I was pad and pencil in hand, positioned in the seat so that I was directly facing him... even my veiled attempts to fall-back on my pondering face didn't seem to make him feel any more at ease. So with in a few moments he turned of the light above his head before shuffling around for his stuff and deciding to move seats, was this an awkward moment... yes, yes it was, did I deem it necessary... for the good of the project you damn right.

Day 20

'Direction', Pencil on Paper

Another image linked to my tour of the Ulster Museum last weekend, a Navigational tool from the 'Girona' a Spanish Armada galleass that in Oct 1588 sunk off Lacada Point, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It would have been used to make or take measurements on marine charts when plotting a course or setting a destination.

As I write this due to the fact it is now fairly late in the a.m. I'm now officially 25 years old, which is actually quite a frightened thought. The thought of plotting a course or direction then seems quite fitting at this moment in time, as I'm sure that most of you have went through a similar process to myself whilst growing up... That being that when your young you can't wait to be older and as you get older you start to wish you were younger again. The wonderful thing about being young is that you tend to be full of dreams, hopes and aspirations of what you want to achieve, you have that naive energy that makes you unable to feel like you could ever falter. However as get older you realise that for the most part you just ended up being full of shit, the reason being that all those things that you thought you would have done or achieved have tended to be forgotten about... maybe because something more necessary or immediate got in the way, maybe because you realised that you'd rather take a different path or maybe you just decided that you were never going to achieve what you wanted. It then seems that as each birthday rolls round you end up getting a little touch of those birthday blues as you begin contemplating in what direction your actually moving. I suppose that's the main reason I started to do these drawings and the main reason why I really don't want to fail with the task I've undertaken as this is the direction that I want to move in. Although some of what I've said my seem a little negative as if dreams and hopes are futile, it's by no means meant in that way. Instead what I hope to highlight is that we sometimes lose direction, travel on the wrong course completely, or just run aground due to our own mistakes or inadequacies... it's only by realising this though that were able to readjust and take action. There is something I once read that has always stuck in my head and probably sums this notion up better than I can,

"nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely" - Auguste Rodin

It's true... even though something seems like a waste of time after it's over we know that we either never want to experience that thing again, if we did we would do it differently or we would take the positives from what we've learned and apply it else where. So if at any time you feel things aren't going the way you planned, just remember that the world is round, not flat... as a result if you travel far enough in the wrong direction you'll eventually end up back where you started, at that point you can use your experiences to make sure that you move in the right direction next time. 

  

Day 19

'View from Ulster Museum Walkway' Pen on Paper

This is something I want to do a lot more of over the course of the 365 draws, that being to draw people going about their everyday life. I'm sure most of you would agree that when in any public place, there is something strangely fascinating about observing the people around you doing what ever it is that they are doing. Whether you notice them as they are attractive, old, angry, irritating or just slightly unhinged you can't deny that a space has a lot more warmth, vibrancy or character when other people are present. As an example if you are to think of any time when you've been alone at home minutes tend to seem like hours, especially when your waiting on someone to get home. You sit there vegetating in front of a television screen that your not really paying attention to as for some reason every time no one else is at home, it is always occupied by some horribly awful drivel that you would never even consider watching but you watch it anyway as the TV is your only company. However as soon as you hear that key twisting in the lock your spirits automatically lift as you realise, finally someone to help kill the silence. The people around us everyday are important so it's good to sometimes take the time to notice them, as you never know where that could lead. Maybe it will be something that causes you to think about things a little differently, possibly it can help give you some much needed inspiration or reassurance or maybe... just maybe... you'll turn round at the exact moment that someone will do something that is completely and hilariously embarrassing, then you can have good laugh about it later as you regale your friends with the story.  

Day 18

'Mickey Mouse', Pen and Marker on Paper

Following on from yesterday's ramblings and that whole notion of something stealing your gaze, this again was an object from the Ulster Museum which struck me as being visually interesting right away but it wasn't until I took the time to read the description of the object that I got the full picture of exactly what it was. As you can probably tell the above image is a Gas Mask and it was used during World War II, the thing that makes this gas mask particularly interesting though is that it's actually a child's.

During the second World War, bombing raids were responsible for essentially bringing the war to the everyday people of Britain's doorstep, as if this wasn't bad enough the threat of chemical warfare was a very realistic one. Whilst adults understood the concept of the importance of wearing a gas mask for protection against harmful chemicals, many children were frightened by the thought of it... and lets face it gas masks aren't one of those things that we think of in any way shape or form as friendly and welcoming. The solution then was that a child's gas mask was designed that resembled 'Mickey Mouse', in fact that was the nickname giving to the mask, the notion being that their affection and familiarity with the character would help them to feel more at ease with having to wear the mask.

 It is a strange solution to the problem in some ways, but on the other hand I can see the logic in how the designer came to this conclusion. Mainly as familiarity does help us to feel more comfortable, for example think about the last time you were unsettled by something on the way home on a dark night. It is only when we get home to those surroundings we have become so accustomed to, our own 'safe haven' that we finally feel reassured that all's going to be fine. It's possibly something to do with people by their very nature being creatures of habit, we like routine, we like structure and we like that most of what we do doesn't put us too far out of our own comfort zone. The unfortunate consequence is that often we can become complacent or a little stuck in our ways, it's something I've been thinking may have an effect on me as this project progresses. The more habitual I become I run the risk of becoming a little uninspired or apathetic with what it is that I'm trying to do, which is one of the reasons why the drawings so far have for the most part been fairly different. By selecting different techniques, styles and subject matter I'm confident that I can stave the monotony and stop it from ever becoming a problem. 

Day 17

'Man and Sword' Pen on Paper

Continuing on from my expedition to the Ulster Museum in search of some much needed inspiration over the weekend, today's drawing is of a figurine that can be found in one of the display cases. I only had a limited period of time at the weekend to get round the museum so all the photographs I took were of the things that instantly stood out to me. The figurine itself is carved from Ox bone, of Japanese origin and although small and unassuming for some reason it grabbed my attention after catching a glance of it whilst rushing through the museum. I find it strange how when we glimpse something in our periphery, no matter how subtly we catch it, it has the exact same effect each time of stopping you dead in your tracks in order to investigate... not only this but you could be completely focused on or engaged in carrying out another task and yet we still have to stop. This curiosity is a great thing but also has a habit of causing a lot of social ineptitude and embarrassment. The act I'm referring to is that thing we've all done where you recognise someone out of the corner of your eye and before taking the time to verify it is in fact them, you decide it would be a great idea to scream at he top of your lungs 'Yeeeeeeeeoooooh! what's the craic!'... only to realise a few seconds later that it's not the person you thought it was. So as you stand there fumbling over some sort of apology, your berry brown face highlighting the level of embarrassment that that particular exchange has caused, you can really appreciate the value of foresight. Actually only a few days ago on the way home from work someone pulled up alongside me, took the time to get out of his car before screaming 'KEVIN!!!' whilst standing about 2 metres away, his arms flailing and grinning like a buffoon. After a slight pause and without saying anything else he jumped back into his car and sped off, so still not sure if he actually mistook me for Kevin or he just really liked the 'Home Alone' movies and wanted to share his affection with complete strangers by bellowing out random quotes... either way it was quite surreal.

Day 16

'Hard Boiled' Pen on Paper

Took me a little while to getting round to updating the text for this due to being pretty exhausted after a particularly long weekend, the main thing is the drawing was done in time.

The drawing is in reference to an idea for a short film, based on old 'Film Noir' movies, it's something I've often toyed with that idea of trying to make a short film, mainly as I have a great love for film. Talking to an old friend over the weekend the recurring notion is always that of some sort film based on the notion of the 'Hard Boiled' detective, the typical anti-hero that's become a convention in most modern day films. The reason for thinking along the lines of  Film Noir is mainly due to the style and tone of those types of films as they tend to be quite dark, also they tend not to fall into that trap that a lot of modern films can fall into by dumbing down or sign posting the outcome or resolution of the story... instead leaving you second guessing right up until the end. This is definitely something I want to look into again in the future, who knows maybe that can be next years project creating a film in 365 days?

Day 15

'Iron Helmet with bronze mounts', Pencil on Paper

Had a chance to head down to the Ulster Museum today, so took some time to take a few photo's of things of interest to draw over the next week or so. I've been meaning to take a trip to the Ulster Museum for a while so the drawing project gave me the perfect excuse to.. well stop making excuses for not going.

I was always fairly interested in History when I was at school and although I never really kept up that interest or pursued it I'm still fascinated by history. In the case of the above object, as the title suggests, it is an Iron helmet with bronze mounts that was found at Lough Henry in County Down and is thought to have been used around the 13th or 14th century. Although I don't know that much about it the thought that this object was in use 100's of years ago is amazing to me, the fact that it still exists even in it's deteriorated state is testament to the memory of that object, where it came from, how it was made and how it ended up being found again. This is the thing I think that makes the objects in a museum interesting to me, the notion that each object has its own identity and its own story. This may make me seem overly sentimental but when you actually think about the things that you possess yourself it should help you come to the same conclusion. I'm sure if you think about objects in your home, all those things in your life you interact with on a daily basis they have some sort of identity there is some sort of story associated with it. We have these stories as it is in our nature to be sentimental, to want to hold onto those things that we find precious or important, the stories then are our justification and rationale for doing this. However in many cases the things that we hold onto are for the most part worthless... for example look in the closest drawer you can find, in there you will discover at least one of the following:

- A battery that doesn't work.
- A Biro that's broken.
- One sock with a hole in it.
- An old Christmas/Birthday card.
- A piece of paper with a note scribbled on it that no longer makes sense
- A loyalty card for a food outlet with almost all the stamps filled in.
- A business card for a person/company/taxi service that you've never used.
- Screws belonging to some furniture you built about 10 years ago.
- Some sort of audio/visual equipment (scart, TV aerial, sound cables etc.).
- 7 or 8 menus for the some chinese restaurant.
- An elastic band and paper clip

I could go on and normally I do but I'm sure you get the idea, we are prone to hoard things with this just in case attitude. So whether we like it or not we are all susceptible to nostalgia we need objects as proof that something has happened. In no way do I mean to imply that this is by any means a negative thing, actually it is probably this sense of sentimentality that makes us want to understand more about how we came to be in this place in time by looking back at those objects that for some reason or another are now important to us.    

Day 14

'Bouquet', Pen and Marker on Paper

Keeping this one short for now but may elaborate a bit more tomorrow, essentially felt like doing some still life today but knew I wanted a bit of colour involved... I noticed this on my desk and it reminded me on a bouquet of flowers in a vase so this my vague homage to all those paintings you see of flowers in vases, here's looking at you Van Gogh.

Day 13

'Writer's Block', Pen and Marker on Paper

Was struggling today, as I have been for most of the week, to think of what to draw... all though I know there is a multitude of things around me to take inspiration from sometimes it's difficult to put pen to paper, in a way I'm suffering from my own version of writer's block. Which as you can probably tell inspired today's drawing so in the end it's not all bad... but it is abundantly clear that I do need to take a different approach to deciding what to draw, otherwise I run the risk of not being able to complete the drawing a day challenge. The funny thing is I envisioned coming to a point where I would hit what marathon runners like to refer to as 'the Wall' I just didn't think I would hit that wall so soon. In saying this though I think the main problem is I haven't really spent any time planning the drawings, where the possibilities begin and in which direction I can take them. As only a few moments of brainstorming earlier led to today's drawing I think I need to spend a little more time doing this over the next few days, so that essentially I have a cache of ideas that I can delve into and expand upon each day. Furthermore I need to get a lot more research done this weekend to help fuel the process, as sometimes even the slightest stimulus can generate enough energy to keep things moving. I see this then as something that can be overcome but do foresee me probably hitting 'the wall' again in the future, more than likely multiple times... each time though I should be a little better equipped to deal with it.

Day 12

'Look Around You', Pencil on Paper

Had A little trouble getting access to 'Blogger' tonight after work so the post is a little late again this evening, but none the less here is Draw 12.

The reason for today's drawing is one of reflection basically due to some recent events and a conversation I had earlier today reminiscing about childhood. It's strange how when we tell a story about something that happens to us in the years gone by, one of those 'I remember when...' moments that some things tend to stick in your mind so vividly that you can recount them in the most minute of detail. Whilst on the other hand many elements of the story fade into obscurity, those 'I'm not exactly sure...' moments, as over time you decide which are the important things to remember and cling to those. In many ways it's not too dissimilar to remembering someone who is no longer in your life, for the most part we focus on remembering the most important elements, that being the positive times in your relationship, as focussing on the negatives just seems to petty and inappropriate. It is also in these times of reflection that we question why we wasted what time we've had or why we took certain things for granted in the first insance and to refer to that old cliché you indeed 'never know what you had until it's gone'.

 This brings me to the story that the drawing refers to, that being I remember when I was quite young, only about 7 or 8, My family and I were going on some sort of trip somewhere?... but I'm not exactly sure where?... unfortunately this is one of the less important elements of the story so my mind has chosen to neglect it. What I do remember though, so clearly in fact that the thought of it still makes me shudder, is waking up that morning and not being able to open my eyes, and I mean literally. I understand now that at the time I had some grit in one eye which damaged it slightly meaning that they both became infected thus I was unable to open my eyes. However when your about 7 or 8 years old the concept of understanding medical afflictions is not something you've had the opportunity to fully grasp yet, as such the sheer terror I felt is something I don't think I've even come close to since. Luckily it wasn't permanent but still to this day the thought of losing something that I rely on so much frightens me in a way that I can't even describe. In saying this though there is a positive that can be drawn from losing something or even the thought of it. That being that in moments after the initial shock it often causes you to take a step back, look around you and re-evaluate things. Now I'm by now means suggesting that as a 7 or 8 year old boy after the initial shock I had some sort of great revelation or epiphany, in fact I'm pretty sure after waking up from surgery the only thing I had was some ice cream... but thinking back now it does make me realise that sometimes you do need to acknowledge that when you actually think about it, everything that exists around you in it's own unique way is pretty damn spectacular, so why not make the most of it whilst you can.

Day 11

'A Bear waiting beside the waterfall catching a Salmon in his mouth', Pencil on Paper

An old friend of mine I've haven't seen or talked to in what seems like a lifetime contacted me the other day to wish me luck with the project and asked me if I do requests, that being to draw a Bear waiting beside the waterfall catching a Salmon in his mouth... So I figured why the hell not?

By the way if anyone else has any requests feel free to get in touch, it could be quite a good means by which to maintain the stability of the project by giving me a feed of new ideas and tangents to explore... also knowing some of the people I've met or known in the past some of the ideas will be interesting to say the least. I'm keeping tonight's post fairly short and sweet as what else is there to say about the drawing other than it's a drawing of a Bear, who just so happens to be waiting beside the waterfall, possibly in the off chance of catching a Salmon in his mouth...

Day 10

'30 seconds to see 15 minutes to complete', Pencil on Paper

I really wanted to carry on the theme from yesterday by doing a drawing of another building in Belfast, but due to limited time this evening choose to do something a little more different... well not in terms of the image obviously but in terms of how I approach it.

I spent a week in Paris a few years back and the Architecture in the city was some of the most beautiful I'd seen but the real notion behind the above image stems from a thought after someone commented to me on yesterdays drawing, that being about the iconography of an object or in this case a building. Although yesterday the drawing was only of a small portion of the building it is instantly recognisable as the building it depicts. Although I am by no means an authority on the subject of Architecture, in a sense to me what makes most great Architecture great is that it is instantly recognisable and it has a resonance. A little while back a friend of mine, who also happens to be an artist, was involved in a drawing workshop with some Architecture students... the aim being to get them to think more creatively about their approach to drawing. Whilst brainstorming  a few possibilities I thought about using the idea of the iconic aspect of famous buildings as a means by which to get them to think differently about how they approach drawing or designing a building. The concept was as follows:

1. Choose a list of well known highly regarded buildings and collate images of each of them to be made into a slide show.

2. These images would then be shown to the students, who would be made aware that they collectively had a set amount of time to study each building, after which the image would be removed from view.

3. It would be at this point they then had a set amount of time to draw the building from memory, and again this would be timed.  

4. With each new image the length of time they had to study it would decrease, as would the length of time they had to draw it.

5. Points would then be awarded to the students based on which drawings most effectively mirror the building  they depict.

The outcome hopefully being that in order to compensate for the amount of time they had they would begin to focus on the elements of the building that were most important, the features that give the building its identity that make it recognisable. Thus highlighting this notion that the reason this particular building is iconic is because it has its own unique personality or character traits that make it stand out, if anyone says the name of any of these places we already know what it looks like whether we've had the opportunity to study it in detail or glimpsed at it for a fleeting moment.

After all that I don't think she actually decided to use the above concept in her drawing workshop, but none the less the idea has stuck with me. I then applied the concept to the above drawing to solve the dilemma of only having about 45 mins to complete a drawing before the day was done, so I spent 30 seconds looking at an image of the Eiffel Tower and then had 15 mins to draw it, being sure to fill in as much detail as possible in that time... there are few details that are a bit off but all in all I feel it was a decent attempt. In fact I still believe this could be quite an interesting workshop to run sometime so this may be something to revisit at a later time.

Day 09

'Bank of Ireland', Pencil on Paper

This is probably my favourite building in Belfast and it's a shame that it's unused at the moment, I particularly like that the front façade faces directly down Royal Avenue meaning it's visible all along the main street. I actually decided to draw the front face of the building whilst having coffee and looking out the window of the recently opened 'Grand Central' along Royal Avenue which by the way is a quite a nice place to have a 'cuppa' if your ever passing by and in need of some refreshment. Doing a little digging I also found out, for anyone who's curious, that the building was designed by 'J V Downes' in 1928, completed in 1929 and apparently is the first Art Deco building in Ulster... so there's a few factoids for you there too.

A few years back I actually had the privilege of getting access to the interior of the building when looking for some exhibition space and as you'd imagine the building is as magnificent inside as it is out. In fact it would make an excellent space for an exhibition and I've often thought of seeing if it would be possible to organise something there. The main hall itself whilst small has a raised ceiling and because of it's position natural light floods in creating a feeling that it's much bigger, it would be great area for large scale paintings or prints. Throughout the rest of the building there's quite a lot of smaller rooms and extra spaces that would work really well for setting up installation work. As well as this a lot of the features and fittings that existed when the bank was functioning are still there, the likes of the the Vault and a safe that is seemingly in the middle of the room due to wall being missing could be used to great effect to create some site specific work. There is definitely a lot of potential for something to happen there it just needs the right people to take it into their heads and utilise such a wasted and wonderful space.

Week 1

With the first week officially over it seems fitting to reflect on the progress so far, and to be honest so far things have been going well. My main task was to do at least one drawing each day and I've been managing that with relative ease thus far, although at times the time-scale I have to complete the drawings can be fairly tight. The Blog also seems to be working as a solution as to the issues of how to be able to hold myself to account, maintain that element of pressure that I need to remain driven whilst also providing an immediate outlet for the drawings as the idea works towards its resolution. Furthermore the Blog also works well as a way to record and document the evolution of the idea, this was something that was usually lacking in my older work. As rather than compile the ideas, notes and works into a tangible format most of it was lost due to my inability to document the work. Instead things existed as fleeting moments, failed and discarded experiments or verbal creative outburst before swiftly vanishing into the ether. To refer to an earlier post the most important part of the work is often how it moves from conception to realisation, something which I became particularly invested in after reading Sol Le Witts' 'Paragraphs on Conceptual art' as part of a dissertation I had been working on. In particular the following excerpt peaked my interest,

"If the artist carries through his idea and makes it into visible form, then all the steps in the process are of importance. The idea itself, even if not made visual, is as much a work of art as any finished product. All intervening steps –scribbles, sketches, drawings, failed works, models, studies, thoughts, conversations– are of interest. Those that show the thought process of the artist are sometimes more interesting than the final product." 


As Sol Le Witt alludes to the process is sometimes more interesting then the actual outcome, as it's the part of the process that we are most creatively invested... afterwards the work acts as a reminder of what has come before it, all the energy and inertia that carried the idea to fruition now exists only in the history of that object. It is then only by sharing the history of the completed idea that the viewer can become more invested themselves. I see the Blog then as my way to bridge the gap from conception to realisation and provides the medium by which to share this most effectively.

This week has also been about learning what issues are likely to inhibit my progress and how I can prepare myself to overcome those issues. At this moment the issues all seem to revolve around time, or the lack therof, working shifts that start late in the day and end late in the evening leaves me with around a two hour window (morning or night) to complete the work. It has also meant that although the drawings are completed it isn't until late that night that they can be posted. However this is definitely an issue which should partially resolve with experience as I adapt and become more efficient over time. A further bonus I've found stems from writing about what I'm doing this enables me to evolve with the idea and provide new thoughts and tangents to follow along the way. Again over time and with more posts the writing should also become more fluid, more natural and hopefully help to provide a good insight for those that are following the idea.

In a sense what I've found this week, as with most seemingly simple ideas and tasks, the premise of the idea in theory is as direct as the motion from A to B. However in practise it is much more complicated as we never consider the vastness of the number of variables and obstacles that we will encounter meaning that the process become much more convoluted than we initially anticipate, so instead we tend to move more from A to Z by passing through B, C, D, etc. The best thing is that hindsight really is a wonderful thing, and with the experience I've gained thus far on my side I can be much better prepared for the week ahead, and as my experience grows exponentially so to does my preparedness for the following week.

Day 08

'Attack', Pencil on Paper.

This came from an idea I'm hoping to look at more in the future, that being to make basic furniture, household objects and everyday re-usable items from cardboard. The items would be made in such a way that they would initially be the box that they actually came in, they could then be broken down and re-assembled to create what ever object you chose, thus minimising waste. The thought would be that they would also come with a themed design of your choosing or you could complete the design yourself, either on-line or by hand, essentially allowing for the possibility for each item to be unique. The drawing itself then is a concept sketch for a possible theme based on B-movies where elements of a city scape in mid destruction could be drawn or printed on the item with the owner able to dream up their own monster or villian that is in the midst of attacking the city.     

Day 07

'The inconvenience of situations', Pen on Paper 

Today's drawing is just a quick one as got some other things to do this evening so will be shooting off soon... Thankfully out of work a bit earlier too so gave me plenty of time to get the post sorted, and make sure I got enough time to fit the drawing in. So I'll keep things short and sweet for now maybe add a bit more of an update tomorrow... the notion for this came from a general conversation after watching an old horror movie about werewolves, not particularly sure which one?... there was just something about the thought of a werewolf trying to live every day life, being allergic to every day silver household objects and how inconvenient most normal situations could be that it made me laugh until I got that feeling where the back of your head hurts.    

Day 06

'The slow death of the English language?', Pencil on paper

Another day another Draw, the whole thinking about this stems for toying around with phrases and sayings, again continuing on the idea of word play, and the images that we associate with those familiar words.

The iconography of the skull will forever be closely linked to death and also Hamlet with its famous 'to be or not to be' soliloquy, it's normally one of the first things that comes to mind for me anyway... so the concept for this came from reading a ridiculous story once that in order to get High School students interested in Shakespeare it was going to be converted to 'txt speak', Apparently the notion is that it would help students to understand Shakespeare more easily which is quite possibly one of the most idiotic and counter productive things I have ever heard in my life... 'txt speak' is one of those things which I tend to use as sparingly as possible as it is, mostly as it irritates the hell out of me, It's also something which for the most part tends to make little or no sense... especially when an entire sentence is constructed with words that don't have any vowels or letters are inexplicably replaced by similar sounding letters. 

e.g " i iz soz 4 d smellzzzz u hd 2 sufr i juz pizzd myslf n dud a shet n meh pantz"

You need a fucking translator and a instruction manual to even come close to understanding half the stuff people write, honestly Shakespeare must be spinning on his own axis in his grave he's so angry... and in a bid to anger his bard ghostly self once more I found an excerpt from the aforementioned Hamlet Soliloquy lovingly reconstructed into idiot speak:

"2 b, r nt 2 b dat iz d Q wthr ts noblr n d mnd 2 sufr d slngs & arowz of outrAjs fortn r 2 tAk armz agnst a C f trblz, & by oposn nd em?"

The slow death of the English language indeed... will the over use of 'txt speak' slowly dumb down the masses, is it better '2b' or would you rather 'not to be'? That's essentially what the drawing references... well that and skulls look pretty cool! 

Day 05

'I sold my soul to the Breville', Pen on Paper

Decided to continue on with yesterday's theme of wordplay, again this is an idea that's been floating round my head for a while just never had any real impetus to follow it through, actually it seems that has been the general theme of the week so far... the revisiting of old ideas. In fact thinking about it, the drawings will most likely continue along this route until I take some time to get some new stimuli to fuel the whole process, think that's probably what most of this weekend will involve, taking photographs, collecting images and doing a bit of good old fashioned research to give the whole thing a bit more direction. In many ways to me that is possibly the most important part of the work all the little, sketches, scribbles, notes and forgotten ideas that take you from one process to the next so it might be quite interesting to incorporate that into the Blog from time to time to help give the whole project some narrative and see how things are evolving... Any way until the next draw stay classy.

Day 04

'Lions' Share', Pencil and Marker on paper.

Just started back to work today after a long break over Christmas, which I'm sure for all of those of you who have recently went back to work can understand is an undeniably horrible feeling. It's amazing that no matter how much time you have to prepare yourself, the instance the realisation of starting work again enters your brain it generates a sense of apathy so overwhelming that ever sinew, every synapse grinds to a halt, rendering you practically incapable of doing much of anything... On top of this you seem to spend the entire morning and journey to your place of work creating scenarios that involve you somehow not having to go, things like:

- Getting seriously injured, but not so seriously injured that you may die or be unable to go out that weekend.

- Someone has taken seriously ill and you must rush to their aid, but not so seriously ill that they might die or leave you unable to go out that weekend.

- Your house collapsed around it's own gravity before imploding, but not so much so that you don't have a place to live or somewhere lacking in gravity in which to hold a party before going out that weekend.

- You happened to catch a flame whilst trying to griddle some beef, but not so seriously a flame that you would die or be unable to eat the beef before going out at the weekend.

Pretty much some of the most convoluted and ridiculous set of circumstances possible will flash through your brain and for an instance you'll actually seriously consider them just to put it all off for another day. Instead your forced to hang on to those tiny moments that actually exist to stave off the process of actually beginning work, staying in bed that little bit longer, pretending that you really need to go to the bathroom and hiding there for at least 5 mins, reorganising all the stationary on your desk so that it's perpendicular to each other and purposefully looking for something you don't really need or already know where to find as your convinced you can't work without it, all in all the amount of effort we put into trying to get out of work maybe it's better to just get on with it!... which rather untidily brings me to the actually point of this post the Drawing.

This like yesterdays's drawing is a concept for a T-shirt design I've had in my head for a while, like a lot of work I've done in the past it references my partiality for plays on words, something you'll probably see will become more evident over the course of this project. Also I don't exactly know why but this image never fails to raise a smirk on my face so hopefully it will do the same for yourself.

Day 03

'Pigeon', Pen on paper

The thought of drawing this came to me quite sometime ago but I just never got round to it, It was a possible T-shirt design stemming from the whole notion of pigeons being vermin or 'rats with wings', the bird that everyone recognises but not many people seem to like due to the stigma surrounding them being supposed carriers of many diseases, that and the fact there everywhere shitting on everything.

Day 02

'Self Portrait', Pen on Paper

Being the second day of the New Year and after recovering from the events of New Years Eve/Day I was feeling a little self reflective, so what better as a subject matter than myself.

Day 01

'The beginning of the end', Pen on Paper

I suppose it might be an idea to say a little about where the drawing came from or why I did it, in this case it stems from one of the main reasons I do so little drawing. That being I always find when deciding to draw is I never know what to draw or where to start... at the risk of almost falling at the first hurdle I decided to look back to some old work I had done in the past a lot of which tending to reference nature, probably something to do with growing up in the middle of nowhere?... so that's basically why I did this.

The 365 Draws of the Year.

Hey folks! for those of you who know me cheers for looking this up, for those that don't know me my names Don Miller and welcome to the '365 Draws of the Year'.

The idea for this project is essentially due to the fact that since leaving Art College I haven't been making work on a regular basis, and coming up to New Year's rather than do what most people do and give up something that they know deep down they enjoy or begin something that they know deep down they're going to hate, I figured would it not be better to commit to something that I actually want to do? Hence I challenged my self to do at least one drawing a day for the entire year of 2011, not exactly a new concept by any stretch of the imagination but one which I see as challenging, most likely rewarding and hopefully quite attainable.

The Blog was a secondary thought, which explains why it took a few days before it appeared, the reason for it being that the main issue I faced was how to document my progress and I see the Blog as a good way for people to follow the development of the idea and also to hold me to account if I don't manage to remain committed all year. The aim will simply be to create at least one drawing each day for year to be posted on the Blog, hopefully on the day they are created, although this may sometimes be difficult as there are times when I'm without internet access. There is no particular theme for the drawings themselves so there may be some still life, landscapes, design sketches, illustrations pretty much what ever happens... happens. I have know idea what the eventual outcome will be yet and as the idea is still in it's early stages it's difficult to give it a fully defined outcome... but the initial notion was to exhibit the work in some form at the beginning of next year, but I will be keeping you up to date as the idea grows and evolves.

Thanks again and here's to a Cromulent 2011!

Don