In 2020 I realised I am way more of a perfectionist than I thought I was. The solution to that is to churn out as many happy digital birds as possible.
Day 18: A Brilliant Budgie.
I’m posting them over on my Instagram first (@artjmtinsta) so you can follow along there.
I had bigger plans, as ever, to post more and complete more projects. But overall I think I’ve done well this year. I finished the Beardies in Need Christmas cards (I swear I will post about each one soon), finished some pieces in lockdown and even had a stall at a craft fair. It could be worse.
I have one more day at work and then out of office is going on. I think everyone really needs a break this year.
So, let’s ignore the Tier 4 stuff and the fact that so many of us can’t see friends and family. Instead, I’m going to think about what I can have this Christmas.
One thing is, I hope, plenty of time to just do nothing. Maybe Mario kart, maybe a board game, maybe just ditto watching the with a glass of wine and a fire.
Today after work I finished a long overdue Christmas card. It’s going to my parent’s grandparents and includes their two favourite kinds of dogs. It’s been a while since I did a good old fashioned step-by-step post.
As always, starting with the pencil drawing.I hadn’t done any blurred backgrounds in a while (you know that Nigella Lawson effect? So it was fun to try something a bit different.Finally I added in the white highlights and filled in the text.
If I don’t post again before, I hope that you have wonderful break. It’s been a tough year but, we’ll make it through.
I’ve got so much to share! I thought about posting all the updates in one post but decided it’s more fun to track each project individually. Anyone feel differently? I’d love to know!
Last year I started this. It was going to be for a Beardies in Need charity event but I didn’t finish it in time. I’m hoping it can go in the raffle of the next event. I started right when I was getting back into painting, so it’s nice to see how far I’ve come already.
I really need some more very fine paint brushes. At the moment I’ve only got one and it’s looking worse for wear. I tried adding finer details and building up texture that way. It’s not an ideal way of working but I think I’m pretty happy with the results so far.
I’m worried about losing the depth of colour, especially as I add the lightest part of the fur (it’s basically white). I suppose I’ll know better when I go back to it with fresh eyes.
That’s all for now. I plan to tackle the right side next time.