I saw a cool coaster tonight at Wenona Lodge by the #On The Table campaign. This one was by musician and artist Lido Pimienta. I think it’s awesome that they are using art that goes on every table to promote awareness on consent.
Tag: art
Amazon Art Supplies
I picked up new drawing pencils so that I could draw something to colour with my new pencil crayons. This set of 18 sketch pencils, 3 charcoal pencils, 3 paper erasable pens, 1 pencil extender, 1 craft knife, 1 eraser, and 1 plastic rubber cost only $18. It’s a steal compared to what you’d find at a store.
I also bought some colourless blenders that make pencil crayons look super smooth. I also got a sketchbook that I didn’t realize was teeny tiny! Oops, I guess that’s the downside of shopping online is that I have to closely read all the specs before buying.
One Month of Drawing
I did it. I sketched 31 things in 31 days, doing sketches daily (for the most part) during March as part of Articulations Filler Up sketchbook challenge. While not all of the drawings were particularly great it taught me many things:
- Not to be so self-critical. The reason I used to not draw much was because often I would trash everything I started because I didn’t like it. I also erased often leading to many unfinished works. Having to finish many in a short time left me less time to be critical
- You can make art with anything. Living the example of my grandfather who made art on literally anything I also didn’t limit myself. Some days I drew with fancy pencils, other days ball-poit pens or lead pencils
- Making time. My excuse for not drawing (or any other thing for that matter) was that I didn’t have enough time. Time is always available if I make an effort to try to set some aside.
- Ideas come from anything. Don’t know what do draw? Draw the glass you are drinking out of, the beer you’re drinking. Literally anything is a subject.
Pages From My Sketchbook
This month I’m taking part in the 2015 Filler Up Sketchbook Challenge. I’ve started to fill my book up with a bunch of daily sketches. A lot of them aren’t very good but I thought I’d share a few of my favourites.
2015 Filler Up Sketchbook Challenge
As you know, I really wanted to find time to “do more art” this year. I even bought new sketchbooks. However, this still hasn’t resulted in much drawing as of yet. “Busy” seems to always be the excuse. But I’ve been a good kind of busy.
Anyways, today I saw my friend post this Sketchbook Challenge by the Earl Selkirk Gallery in Toronto. The challenge is to encourage people to draw for the month of March and have their sketchbooks on display in April. The registration fee was only $5 so I jumped on the chance.
I think this will be a nice push towards the goal. It’s interesting how something offline could be a bigger motivator than proving I can do this to my online audience. I will try very hard to provide at least 31 sketches by the time March is over and see the effect drawing has on my life!
Hesitance and the Idea of Perfectionism
I’ve always wanted to be a creative person. I always thought that it was a goal to work towards. I love buying countless notebooks, pens and art supplies to encourage myself to explore different creative avenues.
Many of those things remained untouched.
And it’s not because I am lazy, or that I didn’t have time. The reason for this artist-block (for lack of a better term) was that I was hesitant. I was waiting for the perfect idea to draw, paint or write down. I thought it would be wasteful if I used any of those supplies on an idea that wouldn’t be good enough (to show someone and/or blog about) or that I would mess up.
Now I’m realizing, it’s more wasteful that these things sit in my drawers. I won’t get better at drawing, painting, writing if I just sat staring at the things in my desk in perfect condition. I should stop fearing that I’ll “waste” these supplies, as they can always be replenished. What can’t be replaced is the time I spent thinking this way.
Just as I am challenging myself to hit “Publish” more on this blog, I will get over the same hesitance when putting a pen (paint, crayon, whatever) to paper.
New Year New Sketchbooks
I want to encourage myself to do more fine art this year. I used to when I was younger and as I grew up my main excuse was that I had no time. I’m starting to realize that, that’s not a reasonable excuse. There’s always time to pursue the things you love, you just have to decide to actually do them.
I decided the best way to start drawing and painting more again was to buy myself some blank canvases, or new sketchbooks! That way I wouldn’t be self-consciously comparing myself to things I used to be able to do. I Â headed to Michael’s and bought myself two different ones: one for dry media, and one for mixed.
For mixed media, I purchased the Strathmore Mixed Media Art Journal. The 64 page softcover journal has acid free paper that is 100% cotton. It’s perfect for all sorts of media including watercolours. The cover also has this sleek smooth texture which I am in love with.
I also wanted a sketchbook for general doodling and dry materials. I chose the Artist’s Loft Fashion Journal in orange. At $20, it was well worth it for 110 pages. I also liked that it was a bright orange colour to separate it from the other book and give it a pop of colour when travelling with it. Since I moved to the city, I plan to take it around and find inspiration outside my house.
I love both these books and I hope to fill them with things this year and share them with all of you.
Random Flowers
Here are some random photos of flowers mom bought. For some reason they remind me of ketchup chips.
Curating Awesome On Tumblr
Recently, I made a personal Tumblr page. Obviously, I’ve used Tumblr before but they were all for clients or themed websites like photos of my dog, music, pokemon chibis, elegant books and of course my photography blog. I previously never saw the value of having a page for reblogging or sharing whatever tickled my curiosities. Then I made one.
Interestingly, I’ve gained a modest following in the short time I’ve had it. I didn’t think people would find my content curation that interesting, but apparently they do! I mix in both original (that I’ve created) and things others made that I find interesting, inspiring or just down right entertaining. I’m also going to be venturing into the world of graphic design and creative photography projects I’ve been wanting to attempt for a while. Don’t worry I’m not leaving this place! Tumblr is just quicker and easier for sharing things instantly. I’ll probably share the projects here, once they are more refined (don’t want to bog you guys down!).
Looking at other people’s Tumblrs, I find it fascinating that even blogs with a huge reblog ratio have a certain personality and character. Now in using it, I totally understand why the network is popular, beyond humour blogs.
You can find me on Tumblr at teepoo.tumblr.com.
Shoe Museum, Weird Stuff and More at Nuit Blanche
On Saturday, I attended Scotiabank’s Nuit Blanche, the all-night art event in Toronto. I’ve been a couple of times in the past few years but never into any of the museums. This year, I checked out the Bata Shoe Museum and the Art Gallery of Ontario along with the weird Nuit Blanche exclusive exhibitions. Here are some of my favourite photos from the night.
My full Nuit Blanche set can be seen on Flickr.
Tiana Feng 