I don’t know where the time went. The days seem to have blurred together…

I shared my first ten drawings for the InkTober challenge more than two weeks ago. Then I took a short break—from posting, not drawing—because we had a long weekend in recognition of Canada’s Thanksgiving holiday and I wanted to enjoy the extra time with my family and friends fully. Because of that, I fell behind in posting by a few days; and although I continued posting my drawings daily, on my Instagram page, I kept delaying uploading them here.

I can’t tell you why. Not because I don’t want to. I simply don’t have what feels like a good enough reason for why I didn’t.

Now Inktober is over; but I never caught up from the short break I took. I have two illustrations remaining to post on my Instagram page, but I will finish the challenge.

This post includes my drawings that illustrate the InkTober prompts from Day 11 to Day 20 of the challenge. A few of which I’m truly pleased with.

 

The eleventh prompt from the list was Snow. It made me think about how parts of the country were already blanketed in snow at the beginning of October. Some of the storms that brought multiple feet of snow with them arrived at the end of September.

As much as I love snow, I’m happy that I live in a part of the country where we’re having a definite fall this year. We get to see the leaves change colour and we’re being gently eased into winter and its frigid temperatures.

 

I decided not to be literal for the Day 12 prompt: Dragon.

Instead, I was inspired by memories from this past summer when I saw more dragonflies in the space of a few days than I ever remember seeing before in my entire adult life. If you click on the image of the dragonfly that I drew to illustrate the prompt you’ll be taken to my Instagram page where you can see a series of photos I took, including one of a red-bodied dragonfly.

 

I love sitting in front of a fire, whether it’s in a fireplace or an outdoor fire pit. I enjoy feeling the warmth the flames of a fire generate. Multiple studies now confirm that sitting in front of a fire doesn’t just warm our bodies and homes, it also relaxes us and decreases our blood pressure. Surprisingly those benefits can also be achieved from watching a video of a crackling fire for 15 minutes.

I’ve recently learned how to build fires. It was a little tricky at first but I’m definitely getting the hang of it. It’s become a point of pride for me. It’s taking me less and less time to build a fire that burns strong and long enough to warm an entire house.

The prompt for Day 13 of InkTober was Ash. Of course, I thought of the piles of ash created in the wood-burning stove I sat in front of to keep warm during the Thanksgiving long weekend.

 

Most days my hair feels overgrown…

It is the longest it has been since I was a little girl when getting haircuts was unheard of or thought of as unnecessary for little girls, especially if your hair was usually braided. Interestingly, the main reason it’s this long now is my illness. Allowing my hair to just grow is easier than worrying about having a sleek updated hairstyle at all times like I used to when my life was more active.

Also, my hair is naturally curly and blow drying it straight takes more energy than I have to spare most days, so wearing it curly or pulling it back in a ponytail have become my go-to styles. Surprisingly, not fussing with my hair all the time or applying excessive heat with a blow dryer and flat iron have also made my hair healthier.

Overgrown was the prompt for Day 14 of the challenge.

 

This is probably the most predictable thing I could draw to illustrate the prompt for Day 15 of the InkTober challenge, which was Legend.

Unfortunately, my imagination couldn’t conjure up anything else more fitting or interesting than the sword stuck in stone that could only be pulled out by a person with the purest of hearts and a hereditary connection to a great legend/myth. Isn’t it interesting how stories—true or not—can become so deeply ingrained in our minds that at times we can think of nothing else?

 

What’s wilder than a field of wildflowers?

The prompt for InkTober Day 16 is Wild.

I couldn’t think of anything wilder or more beautiful than a field full of bright colourful flowers growing untamed.

 

CONFESSION: I haven’t put up an Xmas tree in my home in years.

I think the main reason is that it’s a lot of work for one person and I haven’t had the energy to spare.

Added to that I usually spend Xmas at a family gathering and with friends, so putting up a tree just seemed pointless. Unfortunately, this means I don’t have a collection of ornaments I could use if I did decide to have a tree for the holidays.

I may not have physical ornaments but I was able to draw one for the prompt for Day 17 of InkTober, which was Ornament.

 

Whether it’s a square peg in a round hole or a round peg in a square hole, I’m certain that each of us, at some point in our lives, has felt like we don’t belong somewhere.

The trick, I’ve learned, is to walk into every room as if there is no doubt whatsoever that you are exactly where you should be. When you project that level of confidence no one will question you; and with enough practice any insecurities you feel will eventually fade…

There’s nothing wrong with being a Misfit, you just have to wear it with confidence; similar to the way I’ve chosen to illustrate this prompt for Day 18 of InkTober with these bold colours.

 

I am a huge Game of Thrones fan.

The prompt for Day 19 of InkTober, Sling, made me think of the battle scenes from the series where medieval weapons were used to hurl a variety of deadly projectile objects at enemies across battlefields. They used the massive wooden slings (trebuchets) to launch boulders and buckets of fiery hot oil long distances.

Drawing this makes me wish the show hadn’t ended yet.

 

I cheated a little on this drawing by tracing the shape of my flip-flop. Then I used the pattern on the sole of a pair of running shoes as inspiration.

As I looked at the sole of my running shoe, I realized that I rarely look at the bottom of my shoes, which is kind of unfortunate since shoe designers actually put thought and effort into designing the soles of our shoes. Depending on the function of the shoes the sole can be intricately patterned or have a deeply grooved tread that helps to prevent slipping when we walk on wet or uneven surfaces.

Look at the soles of the shoes you’re wearing right now. Are they plain and patternless, deeply grooved, or do they look like a small piece of art?

Tread was the prompt for Day 20 of InkTober.

 

I’ll upload the last group of drawings shortly.

If you participated in InkTober this year (or in previous years) I’d love to know how you dealt with the pressure of maintaining your inspiration to draw and post an illustration each day.