Category Archives for InkTober

InkTober 2019: Drawings for Day 1 to Day 10 Prompts

I decided to participate in the month-long InkTober drawing challenge this year.

I completed the entire challenge in 2016 and 2017 but I opted out last year because I was struggling with some health issues and I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the pace of the daily challenge.

So far, I’ve been keeping up with this year’s list of daily prompts. I enjoy the challenge of coming up with a creative way to illustrate each word; and I hope I won’t run out of creative inspiration or the physical energy I need to invest in each day.

To save on the amount of time I invest each day, I’ve changed the way I share my drawings each day. Instead of writing a blog post for each drawing, I’m sharing them on my Instagram account with a short blurb about what inspired them, then I’ll share them here in groups as the challenge progresses.

As titled, this post is to share my drawings for the first ten days of InkTober 2019. I’ve included the image of the official InkTober prompt list below:

 

The first prompt on this year’s list is Ring for which I didn’t stretch my imagination too far.

______ InkTober 2019 – Day 1 Ring ______

 

Mindless was the prompt for Day 2 of the challenge. All that kept popping into my thoughts as I tried to decide what to draw was one of the characters from the Wizard Oz…

______ InkTober 2019 – Day 2 Mindless ______

 

A bout of insomnia gave me the opportunity to add some colour to my mindless scarecrow.

______ InkTober 2019 – Day 2 Mindless ______

 

For Day 3 the prompt was Bait. An unfortunate worm on the end of a fishing hook is what I was inspired to draw.

______ InkTober 2019 – Day 3 Bait ______

 

How could one not think of the beautiful and unique results of what happens when it gets cold enough outside to Freeze water droplets, which is what I drew for Day 4.

______ InkTober 2019 – Day 4 Freeze ______

 

LEGO is a toy that I believe has no age limit. Over the years, I’ve given many sets of it as gifts to the children of close friends and family, and I’ve often felt like keeping some of those gifts for myself. The Day 5 prompt was Build, which made me think of all the things I built with LEGO over the years.

______ InkTober 2019 – Day 5 Build ______

 

More insomnia means more colour…

______ InkTober 2019 – Day 5 Build ______

 

I wrote recently about wanting a dog, so of course what immediately jumped into my mind to illustrate the Day 6 prompt, Husky, was a dog—a Siberian Husky to be specific.

______ InkTober 2019 – Day 6 Husky ______

 

On Day 7, I drew a fairy—at least how I think a fairy might look— to illustrate the prompt Enchanted.

______ InkTober 2019 – Day 7 Enchanted ______

 

The prompt Frail brought up some very personal thoughts and emotions for me. It made me think about how I’ve had to accept that there are times, because of my health challenges—especially my chronic pain, when I am frail.

______ InkTober 2019 – Day 8 Frail ______

 

The prompt for Day 9, Swing, uplifted my spirits. It made me think of happy childhood memories.

______ InkTober 2019 – Day 9 Swing ______

 

My favourite prompt to illustrate in the challenge so far is Pattern for Day 10’s prompt. It gave me the chance to indulge in drawing lines, which I’ve grown to love.

______ InkTober 2019 – Day 10 Pattern ______

 

I hope you enjoy what I’ve created for the first ten days of InkTober 2019. I’ll be back to share more drawings soon…

 

After InkTober 2017 Is Over

Now that I’m finished with InkTober 2017, I need to figure out what I’m going to do to occupy my time. Last year, I worked on teaching myself to draw better, which I believe paid off in this year’s challenge. What feels like the right direction for me this year, is revisiting the colourful geometric art I enjoyed creating in the past. What I created then ranged from simple shapes with basic colour to intricately combined lines with bright bold colour palettes.

In recent years, as I’ve searched for my artistic style, the geometric pieces I created keep surfacing in my thoughts. Because these thoughts are so persistent, I intend to use this style as a base. To this base, I will add the different artistic methods I’ve taught myself over the last four years as I’ve sought creative ways to cope with my illness. I’ll also make use of any new skills I pick up as I go along.

I’m looking forward to the new things I’ll create with old-established methods.

If you participated in InkTober 2017, what are you going to do now that it’s over?

 

InkTober 2017: Day 31 – Mask

I’m done. I finished the InkTober 2017 challenge. I’m a few days late but I needed to take time out for self-care at a couple of points, and I’m glad I did because it tells me I’m prioritizing my health. The last prompt for the challenge is ‘mask’, which is an easy word for me to relate to.

Psychologically and emotionally, everyone wears a mask. Some of us wear more masks than others do. Each mask helps us to fit into a specific situation. Who are we when we are with our family, our friends, or in our workplaces? Then who are we when we are alone when the mask(s) can come off?

I wear multiple masks. More than ever, I wear them to obscure the effects of my illness. I’ve become quite good at hiding what my body is doing to me psychologically and emotionally. I don’t believe anyone, even those who know me well, have a clear picture of who I’ve become over the course of the past four years. Because of this, I’m convinced these masks have to stay on, otherwise my family and friends might be the ones who can’t cope with what I’m living with each day.

Although, I must say, wearing the many masks I do when I feel pain all the time is tiring. Always being hopeful is tiring. Always trying to be cheerful is tiring. Always trying to make others worry about me less is tiring. Most of all, always acting as if I’m okay so others don’t treat me different is tiring. Yet, I will continue to wear my masks because the alternative, showing the rawness of what I’m living with, isn’t an option.