Rough environment studies

Update time

A happy new year to all of you. I hope you guys are well and sound and had a good start into the latest sun circulation effect of our planet. I started to use tumblr (anmaril.tumblr.com) as my main blog last year, and almost forgot to add the latest sketches and artworks here. I prefer tumblr for its nice design and ability to create categories for the audience, kinda like a portfolio for all the not-portfolio stuff.
I will continue with environment studies and paintings this year, to bolster my portfolio, and look into anatomy later one again. My french is mediocre still, but I look for tandem partners to speak it more often. If some of you guys are interested drop me a line.

Apart from it, I thought about writing about my learning process of the last year.
I never was into sketching and studying, despite other artists telling me to do it all the time. But doing so in the last year, was a great opportunity to limit myself and focus on the topic instead the of the technique. I noticed how important it is for me to keep sketching every day. And guys, I had a hard time doing it. Especially because study sketches are no portfolio material most of the time. I had the urge to work only on art which attracts potential clients and get myself into a better financial situation to gain more independence.
Doing sketches has freed me from it to the point that not everything has to be perfect and polished. Which I think was the most important lesson I had to learn.
I'm a perfectionist by heart, and curious like a cat. If there is a topic, I probably have read about it. And I learnt - despite me loving my curiousity - it is a part of how I deal with anxiety. To know more is important for me not just because of the standpoint of just knowing stuff. But also understanding it to improve my ability to deal with my every day situations. It gives me the feeling of being able to controll and assess a situation better. And I did the same in my paintings.
And there was no way of blaming a program or technique, or skip a step while sketching anatomy. I am well aware some of them looking amateurish, and that's because I had to learn it. The whole purpose of this blog is to show other that there is no magic in drawing at all, no talent. But practice and hard work. This may scare some people off, who thought it would be easy, because they were always the best in their class.
But it also means, everyone can learn it. And as hard as it gets sometimes. Don't hesitate, just do it.
It was frustrating to sketch every day when all you can draw looks not good enough. And I have this feeling all the time. But slowly but steady, it went slightly better. I became faster and developed a better feeling for proportions. And when I was browsing back I noticed the differences. They may not be big, but they are there. And it teaches me, to just do it. Put in the time you need. No matter how long you need to learn something. Just do it. There is no other way.

Cheers and a happy new year.
- Chris