July 2013

After 3 long years, the 100 Drawings experiment comes to a close!

The original goal was to produce drawings on a regular basis and offer them up for public purchase at the goal of $100 or less. The experiment was also to keep me drawing on a regular basis, even when I wasn’t feeling it. As I said in the first post, this was:

“an attempt to get back to drawing for joy’s sake, instead of constantly working on something for a client, show or commission.”

Over time, as my interests in other mediums grew, 100 Drawings became a place for experiments to land. It became a safe harbor for smaller works, experiments, media studies, figurative explorations and other random art making. The works became increasingly complex and evolved into paintings, and as demand grew, the $100 ceiling became untenable. I tried to keep the pieces smaller, but eventually, I became much more comfortable in my art making skin, and the pieces went from simple drawings and studies into full blown small finished paintings. Hi-Fructose was even kind enough to do a small online feature on the project.

The first of 100 was started in October of 2010, with the goal being to finish the remaining 99 within a few years, at the rate of one a week. That schedule was…untenable at best, and there were several weeks where none were done. Near the final few dozen, I was able to crank out a few a week, in much more detail, and with much more on my plate. This was the best success of the whole project: it helped spur me in an open creative focus where I learned to work more efficiently and hone in on my preferred medium: ink and acrylic on paper. As I became more comfortable with experimentation with every piece, many fears and doubts I had seemed to drift away.

What’s next for 100 Drawings? The goal is to compile all 100 Drawings for release in a book. This undertaking will most likely involve the crowd support juggernaut system of Kickstarter. I’ll keep everyone posted with the status of the book release, as it will be a massive amount of work figuring out all the details. I still need to look into printing costs, possible print runs, shipping, and all around the question of how many may actually buy the book!

Even though 100 Drawings has ended, I will continue to make drawings, paintings and experiments and put them online for public viewing and purchase. There will still be occasional print releases of popular pieces, though of course, not every painting will make it to print form. While there will be no more official of “100 Drawings” the upcoming work will be in the same vein- exercises to keep me constantly creating, in and around various other art commitments. In the meanwhile, I want to take this opportunity to thank every one of you. Your support through your purchases and kind words helps me continue to make art for a living, and I am truly grateful. Thank you.

And now last but not least, enjoy “Closing Guard,” the final entry for 100 Drawings. All the drawings can be found in the 100 Drawings gallery. Enjoy!

Closing Guard
Colored inks and acrylics on watercolor paper, varnished. 9.5″ x 11″ (2013)
Number 100 of 100 Drawings.
To purchase this or other available artwork, please swing by the store.

detail

*NCW*

Only one left in the 100 Drawings series!

And, spoiler alert- it’s already done, and you’ve seen sneak peeks already if you’ve been paying attention. Here’s another hint- it’s mildly related to Number 1 of 100 Drawings… That should make it pretty obvious! For now, enjoy “Guile’s Theme.”

Guile’s Theme
Colored inks and acrylics on watercolor paper, varnished. 8″ x 10″ (2013)
Number 99 of 100 Drawings.

To purchase this or other available artwork, please swing by the store.

detail

*NCW*