Taking a break from blogging - new goals for this year.

The end of the year brought a great change to my life - I had a baby. And with this baby came an understanding that I - again - have to reorganize my life. After a long consideration and with a bitter realization I decided to take a kind of break from my tight blogging and drawing schedule I set myself a year ago. I will still be drawing and posting from time to time but not as often as usual. I've been fighting it for about two weeks  - because I really love this project - but I think that at this point that's the right thing to do. 

I do miss my creative hour and I really miss my pencils. I also - don't laugh - miss my scanning time when I would scan all the sketches I've made while working on my posts. 

My goal list is still on and I do plan to make it happen. 

So I guess - I'll see you soon. 

Happy New year! 

15 before 2015 - last 15 tasks before the beginning of 2015.

Several weeks ago I set myself a challenge of 15 last tasks before the end of this year (Lisa Jackobs, thanks for the challenge).

And since the year is over, I should be reporting about the result of this challenge. So here it goes:

1. Repaint a room - check!
2. Finish a New Year calendar for a client.
3. Participate in at least 5 Conjure's flashmobs.
4. Finish a "learn to draw" program - check! I finished 2 programs, as a matter of fact!
5. Start a new learn-to-draw art program - check: working on Drawing is easy (russian).
6. Finish my blue sweater.
7. Start a new sweater.
8. Create a new Hannukah card for Daynix.
9. Create a New year card, also for Daynix - check! 
10. Create a wall clock for my son.
11. Hang 5 shelves.
12. Cook at least 10 recipes from the same cook book - check!
13. Arrange 2 birthday parties - check!
14. Add some products to my Zazzle shop - check! added more than 100 products to my Graphiking shop.
15. Have a baby :) - check!

So, 8 ot of 15 are checked! Not amazing, but not bad either. I really hoped for more to be done but I let myself procrastinate a bit. I am still glad I set myself this challenge and I already scheduled a new one for the end of this year. 

Happy new year, everyone. May you reach all the goals you set yourself in 2015.

2015: A New year Resolution.

So now, when I concluded 2014, it's time for a new resolution. Once again I will share my goal list that, as always, will grow over the year. The list will also include some of the last years goals and tasks - those that are still relevant for today.

So, here its is.

1. ABC Challenge - create several illustrated ABC's on different themes: general, fairy tales, food, flowers, etc. Each letter with several items.
2. Learn blind typing.
3. Illustrate children's book - I'm thinking of just taking any book and illustrate it. I'm still considering it. 
4. Learn to draw with a ball pen or any other media which is not a graphite pencil
5. Illustrate favorite recipes.
6. Sketch, sketch, sketch! As much as possible.
7. Be ready with holiday illustration at least 1 month in advance. 
8. Become a regular on Illustration Friday.
9. Participate in drawing flashmobs and drawing challenges
10. Keep developing my Graphiking gift shop with new Holiday illustrations
11. Keep blogging.
12. Develop readership for this blog..
13. Get back to Stock Illustration.
14. Learn to draw with water color. 
15. Learn how to work with my Inkling Wacom pen. 
16. Make my blog look nicer. 
17. Work on each and every subject from the Art school book separately, draw from life as much as possible.
18. Learn more about proportion in drawing.
19. Start kids line of clothing on Zazzle with cute illustrations. 
20. Learn how to make these pancakes.
21. Keep blogging!
22. Learn to draw learn Monkeys and apes for the next 2016 year.
23. Create Olympic symbols for the upcoming Olympic games this summer in Rio.
24. Read more books - my crave for reading is back. So this year I'll start my new reading list. Hopefully they will be both interesting and inspiring.
25. Learn to draw in a simplified way, not to many details. (added 28.6.15)

As you can see, comparing to the 2014 list - this one is really really short. I actually cut off those items I kept because keeping them was "the right thing to do" and as a habit. I guess I should really be focusing on what is really interesting. But no worries - it will grow over the year. 

My first reflection stop will be made in July, 1st, when I'll be doing my mid-year "resolution list inspection". 

In the meantime do visit my Graphiking gift shop on Zazzle. Remember, Valentine day is just around the corner...

2014 is over - let us conclude!!!

Happy New Year, everyone!

This is the list as it grew from August to December 2014:

1. Learn to Airbrush - Not even close!
2. Learn blind typing.
3. Learn to draw Dinosaurs - I started to read a bit about them, so I guess it counts for something. 
4. Learn to draw animals - http://www.howtodrawanimals.net/
5. Illustrate children's book - I'm thinking of just taking any book and illustrate it. I'm still considering it. 
6. Learn about Mesh tool in illustrator - at this point it's irrelevant, since I hardly work with illustrator on such a level.
7. Learn to draw with a ball pen or any other media which is not a graphite pencil - I did plenty of sketches with colored pencils. Does it count?
8. Illustrate favorite recipes - I am about to.
9. Sketch, sketch, sketch! As much as possible - done. It's all here in the blog .
10. Learn to draw Chinese calendar characters.
11. Finish the flower project this year - I'm half way through. Only two months left to finish.
12. Work on portraits and human figure sketches - I did some human figure/portraits drawing during the Drawspace project but left it in the middle since I got a bit frustrated and tired of it. I'll get back to it later.
13. Be ready with holiday illustration at least 1 month in advance - Maybe not one month, but two weeks, for sure. 
14. Complete Drawspace program and find another one - Finished 90% of it. Found alternative programs.
15. Become a regular on Illustration Friday.
16. Learn to shade properly - I worked a lot on it during the Drawspace art program. Obviously, I'm not there yet and still learning. 
17. Learn to draw water properly.
18. Follow a Shoo Ryner tuts on Youtube.
19. Learn more about graphic design.
20. Focus on creativity development - trying as much as possible. There are 6 creativity posts already, each dedicated to another exercise.
21. Learn to swim.
22. Make a 30 circles in 1 minute a monthly exercise - did for several months. Got bored really quickly.. 
23. Participate in drawing flashmobs - I really want to but for some reason I just can't do it. I don't know why.
24. Get better in photography.
25. Take animal photo shoot session in a local zoo.
26. Keep developing my Graphiking gift shop - added more than 200 new items in December.
27. Keep blogging - almost 70 posts from the beginning of the year.
28. Develop readership for this blog.
29. Do more SEO for this blog.
30. Get an MA for kindergarten teacher and open one. 
31. Get an MA in business management.
32. Learn to play a Darbuka drum.
33. Learn to juggle.
34. Learn to do balloon animals - started; didn't go that well.
35. Learn to work with a graphic tablet.
36. Create an Artist's Birthday calendar.
37. Draw dogs and puppies.
38. Learn about and illustrate facial mimics (aka emotions). (added 08.02.14)
39. Draw as many sheep as possible for 2015,the year of a Green Wood Sheep. (added 12.02.14)
40. Learn to draw/work with my left hand. (added 13.02.14)
41. Learn to draw hair and hairdo's. (added 16.02.14)
42. Get back to Stock Illustration. (added 25.02.14)
43. Draw various fruits lightened with a lamp. (09.03.14)
44. Draw from live flowers. (added 20.03.14)
45. Learn to draw with colored pencils. (added 25.03.14) - still in progress.
46. Learn to draw with Pastel chalks. (added 25.03.14)
47. Learn to draw with water color. (added 25.03.14)
48. Draw musical instruments. (added 17.04.14)
49. Learn to use as less eraser as possible. (added 24.04.14)
50. Learn how to work with my Inkling Wacom pen. (added 27.05.14)
51. Learn to draw on ceramic products. (added 31.05.14)
52. Start a degree in Psychology (added 23.07.14).
53. Start a degree in Art therapy (added 23.07.14).
54. Explore the subject of creativity on a deeper level (added 23.07.14) I think I wrote several posts about it.
55. Practice Hand drawing (added 03.08.14) -I did several sketches this year. Not enough, though.
56. Practice Negative/Positive space drawing (added 03.08.14)
57. Learn to make jewelry with sea shells. (added 11.08.14).
58. Draw/paint Tulips for at least a month (added 11.08.14).
59. Learn to work with Papier mache. (added 15.08.14 )
60. Create some "Thanks You" cards.(added 15.08.14)
61. Do a daily exercise on drawing lines, waves and circles. (added 18.08.14)
62. Start and complete the "Art school - a world around you" book by the end of the year. (09.09.14) - started in Sept 1st and finished (apart 1 section) and finished Oct 1st.
63. Make my blog look nicer. (15.09.14)
64. Work on each and every subject from the Art school book separately, draw from life as much as possible. (15.09.14)
65. Learn how to hold a pencil correctly.(19.09.14)
66. Learn more about proportion in drawing. (21.09.14)
67. Start kids line of clothing on Zazzle with cute illustrations. (01.10.14)

As a year went by I realized that I started to add things I wanted to do in general, not necessarily this year. Obviously some of the things will move to the next year, and some will be "thrown out" as irrelevant. But the good thing is that I keep this lists alive and save it all, so I could always go back to it and return the item as it becomes relevant again.

The interesting thing was that the more I was working the more subject I realized needed to be working in. And that is great! Because this is the very thing that improves the saying that to learn a subject you just have to start working on it. If you want to become an artist - start drawing. If you want to become chef - start cooking. If you want to become a better person - start doing good things.

To conclude it all - even though I know I didn't do enough this year, I know I did more than last year, that's for sure.

1. I completed several learning programs,
2. I did countless amount of sketches.
3. I started Zazzling again.
4. I read some important books on creating, developing and growing. 
5. I set a last minute task list with 15 last task to be done by the end of the year, and that was a really fun thing to do. 
6. I managed to complete a Betty Edwards book about Color mixing, a very helpful and interesting book. 
7. Also I re-read a Van Gogh biography Lust of  Life by Irving Stone. Beautiful book! 

I can honestly say that I'm almost happy with this year. 

I hope that 2015 will be at least as productive as 2014.

Happy New Year, everyone! 

See 2013 conclusive post.

Happy New Year everyone!!!

And may this year be better than the previous one!!!