#Draw365 - The End

“The end of a melody is not its goal, and yet if a melody has not reached its end, it has not reached its goal.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

Back in October of last year, artist Regina Agu started a personal project to create a drawing every day and post it on twitter. A couple of drawings in... I decided to join her, started tagging it "#draw365" with the intention of doing this for a whole year, and the rest is history.

Others on twitter joined us shortly after that, and this project quickly snowballed into a massive online artists' collective. Well over 100 artists from all over the world have created and posted thousands of drawings and are still going strong. The result has been an ever-expanding display of talent, glimpses into the souls of those involved, and a bottomless well of inspiration for anyone to draw from.

Last month Regina was the first to accomplish a year of daily drawings. I followed shortly after with my No.365 drawing. A few others have since achieved this and many more will soon do the same. I decided to keep going until the final page of my fourth sketchbook was used up. And now, I am both happy and sad to say my #draw365 project has come to an end.



This project has been one of the most important and rewarding exercises I have ever done. It has allowed me to explore stylistically as well as express myself in ways I had only thought about. It has also been responsible for the birth of my Black and White series.

The first month was the most exciting, I couldn't wait to get home to create something new each day. After that it was a blur as months flew by. I was all over the map conceptually and in my execution... and loving it. After a while I noticed that sometimes I was not in the mood to draw, or my days were so busy I had very little time to draw. This started occurring more and more as the year progressed, especially during the weeks I was painting heavily. Although I still enjoyed creating daily drawings when I allowed myself time, this exercise for me became an obligation I was waiting to free myself of. I had always wondered if I would continue this forever or if I would stop after no.365. I decided to stop after I finished out the last sketchbook.

No worries though. I will still continue to create daily, whether it be through painting or drawing for larger projects. I will also continue to post my work online and share with all, as well as post and share others' work.

The most rewarding thing about #draw365?
The group of artists I have met through this project has expanded to hundreds of other artists all over the map. I am privy to a staggering amount of wonderful, inspiring art every day as a result. I look forward to continuing the practice of sharing my art and having dialogue with others as well as growing my network. Speaking of which, those of you following me on twitter should friend me on facebook... and vice versa. I'll do the same.
My Twitter
My Facebook

Its been a great ride!

g

Black and White

My work in this series is about using black and white visual elements to express a world made up of shades of grey. In my work the grey areas are defined by countless fine lines, each going in its own direction, but ultimately twisting and intersecting to make up a larger form (different means to the same end).

I have a preoccupation with forces in opposition to each other, continually balancing out, and always needing one another in order to function. This dichotomy is present visually and thematically in these drawings, and is a vital component of my designs.

As with my Compositions series, these works are abstract in nature. They too invite the viewer to explore visually and imaginatively, forming their own unique interpretations.

Check out my Black and White series

g

Compositions

There are fragmented visions of color, line, and shape that flash briefly in my head. Sometimes the visions appear randomly. Sometimes they are the result of an emotional response to music, people, and other stimuli. My paintings try to capture these visions.

Since these visions are fragmented I rely subconsciously on certain compositional elements to let my brush “fill in the blanks”. With no definite beginning or end, and no blueprint, my work is subject to any number of interpretations.

As a result each viewer can come away with their own unique ideas and their own emotional response. In this regard I often equate abstract painting to instrumental music.

Check out my Compositions series

g

On the subject of critiquing...

There's an old saying, "Those who can -- do. Those who can't -- criticize."

Earlier today a friend, and fellow artist, opened up a discussion and dialogue on twitter on the topic of art critiquing (alluding to a blog post on the same subject). I thought I'd expand a little on my thoughts, shared earlier today.

In my opinion, the saying at the top of this post holds true for the most part. However, there are those offering criticism who actually know what they're talking about. The important thing to remember is not to allow these "judgments" to be the final word in determining the direction and remaining development of a piece.

The artist should always have the final say. After all, it's his/her vision that's being realized. No one else could possibly be better suited in determining its outcome. I will always consider the merits of solid constructive criticism regarding any bit of my work. Hell, I may even adopt and apply some of it. I also know there can be a thousand different opinions, each valid in its own right.

And no artist, or any work, is immune. As audacious as this may sound, I have looked upon several paintings done by some of my art heroes (Picasso, Pollock, Matisse, to name a few), imagined these works being my own, and proceeded to determine what I would change or "fix" about them.... essentially, critiquing.

As long as artists are true to their vision, and take constructive criticism for what it may be worth, there is no reason for any judgment to derail them. It should only spur them along.

-g

welcome

so i've decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon.
i've never been one to talk about myself much at all, but over the past year i've experienced both a tremendous spike in creativity and an increase in my interaction with people online. i have twitter to thank for the most part, but as i continue to create more work i'm feeling the need to express my thoughts on it.... and art in general.

"did you draw that?"
this was the number one question i got asked back in high school and early college, many times while still physically drawing the picture in question (which always cracked me up). later, as my cg career took off, i began getting asked this question again. only now it was regarding 3d animations i had done digitally. cg artists will find humor in that (drawing each frame by hand). anyway, it's the first title i could come up with, but not quite set on it. any ideas on a title? i'm open to suggestions...

this won't be a daily blog, although i may have something to update on consecutive days. most of my posts will consist of thoughts about my work, about others' work, thoughts on art themes/ideas in general, and updates on upcoming shows. however i'll most likely include the occasional post on music, beer, film, and anything else i'm passionate about. i hope to connect with more creatives as a result.

nos vemos,
gilbert