The 100 Day Project

Back to the Drawing Board

/ Tamara Brown / 4 Comments

So far 2023 has brought renewed health and interest in art after 2022’s 100 Day Project came to an abrupt halt when illness derailed all my plans for the rest of the year. The long creative drought through many dark days has encouraged my love of all things bright and cheerful this year. I’ve finally taken to heart my own message that I repeated like a mantra throughout all my Arts in the Parks programs: don’t worry about mistakes and above all JUST HAVE FUN!

To honor my mantra I’m participating in 2023’s 100 Day Project challenge by creating word art (any subject, any medium) for 100 days. Without the restrictions I normally impose on myself, I’m actually eager to complete a quick drawing every day lasting no more than fifteen minutes while listening to my favorite radio shows. And suddenly twenty days have flown by!

Here’s the first set:

Each day I sit down and draw what comes to mind and have realized that my daily scribbles are becoming a sort of graphic diary, if nothing more than a note on the weather. I’ll be able to look back and see what I was thinking or doing on a particular day while I practice better hand-eye coordination and color choices.

Like baseball players in spring training, I’m limbering up my art muscles for a creative season in the garden with plans for colorful garden art and structures. Of course the operative word will continue outside too. Let’s have FUN this year!

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Almost Halfway

/ Tamara Brown / 2 Comments

The cold weather in March kept me inside busy with my 100 Day Project rather than battling the elements outside. The slow start with emerging vegetation sent me scrounging for subject matter and becoming punchy enough to create some anthropomorphic fruit, veg and celestial bodies:

I also took advantage of dead things:

Then there were the reliable houseplants:

And finally some fleeting spring ephemerals that I was lucky enough to catch:

I’m edging closer to the halfway mark for my 100 days and feeling a bit winded in this journey. I may have to switch up my style and medium to add some variety. I’ve been enjoying my ink pens and watercolor pencils but will venture into new territory soon.

Until next month when I hope to have more to show with my outdoor art, stay safe and enjoy the spring!

The 100 Day Project 2022

/ Tamara Brown / 2 Comments

February’s snow and frigid temps kept me indoors and creating art based on my houseplants and photos from warmer times. I decided to join the 100 Day Project challenge on Instagram which I attempted in 2017 and lasted for 80 days of park art. This time the subjects will be small drawings of plants, seeds and fruit captured with their life force, auras or “spirits” around them. The hashtag on Instagram is #100daysofplantspirits if you’d like to check out my progress. So far I’ve been allotting a brief half-hour or so to create every day, a welcome relief from the stresses of living right now.

So far I’ve explored plant personalities from onions to herbs, healing to wholesome.

And in some cases I’ve celebrated the scales of an acorn, new growth emerging from the ground or the date I ordered tomato seeds.

My materials for the last fourteen days have included regular colored pencils, watercolor pencils and permanent ink Pigma Micron pens for the outlines. I hope to collect all the 100 Day art in a watercolor Moleskine that I’ve been using for many years. Maybe I’ll finally fill it up!

I’m looking forward to a daily practice that sharpens my rusty skills and improves my attention to detail while encouraging playful creativity. Hopefully March will bring warmer weather, new raised beds and some garden decorating. Stay tuned!