An artist I follow on Instagram A.J. Alper, hosted a challenge last year where participants were to draw, paint or digitally create portraits and post one a day for 100 days. This was intended to free up the creative process and develop the skills required to render an accurate portrait quickly, in the technique of 'alla prima' or what I'd call 'get it right the first time'. This technique involves good placement of features and drawing then painting with gusto, moving paint around, till you are satisfied with the finished product.
I hesitated at first, as there were so many things planned for the immediate future... where would I find the time to complete a painting in a day (an activity that usually takes me about a week of dedicated effort (interrupted by breaks for cooking, exercise and even cooling off when the weather gets too hot).
I later set a date for myself - 1st August 2019 and marked off the next 100 days on my calendar. I purchased large sheets of paper that I cut in 12 x 12 inches sheets. I knew that stretching 100 canvases would be expensive and was going to slow me down and most of what I started off painting, while I waited for friends and relatives to start the 'paint me... paint me' and 'draw me... draw me', was from the internet and therefore for practice and not sale. A lot of the reference drawings came from a Reddit community and from Sktchy (an app that is only available on iPhones and that I could only get references off when my daughter tossed an old iPhone, that died mid-challenge, my way), both platforms where people post their pictures for a painting/drawing, from Pinterest and from Wetcanvas reference pictures.
My first painting... oil on paper 12 x 12 inches.
I was dedicated to a daily painting and daily post as I got more confident...
At some point, I started drawing in pencil and had my sketchbook that had, before now, been quite blank. Pencil or charcoal sketches were my go-to portrait-a-day submissions when I ran out of time or quite literally had to draw face-down on my bed when I had a busy day and was too exhausted to even find an eraser.
My Wacom intuos tablet also came out to play during this time and I digitally inched my way through some of the days. On one of the days, it was to pay tribute to Toni Morrison. May she rest in peace.
I was proud of how I progressed, ending the challenge with these two portraits that my children were happy to acknowledge on social media *phew!*
Obviously, I did not complete this challenge in 100 days even if I posted 100 portraits at the end of the challenge. Life interfered; so did laziness. I was really glad to have AJ put out a post congratulating me as a Graduate of this challenge - I felt I had got another academic degree. He's a great guy, giving tips along the way. The challenge is still on. My people say 'mgbe onye tetere wu ututu ya' - whenever you wake up it's your own morning. So you can start the challenge and see how it goes. Look for @ajalper on instagram and you'll find details.
Thanks to A.J. Alper, to all friends, followers and family that I painted and drew during this period, to my fellow artists who gave support along the way and my followers who liked and commented on my posts, no matter how unfinished or bizarre they sometimes were. I have put all 100 of them in my Instagram stories (@oziomazart). If you are interested in purchasing any of them, let me know and I'll see if it's available for sale.
