It's almost the end of the month which means Inktober is almost over and although I may have missed a day (or two) I have somehow managed to keep up with it! For those of you that don't know, Inktober is a month long drawing challenge where you have to create an artwork using ink for every day of October. So, by the end of the month you should have 31 original drawings. Or in my case, more like 29 because I can't draw with a hangover!
I was pretty dubious at first - I haven't kept a sketchbook in years, mainly because the GCSE and A-level curriculum ruined it for me. A sketchbook should be a safe place to be able to try out new ideas and make mistakes without fear of being judged - pretty hard to do when you're being marked on it! I'm therefore a little funny about showing unfinished work or stuff that isn't completely perfect. But once I got into the swing of it, I started to really enjoy myself and the feedback I have got has all been really positive, which has given me some much needed confidence in my work.
I was also a little worried I wouldn't have the time to dedicate to making a new thing everyday on top of my increasing Christmas workload but it actually helped with my time management. Tasks that I didn't need natural light for got delegated to the evening, such as mounting, wrapping artwork and writing these blog posts. I made sure I set aside a few hours in the afternoon for drawing, meaning I still had the majority of the day for painting commissions. I actually started to look forward to my drawing time, rather than dread it like I thought I would! It has been really fun to play about with ideas and experiment with pen and ink again. Ink was always one of my favourite mediums but I haven't used it properly since I got into painting.
I am most definitely going to continue with them despite Inktober coming to an end - although I may give myself the odd day off! Here are some of my favourite pieces from the month which I will be putting up for sale on my website shop on the 31st of October. Each piece is an original artwork, created using pencil, pen and ink and will range from £25-£45. I hope you like them!
