I found out that a local art store was doing an art challenge for the month of February. This is what you were asked to do. For 28 days this February, challenge yourself to create daily. Post your progress online with #opusdailypractice to connect with your fellow artists and for a chance to win one of twenty – eight $28 Opus Gift Cards!
Your goal is to get creative and have fun, so the guidelines are simple:
1. Practice your art every day. Paint, draw, colour, photograph, carve,
fold, create! Your mission is to just practice so, whether you can set aside
minutes or hours, be sure to engage your creativity daily.
fold, create! Your mission is to just practice so, whether you can set aside
minutes or hours, be sure to engage your creativity daily.
2. Share your progress on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter with #opusdailypractice. This will connect you with others participating in the
challenge, providing support from your creative community.
challenge, providing support from your creative community.
3. When you share your Opus Daily Practice Challenge progress, you’ll also be entered for a chance to win one of twenty – eight $28 gift cards on February 29th! To be eligible for the draw, share at least 21 of your 28 days with #opusdailypractice by February 28th.
A year ago I went on an 18 day cruise from Rio de Janeiro to Miami. The cruise involved nine days at sea, and for me that was a lot of days at sea. But there was one thing I really enjoyed on these days. I ended up taking watercolour lessons and I really enjoyed doing so, not having done any art really for years, and maybe ten years ago experimenting a bit with water colours. This led to my taking a couple of courses in water colour painting of flowers on my return. But once the classes ended my painting seemed to end as well. This fall a trip prevented me enrolling again. Then I missed enrolling in the late fall session. I tried to enrol too late and the class was full. There is another session going on that just began but once again I am going away so would miss three out of five classes. When I saw this challenge, I thought it might motivate me to get back into art. I found a small notebook (4 in.x 6in), a leftover from a project my class was involved in three years ago.
But being a champion procrastinator, I began on the fourth day instead of the first! That evening my first project was an egg so I dragged out an egg from the refrigerator and drew it-seeing if the second drawing looked any better than the first.
The second prompt for February 2 was Ground Hog so not drawing very well from my imagination, I did a trick I learned from the seventh graders, I found a picture of a ground hog on the internet and away I went. I think he looked a bit better than the egg!
Day Three had the prompt Pattern so since I was sitting at my kitchen table I decided to sketch my kitchen tiles. Please note that evening I just sketched. I added colour later. 
Day Four was Ampersand. I had even forgotten what an ampersand was. Thank goodness for Google. I drew a couple using whatever pens were handy. I drew more in different colours later.
Day Five had the prompt weather. I was relieved. I had been snowshoeing on Cypress Mountain with four classes of grades four to seven students on a day when it was sleeting. I dug out my old travel kit, a set of six watercolour pencils and a set of eight watercolour crayons. I wasn't ready to go back to real watercolour paints. I used a picture I had taken up there for my sketch. I don't think I ever spent more than half an hour on my sketches. They also started often being done while I was watching television. I think Day Five actually got done on Day Six.
As I was walking home after coffee after my fitness class, I noticed a door someone had attached to a tree and even placed a little fairy statue so it really looked like fairies were living in that tree. I took a picture so since fairies are mythical I was set. I was finding a combination of the watercolour pencil crayons and watercolour pencil colours seemed to work for me fairly well.
I love to take pictures with my iPhone. And this time of year I love the night skies. With the prompt Monochrome I used as inspiration a picture I had taken.
Day Nine, I thought I should at least try to experiment a bit as the prompt was abstract. I took a picture I had taken of flowers, used the waterlogue app on my phone to make it look like a watercolour painting and then did my own version wetting the paper. Needless to say I forgot to put something under the page so several pages got a bit damp and I wasn't thrilled with the results but...
This project made me really think about some of the assignments I used to give my poor classes. Except for one year they were spared from having me as their art teacher. But a common assignment at the beginning of the year can be to design a crest of yourself so I decided to do the same. It was not easy!!!
The prompt for February 11th was Happy. Something that makes me very happy are beach walks so I used a photograph I had taken and did this sketch.
Day 12 was Cityscape. Again I like to go downtown especially early in the morning sometimes before nine o'clock when parking is free. Again I used a picture I had taken and sketched away.
I was feeling lazy on Valentine's Day and of course, the prompt was hearts so I just had fun. I should note you didn't have to use the prompts but I found it helpful and also made me challenge myself a bit.
The prompt for February 15th was rings and I thought of Olympic rings as we hosted the Olympics six years ago in February. I had no idea what Rio's symbol was so I looked it up and then since I had room left, I did our symbol as well.
I think I procrastinated on the 18th and ended up doing two sketches on the 19th. Reflections was the prompt for the 18th and I had taken a nice reflection photo at the pond at Van Dusen Gardens but found it tricky to reproduce
I breathed a sigh of relief on the 19th when the prompt was Nature as I just used a picture for inspiration I had taken at Spanish Banks.
Day 20 had the prompt Space. We had some clear nights where I got to see the almost full moon clearly so I decided to use a picture I had taken. I think this is perhaps my favourite of the month.
Film was the prompt for Day 21. And I played with lots of ideas-it's a wonder I didn't stick saran wrap on something. Instead, I took a bit of a wander. Cherry blossoms were just beginning to come out so I decided to do an impression of a photo I took and since digital images have basically replaced film...
Day 22 had the prompt Banana so I just sketched a banana. Not actually all that easy, trying to show the weight, the shadows. But I didn't think it was too bad. I really like bananas by the way.
I think I was relieved when Day 24 had the prompt Coast. I spend so much time by the sea. I have many pictures taken. This one was based on a photo taken at Wilderness Beach
The next prompt was Wrinkles. I crumpled a piece of paper and tried to copy the patterns with my watercolour crayons
Day 26 had the prompt was Futuristic. All I could think of was the Jetsons, a space age cartoon of my childhood. When I went to the Opus Facebook page someone had already done that. Then I thought of recently seeing a preview of the new movie of The Little Prince. I loved that book, set in a a fantasy view of space, when I read it, and it was the inspiration for the theme of the 1967 World's Fair in Montreal, Man and his World, which to a 16 year old was so exciting and a gateway into the future and its possibilities to me in so many ways. I am looking forward to the new movie.
Feather-I am afraid that this challenge made me feel terribly literal. I just decided to have fun with a colourful feather
And Day 28 was you guessed it. Time. I just happened to have a watch handy.
Now I am thinking of keeping going…And in case this interests you, here's some inspiration
