I made art without worrying about the outcome
Ugly Art Watercolor Challenge
I hate wasting paint, so I scribble. On one such scribble, I ended up with something interesting. A unique way to make roses. That was an ah-ha moment.
You don’t have to play by the rules to create something. You can find your way.
I’ve painted roses before, I’ve taught how to paint roses, but, not this way. As a whole, my brain called it an ugly painting but there was a part that was overjoyed by finding a new way to make roses - Ugly art challenge was born.
So the challenge is to make “Ugly art”? No.
The challenge is to make art, embrace whatever happens on the paper, and most importantly, show it to the world. Everyone from Naval Ravikanth to Austin Kelon (Author of Show Your Work) has discussed practice pieces that never see the world. It’s hard to get into consistent practice by yourself. A little admiration and a long cheer can help us build a habit. Challenges like this one let you embrace failures because that’s what the challenge is about. The Ugly Art Challenge is a Perfect cure for a perfectionist brain.
Rules
- Like any challenge, you have to be consistent
- Make art - Accept the outcome - however bad it looks
- And share it with the outside world -however bad it seems
- Pick the number of days you want to do this challenge 1 painting/day
Day 1 - Somewhere it’s spring
While we were burning in scorching heat in Chennai, India. My friends from UK started posting their Spring pictures. Perfect timing to steal some inspiration. So here it goes. Mindfully tried one point perspective for the 1st time. Excruciating fun. I like how the left side is so nice in perspective as compared to the right. Like the distant land. The clouds are not what I wanted them to be but here it is Day 1
Thank you Swathi for the beautiful reference picture.
Day 2 - Smelly cat in its pookie mode
If you ever do a painting where nothing goes according to your plan, this is how it would look. Nothing. The fur, the textures.
Other times, I’d have just scrapped it to waste pile. Not this one, I had to show it to the world. That helped me flip the script
What do I like about this painting? I like the tail, the bow, and the mouth.
There is so much to celebrate, why whine over little mistakes?
When you can’t like it as a whole, look for the parts and maybe slap a little cute name - This painting of a smelly cat in it’s pookie mode
Day 3 - Calf Exercises
I remember this day vividly. The scar of the previous day was still there, and I was almost afraid to try this painting. It wasn’t like anything I’ve tried before. But the word “Ugly” was my savior. “It’s okay if it’s ugly” ensured my brain. I took utmost patience to lay down each and every stroke and voila… One of my favorite paintings from the series
Day 6 - Manifestation
We are jumping to day 6. By this time I got comfortable to keep expanding my horizons. I got a new alaram clock from ikea. The one I always wanted. I wanted to seize that moment, what’s a better way to do that than to paint it?
P.S Instantly regretted not making the clock at 11:11
Day 9-13 - The bad paper
On Day 9, I was expanding my horizons even further. I had this handmade paper, I’ve brought years back, I hated it to the core of my being. None of my watercolor techniques worked on this paper. It was a pain. There was no youtube tutorials to help me on this one I used one sheet and stashed it away.
With ugly art challenge it’s also about constantly getting comfortable with the discomfort, so why not? I gave it another chance. Happy? Not at all but, this one’s about making the best of the bad cards life gives you.
From 9-13, I tried to make peace with this paper in every way possible. From small floral to large floral
Day 14 & 15 - It works!
It clicked. Remember how I said you get to deal with bad cards life throws at you? You do. On day 14 I tried a painting from my favorite artist. Now that I knew the paper so well, I knew how to blend the colors and make the painting make sense. Result? Loved both the pieces equally
Day 16 - Swimming in my own tears
Life happened, it knocked me down, I was literally on my bed with no intent to face the world anymore. But, the challenge should go on… I showed up anyways converting my sorrows and made them flow in this painting
Day 17 & 18 - Cheat days
These were real cheat days. I drew in a 1x2 inch paper(tiny) a potted plant and a little flower. Laying paint down is all that counts.
Day 19 - Rookie attempt to paint a rooster
Everything about this rooster came right, I just loved the feathers, but the face did justice to the challenge’s title. Embrace…the…ugly whispered my brain
Day 20 - Into the Unknown
The next day I was catching a flight to the most beautiful place in India(Tawang). The itinerary was packed, so was I. There is no way I can show up for another 10 days hence, but… I can quickly capture what I was looking forward to
Things I learned,
- Once you permit yourself to make ugly art, something in your brain flips, you become accepting of the strokes, the mistakes, “it’s ugly art anyway”
- Daily expression opens up room for creativity; I didn’t want to plan my 30 days; every day after work, I decide what I feel like expressing today
- Learn to embrace the crazy cards life throws at you
- Art is soulful, AI can try to steal it all it wants but it can never understand the feeling
- The right tools will reduce your frustration, so invest in your tools
P.S no AI was used, harmed, tormented when writing this article. If you find anything not working write to me on twitter/linkedin