Week 6? and JD Hillberry

Wow.  I have to say that the last 4 weeks have been...interesting.  I know, I know, and I'm going to say it: I give up.  I freely admit that I have taken on way too much and that no amount of time management is going to keep me sane AND get all the things I want done.

That being said, here's the new plan: I am going to temporarily put my artistic endeavours on hold until the end of this term.  Now that isn't to say that I won't still be researching new techniques, imagining new projects, or even (dare I say it) creating the odd piece.  But I am relieving myself of the pressure to follow my prescribed schedule for the time being.

It isn't that the art I do isn't important, because it is.  It helps keep me sane and balanced.  But at the same time, priorities have changed since I drafted my work breakdown structure and I simply can't keep up and maintain the standards I want/need to succeed.  I'm still young.  I have lots of time.  And I can't help but think that if I was lying on my deathbed today I wouldn't be saying to myself: I wish I had not taken those extra courses.  I'm just enjoying them too much!

So what does this mean in terms of the blog?  Well, to be honest, I'm going to allow myself a bit of freedom here too.  Obviously I won't be reporting on my weekly progression through my WBS, and I won't have a lot of updates regarding new art projects and the like.  But my hope is to at least find something interesting for you each week.

For example, this week I have an interview for you to watch!  JD Hillberry is a fantastic black and white artist, working in charcoal, pencil, etc, as good as (or I might say even better than) MC Escher (another personal favourite of mine).  He and I share more than that in common, we are both members of the LinkedIn Group: B&W Pencil Artists & Illustrators.  He is author of the book 'Drawing Realistic Textures In Pencil' which has sold over 75,000 copies and was recently interviewed by our group owner Cindy Wider.  His drawings are incredibly realistic and are remarkable in that they are done using fairly inexpensive media.  Watch the interview by clicking here.

While I don't own his book, I have read it and the techniques and tips in it are amazing!  The interview is full of good info and insight.  I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I did.

Have a great week!