Inktober 2017: Why I'm not participating this year
I just posted a video of my completed Moleskine Watercolour Sketchbook which ends with a tour of my Inktober 2017 sketches.
This year, like I mentioned in the video, I am not going to take part in Inktober. There are a few reasons for this.
I am not inspired. At least not in a way that I could sustain a 31 drawings in 31 days challenge. I know that you don’t need to be strict with yourself. You can take longer or skip a few days. However, since l was able last year to complete the challenge within an extra week, this year my knee jerk reaction is to force myself to keep pace and/or to increase the quality of my sketches. Which, because of the reasons below, I know won’t be possible.
I am already challenging myself this fall by taking drawing classes… in graphite… dirty… smudgy… graphite. <sigh> If you can’t tell, I am not a fan of graphite. I enjoy water-soluble graphite. I have an ArtGraf tin that made me change my mind about graphite being the devil’s medium. I can appreciate drawings by others and be awed by their mastery of the medium, BUT: I AM A MESSY ARTIST. Graphite and messy artists don’t mix well. The results are smudge galore and ruined drawings. Sure I can be careful, but “I dun wanna”. So, yes, I am definitely challenging myself by taking a graphite drawing class. I don’t need a second challenge on top of that.
I have a good idea of what I want my next Inktober participation to be. I have the subject matter, the ideas for the drawings I want to make, I am planning it out, and sprucing up my drawings skills may be key to me pulling it off.
I’m exhausted. I pushed myself this spring and summer to take on full-on plein air and urban sketching. I worked on my set up, on my sketching materials and mediums, on my sketching style. It was fun, but I have to admit, it was still a lot of pressure for what was supposed to be a recreational and relaxing activity. I’m not a professional artist. I fell into watercolour and art because I needed a creative outlet that was not writing. Ultimately, I need to replenish my writing juices.
I’m over extended. I am taking a class, I just went live with my website, I am trying to upload more YouTube Videos and update my Instagram and Facebook page. I am learning more about gouache and want to start going to new locales for Urban Sketching. That is without including any personal or professional pressures.
I have given myself the right to say no. NO. Inktober, I like you, I’d like to spend time with you, but this year, I’ll happily observe and take a pass. It’s okay to say no. It does not make me less of an artist. And it’s okay if I decide to do a couple of drawings and let my participation be that, this year. I don’t need to make excuses, I don’t need to explain myself, even though I just did, but it was not necessary.
So don’t feel bad if you don’t participate, or if you participate and don’t complete it.
It’s funny, I have never, NEVER, EVER made a New Year’s resolution in my entire life. I do not like the custom nor do I like the peer pressure that comes with it. Yet, Inktober has started feeling that way to me this year. I even posted a video explaining why Inktober was not for me! Why? There is something about this event that brings artist out from all nooks and crannies. Which is great. It’s a wave of creativity. The downside, is everyone is starting to feel the pressure.
The spirit of Inktober is about personal challenge and developing good habits. But it has grown so much, it’s become a behemoth. Though most people are positive and encouraging, groups form, controversies arise, arguments between how strict or not some rules should be, competitiveness and pettiness dual for a spot on mob mentalities…
Maybe Inktober has finally made it! From a fringe event to a full on holiday! What is Christmas without the over shopping and consumerism? What is Thanksgiving without the family drama and the food coma? Inktober may be the victim of its success but ultimately, it is up to us, artists, to make a choice of ‘if’ and ‘how’ we participate.
What are your thoughts on Inktober? Have you participate? Will you participate this year? Share in the comment section.
Ciao!