30 Faces / 30 Days

During the pandemic I started experimenting with drawing portraits. Getting a likeness was particularly difficult and wondered whether it was worth spending time and effort to take me to the next level.

At the end of December a 30-day drawing challenge popped into my Instagram feed. 30 Faces/30 Days happens each January and is run by Sktchy.

I procrastinated.

An interview I saw with Graphic Designer Karel Martens (Profiles, D. 2012) spurred me into action. Describing his own experience said:

“I think you should always do the things you think you should do. I regret the things I didn’t do more than those I did, however terrible the results”.

I paid the small fee and signed-up.

On each day of the challenge a new reference photograph of a different muse and accompanying video of a portrait artist drawing the model is released. The combination of watching the processes and techniques of an established practitioner with 'giving it a go' was really effective.

Here’s what happened:

I created 30 portraits in 31 days. On average each one took two hours to complete and all were approximately A3 in size.

Like most of my visual experiments, the results were variable. I was most happy where I took the greatest risk, but these riskier efforts also failed more dramatically.

Interestingly, the most unsuccessful drawings were the first and the last ones.

You can see all the others along with my other work on Instagram #hughhadfield

What next? I'm intrigued to see how I integrate what I've learned back into my practice.

?I’m also particularly interested in hearing about collaborations that experiment with using a visual approach to coaching and/or supporting organisational change.

Reference:

Profiles, D. (2012) Dutch Profiles: Karel Martens. At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkZT7-Xn4C4 (Accessed 01/02/2022).