Marilyn Muirhead

100 DAY PROJECT

Marilyn Muirhead   Tauranga

Special Facebook page for my art:    Marilyn Muirhead Artist

 

I decided this would be a good challenge for me to commit to putting in the hard yards practicing my drawing.  In particular, portraits and people.

 

I needed a special sketchbook A4 size with blank pages, being lockdown I hunted and found a book that Mary Transom gave me for my 60th which was decorated beautifully.  It went through my mind that it was too gorgeous to use….but realised we shouldn’t wait until we’re dead, use your beautiful stuff.

 

I was excited about this project and started two weeks early, was it cheating – yes, but I decided it was about putting in the work, not about doing it every day….some days just go to the pack!   I’d read in a Link from Charlotte that someone decided to do it for 20 minutes each day, this sounded like a reasonable commitment but I would work for hours some days.

 

First I practiced doing huge eyes, this followed on with my Aqua challenge.  The woman who bought it saw something completely different in it which had meaning for her.

I started off with body parts, eyes, noses and ears, then on to hands and feet.  I carried on to do the huge eye for the AQ Aqua Challenge.  During the project I would put these into full body portraits, looking for good photos with lots of these detailed features, ending up after a week with (for example), Hayden holding his baby sister and later his own daughter.

 

Some samples of my face and body features, I find ears the hardest as they are all dark and lights.

At the beginning I spent more time looking at the projects and processes the ladies were posting and reading all the comments – rather than working on my own drawings, it was very exciting.   The Facebook page was a great inspiration and encouragement and if it wasn’t for that I wouldn’t have carried on.  I think we should have been encouraged to post every day, then that would have really put the pressure on….especially when I hit around the 50 day mark and I was wilting.  We thought that with 100 people posting every day it would be TOO much, but there was only about 20 posting most days.   

I enjoyed the portraits, but didn't get the complete likeness.

I started by drawing anybody and any body parts, pausing the TV when it had good contrast and close up of a person, then taking a photo.  I ended up picking on a family member from my computer photo albums and drawing from these for a week, more interesting but the usual difficult challenge of getting a likeness.  I realised I could make a good picture, but to get a likeness it took me twice as long “why am I drawn to the difficult challenge of portraits”?!

 

It took me several days each, but the full body sketches were good practice on proportion.  The last sketch of Hayden with his baby daughter made me practice putting all the small studies together.

I thought people who didn’t know my work well would wonder why I was sketching portraits instead of sewing and quilting, so I decided on Sunday (as my day off but I quite often drew then too) I would post an existing textile portrait, then people would understand why I was practicing in this direction.  I feel like I’ve got to explain myself, but it is good to follow your passion isn’t it girls?

 

This shows the series of one person which would take me a week.  Youngest daughter Rickaan.

I started patchworking in the 70’s, very sporadic but how lovely now the four kids have left home to spend a lot of time on my art.  I had little sessions learning other crafts too, e.g. macrame, woodwork, leatherwork, felting and a few art lessons.  My other passion is architecture and interior design, I started my own business so put my arty expression and love of colour into that.     I have joined the Art Society here which fits in well with my art and I pick up a lot of hints, I was apprehensive with entering my textiles in their competitions but did (with their encouragement), and have ended up with some success.  I regularly took my sketchbook there to do my 100 Day in an arty chatty atmosphere.  I have always felt I didn’t always fit in with quilting as my work evolves when I’m making it and doesn’t fit in with the “norm”, and the same with painting now that I am painting on my textiles instead of just a normal framed canvas.  But we do have to be on our own journey – don’t we?

 

Would I have done this practice without this challenge?  No way.  A huge thank you to Charlotte for putting the effort in to making this happen.  Yes I would do it again, but I agree with one of Charlotte’s ideas to maybe make it shorter, and I’m open to a subject or technique.  I can always twist it in my own direction!?!