30 in 30, Day 1: “The Wind Is Strong”

The wind is strong,
but stronger still is the Rock
on which I stand.

It’s time again for Leslie Saeta’s 30-in-30 challenge, and boy am I glad! This is just the excuse I need to get me back into the studio again. My schedule is fuller than it used to be, so some days I may not get to participate. But I’ll do what I can, and I’ll keep my goals simple and attainable.

Since I work at a college, my plan is to create 30 greeting cards to give to college students throughout the semester. I intend to vary my techniques, rather than do the same thing all month long. The media/techniques I’ll use are:

• Single Line Art
• Watercolor
• Zentangled Monograms
• Acrylic
• Charcoal

Day 1: The Wind Is Strong

This is, for all practical purposes, my first attempt at a Single Line Art drawing. Technically, I completed two others in my sketch book before drawing this one, and I used pencil before using ink; but, let’s fact it, I’m a beginner, and I still need a lot of practice. It’s harder than it looks. This drawing was accomplished without lifting the pen from the paper until the entire drawing was completed.

I learned this technique just today, while clicking on the links of others in the 30-in-30 challenge. Amy from Water Ink & Ribbon gets the credit for introducing this technique to yours truly, but she learned it from someone else, perhaps YouTube. I really liked the torn edges around the message and the splash of color behind it, but I didn’t want to be a total copycat. So instead of watercolor, I used soft pastels for the color. And instead of tearing the paper, I cut it neatly. I did, however, pull out my trusty typewriter to type the message instead of printing it from the computer. But, in all honesty, I very likely will go ahead and copy Amy’s style on some of the other cards. After all, hers look really good.