ICAD Week 2: Acrylic Paints + Making a Mess

Index cards 8-14 from week 2 of Daisy Yellow's Index-Card-a-Day Challenge 2012.

So, yet another week of ICAD has passed, and another seven cards have been added to the stack on my desk!  Again, I would like to urge all of my regular readers (even if you think the idea sounds silly and boring and you're staring at your screen right now thinking, "Seriously?  She's actually going to be posting these silly cards every week?"), to consider giving ICAD a try.  It really is way more fun than I thought it would be, and you don't have to consider yourself an artist or put as much effort into each card as I have been doing.  And you can start at any time, without having to worry about catching up for the days you missed.  Check out the FAQ if you need more information.

Making these cards this week got me thinking about an idea that is connected to my "just show up and create" motto of last week.  It is this: don't worry about making a mess.  A few of my cards from this week I began filled with doubt.  The mandala on the second card is a good example.  I started out drawing with a fat brown marker and then starting adding watercolours - even though I knew the marker was not waterproof.  I thought, "This is either going to turn out awful or amazing."  I kept working on it and adding more details and the result was one of my favourite mandalas ever.  The last card above is still one that I am not certain about.  I had pulled out my acrylic paints for both that card and the first one of this week, but it had been so long since I had really worked in acrylics I wasn't sure what to do with them anymore.  In the end I just starting putting some green paint down and seeing where it went.  I still have a few doubts about that card: it's bold and messy and not really my style.  But I think I am liking it more than I'm not liking it.  (And it's green.  I can never go wrong with green.)

Don't worry about making a mess or screwing up, because if you do you're not going to be able to relax and create.  Remember, it's just an index card.  If turns out that horribly, you can always throw it out and start over.  But I didn't have to throw out any of my cards, and if you can just relax and have fun with it, chances are you won't have to either.

If you've found your way here from Daisy Yellow, welcome!  Feel free to explore the rest of my site.  If you're a regular reader,are you participating in ICAD?  (And if you're a regular reader and you're not that into ICAD, don't worry, because I have a new pen review coming up next week!)

[See all ICAD posts.]