drawing Archives ~ Day by Day

I’ve never had a manicure in my life. Up until recently, I was always working with my hands and wasn’t willing to shell out money for something I would ruin so quickly. I always admire people with dainty, glossy, beautiful nails. Now that I’ve decided to deviate my career path, I can finally have pretty nails. My nails are wide and short, and my hands are always covered in eczema, cuts and weird wrinkles, so I’m a bit self-conscious of my hands. One of the first things I want to do post-quarantine is book a couple of manicures for my boyfriend and I.

That being said, today is nail day! Nail day was created in appreciation of acrylic and fake nails. Unfortunately, I don’t have any fake nail supplies here in my humble abode. I don’t even have nail polish, to be honest. But that won’t stop me from painting my nails today! Painted nails have a way of making people feel more put-together and confident. I don’t know what it is, but that small thing can make me feel really good about myself.

Using what I have, I’m going to give my nails a makeover. I have actual paint here and sharpies. I do a quick google search to see if putting sharpie on your nails is bad for your health. The general consensus seems to be that yes, sharpie contains bad stuff that can seep into your body, but the quantities aren’t large enough to affect your health. With that in mind, I carry on and gather my supplies.

Paintbrushes, markers, paint, and bottle caps for the paint.

Looking at the sharpies, I’m reminded of grade school. My friends and I would often colour our nails with sharpies and white out while bored in class. I would also draw pen tattoos on my fingers, my hand, and sometimes up my arms. I decide to do a nail art design based on that time, when we used to have fun with what we had.

You can see a healing eczema patch near my wrist!

I start with the best one, gold paint. It goes on way easier than nail polish. It’s smoother, and easier to make even. The coat feels a little delicate when it dries. Too bad I didn’t have a base coat to prime my nails.

I love the effect of the gold paint on my nails. It looks so pretty! Now for the fun part, I start doodling with sharpie. I draw whatever I feel like: tiny faces, lines, a cat, a heart… Before I know it my nails are covered with a zigzag of lines and shapes. Looking at them, I feel joy. Drawing on yourself is so fun and carefree! I end up only doing one hand, as my right hand is destroyed from scrubbing with steel wool earlier. It needs a little R&R. Here’s the finished product on my left hand though!

I love it! I wish I had a topcoat to seal it in, but not all things are meant to last, I guess. I don’t think they’ll live the day, but I’ll enjoy them for as long as I can.

Happy Nail Day!

I am so glad the humble pencil has its’ own day. Graphite pencils are so reliable, universal, and did you know the shavings are compostable? In a world of fancy pens in every color imaginable, graphite pencils may seem mundane, but there’s a simple beauty to them. Sometimes we have to remember the simple things.

For pencil day, I’m going to keep it simple and attempt a pencil drawing. Now, it’s my birthday today, and my boyfriend has been doing so much for me all day. He’s been cooking, cleaning, doing the dishes… Really going above and beyond to make today excellent. So I’m going to make him a drawing of his beautiful cat, Alexandre. Here’s the picture I’m going to use:

In university, one of our required courses was visual art. I didn’t do too badly in the course, but when I expressed interest in continuing on that path, my professor told me very cleary– I needed to take a drawing class. I still haven’t done that, but I wish I had. Just knowing how to draw is such an undervalued basic skill. Being able to put down on paper anything I’m visualizing would have made a difference, in retrospect. It’s never too late to try!

I start with the reverse front cover of a lined notebook and trusty pencil. Then I add shapes, as I’ve seen other do.

It looks weird, I’m not sure about my technique, but I soldier on. It’s a good thing I can erase pencil. I erase some of the lines in between the shapes and add definition to what’s left.

Okay, now I’m going to do the bulk of the work. I continue shading in and adding elements. I draw pupils, whiskers, fur markings, and all the little details. I’m getting sleepy at this point, so I rush to finish. I’m done within an hour. It’s not perfect, but I’m not mad at how this guy turned out!

Not bad at all! I go to close the notebook on my pencil day drawing, and I notice a fatal flaw– I drew the picture upside down. Oops!

Happy Pencil Day!