The ones that got away...

During the art challenge I'd set myself in February ( #februdoodle@bloowabbit ) I didn't only draw a single doodle per day. Occasionally I drew two or even three which meant that I sometimes had to choose which doodle to upload. 

These are the doodles that got away...

I like the single eye, it's similar to the day 7 doodle although it was drawn a week later - perhaps because I liked the image it reappeared. The 'block painting' and eye was drawn on top of a doodle that wasn't going anywhere. Others are overdone, doodles taken too far. Some are bridges between one style and another, and some are just strange - like the Minotaur or the small bug-eyed creature. I am frequently surprised by what comes out of my doodling.

There's an Inuit story I like (and frequently mention). A bone carver was producing some strange carvings and in understanding why he was doing so his fellow carvers remarked that he'd been finding some strange bones, implying that the form grew from the bone. The carver's hands merely freed what was inside. Sometimes doodling feels like this. I never know what's going to appear.

Once again, thanks to everyone who followed the challenge and left me likes and words of encouragement. Next week the blog will show how I personalised a DIY dollhouse studio with mini examples of my art and processes. Tweezers, glue and indigo air...

February the 1st...

Well !! It's been quite a day. What do you do when someone else decides to run an art challenge on Instagram using the same hashtag you've started using 6 days previous? To be fair the other artist told me she'd thought of it in Jan and put it up on her facebook page. However, when I tried it out on Instagram and found that nobody else was using the hashtag I reckoned the path was clear and so I adopted it. 

I know, I have no ownership over the hashtag. But when challenges are involved two artists using the same hashtags then chaos ensues. What pops up are my instructions for my challenge...and her different instructions for her challenge, a tad confusing.

I had the brass neck to suggest she use a different hashtag. I think that was heretical of me. I shall light a candle to the great god Insta. Anyhow, to be clear, here are the instructions for the bloowabbit #februdoodle challenge.

That's all there is to it...happy doodling! And if you choose to share it online please use the hashtag #februdoodle and add @bloowabbit

Februdoodle blog
Hashtag and Instagram blog

Copyright © 2016 by Roisin O'Hagan/bloowabbit

All rights reserved. The artworks/illustrations or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the artist except for specific permission granted with a free downloadable.

Hashtag and Instagram...

When it comes to social media I'm not the brightest. I have my fb pages, my Instagram account and then I have a Twitter account that I try to avoid. I'm aware that Twitter can be the key to building followers yet I find it all too much. I find it difficult to decipher what to read and what to ignore. To me, Twitter seems like a huge meltdown of millions of people all trying to speak at once. But this year I intend to tweet more often. 

I love Instagram. I have a smartphone and am conscious of wanting to upload images every few days. And this week I discovered how to create a hashtag page. I've been diligently echoing my februdoodle event on my fb pages, on my Instagram page and on my Twitter account. But with only 237 friends on fb, 70 followers on my fb art page, 59 followers on Instagram and 17 followers on Twitter I doubt I'll make much of a social media impact.

I'm very appreciative and grateful for the pals who like and share my art. It's you who make me want to reach more people.

So 2018 is the year I push my social media strength. I may not develop superhero status but doubling numbers by the end of December would be a fair achievement. Setting time aside to read and reply seems important, it's not a one-way communication. And then there's my Pinterest page. I have 75 followers. Wow.

As for the challenge itself I will thoroughly enjoy completing it. It would be very exciting if other artists, doodlers and interested folk uploaded their work too, colour or black ink - just add the hashtag to your image description.

bloowabbit fb art page

bloowabbit Instagram page 

FibreartistOz Twitter link

Roisin O'Hagan Pinterest pages

Copyright © 2016 by Roisin O'Hagan/bloowabbit

All rights reserved. The artworks/illustrations or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the artist except for specific permission granted with a free downloadable.