You can probably tell I have been loving landscapes again recently and my
favourite way to really capitalize on any burst of creative inspo is to turn it
into a challenge so I can really push myself to put in those hours and work on
those skills and improve my own output. So I've decided to try my best this week
to fill up an entire sketchbook with landscape paintings, so I'm really
playing with different techniques, different colours, different compositions.
I'm also really happy to be working with Intel again this year who have really
kindly sponsored this video and sent over this amazing device which you'll
get to see a lot more on later on in the video. Alright so the best way to start
any challenge is with as much figured out as possible, so I've already decided on
my core kit for this week starting with this sketchbook which was originally an
a5 sketchbook, I've cut it in half so that the dimensions are more in line
with landscape painting. I'm also going to use a limited palette of gouache
paint just to keep things nice and simple, and finally the only other thing
I think I'll need will be this laptop which is the Dell XPS 13 which should
fill in the gaps of all the other needs I have along the way... the first one being
references! I'm thinking... this sketchbook has 30 pages, I would ideally
like to be completing six paintings a day so that I can stay somewhat ahead
of myself. I'll probably spend about an hour on each painting -although I will
aim for less -which means 6 hours a day dedicated to this challenge alone! Plus I
then have, you know, other work and commitments to be getting on with. So I'm
aiming to collect any source material in any free moments which is where I think
this sleek little device can really help me out.
The Intel Core i7 processor and improved wireless performance and
stability allow me to browse instantly and uninterrupted so I can plug inspo
from the web whenever a moment comes up.
When I went into the first painting my intention was to get it down
as quickly as possible. You kind of need to get that first one
out of the way and know that it's not going to be the best, just to give
yourself permission to make mistakes along the way. And so I just kind of
genuinely just rushed into it just to get something down, get that blank bit of
paper done and get the challenge started. Lighting clearly isn't great today
because the sun's been in and out, it's got a stormy day and so I do think
because it's so cloudy it'll get a darker earlier so I'm trying to really
get through as many as I can. As I moved on, the second one was a much
simpler composition but still something that I find quite complicated since I'm
not really used to painting clouds. That one only took 12 minutes which was great,
that kind of caught me up to the timing I wanted to be at. One thing that I've
noticed is that the paper is a lot more textured than I would have expected so
that's something to kind of get around. Other than that though, the paints that
I chose have been really good, the color combination works really well for
everything I need it for so far, so I'm three down now. I will probably see if I
can get one or two more done today before it gets too dark in here since I
don't really like working in artificial lights I need to make the most of the
daylight I have left.
Back to references, you've probably recently seen me taking inspiration from
movie settings for some of my paintings , recreating the landscapes from the
films that I've just watched, which is a great little cheat for fitting leisure
time into my work so I don't start feeling too burnt out. Yeah maybe I am
watching a film during my lunch break but it's 'research'. Now where Intel have
really been innovating with these machines is the battery life. On top of
being able to stream movies with practically no waiting time, the battery
on this can actually last up to 16 hours streaming from sites like Netflix at
like 1080p. With this I feel like I'm really covered reference-wise. I'm able
to collect everything I need on the go and in stunning detail.
We are... I don't even want to think about how many hours in now- and something I'm
realising is just how much video content I'm going to have to edit to compile all
of the footage of these paintings, so I've decided to start editing as I go, a
little head start on myself, and it's been surprisingly painless so far. The
sheer capabilities of this processor have a slashed my editing time and my
exporting time. Oh- and I mentioned the battery yesterday and I've been really
impressed. I've been confident enough to take this
around with me and edit what is turning into a chunky video without worrying I'm
gonna run out of steam.
Day four was when I hit the wall- seriously considered giving up purely
because it was just one of those days. The weather was horrible, things kept
going wrong just generally in life that day, I was getting tired and fed up with
it especially as my first painting that day it wasn't white wanted. I felt like I
was going backwards and it took way longer than I'd hoped.
Thierry came and gave me moral support which was lovely even if he swiftly moved
on when I told him that the paint wasn't for eating. The wall is a usual obstacle in
a challenge like this it's easy to say I'll skip today and catch up tomorrow-
and there's nothing wrong with that if you're working around time constraints-
but when it's a motivation thing, I mean that's what my challenge is all about;
painting when you don't want to, so I just decided to take it one painting at
time, not promising myself that I would stick to the six piece threshold, just
picking up the brush and starting the next painting without thinking about it.
You know, turning the page once I was done and just diving right into getting
the tape down to frame the next one. And that worked for me.
'Alexa, play some music.' 'Here's a playlist you might like...'
My favourite thing about
these challenges is really finding your rhythm. My sketchbook, my paintbrush, my
laptop have almost become an extension of me at this point and getting down to
work on these paintings has become a natural process. I've trial and errored
different limited palettes, bringing different paints in and out depending on
how much I use them. I've gotten a better idea of what works and what doesn't, what I
need to work on.... and it's exciting having that sense of direction now, knowing what
I'll look deeper into after this challenge is over.
What's made everything even more seamless has been being able to do
everything I'm doing and use my voice to control my device, so I can keep my
hands-free and not have to faff about with other devices to play music or
gather any information I might want. Plus I've been able to pair my laptop with my
phone so I can actually take and make calls and send and receive texts and
transfer files all from right here. My whole process has become a well-oiled
machine and what initially started out as quite a daunting project has actually
turned out to be quite enjoyable, thanks in huge part to this device at
the center of it keeping things running smoothly and instantly. Intel have really
outdone themselves with this processor and it's been so refreshing to be able
to create so seamlessly. So if you want to find out more about intel's new
innovations or this Dell XPS 13, there will be links in the description below
for you to do so. Other than that guys, thank you so much for joining me for
this one and I will see you in the next one. Bye!