When I started Drawing a Drawing 365 (www.DrawingADrawing.com) I had no idea how fans would react to my lofty ambition to take on 365 daily portraits, dozens of drawing & painting commissions, and a full-length tutorial all in the span of 1 short year! Well…

25 days and 365 backers later,
we’ve hit the $50K mark…
and we still have 5 days to go!

This has been an absolute dream. There are no words to express my gratitude for all of the support I have received so far. I have a lot of work ahead of me and I can honestly say that I’ve never been so excited to create art in my life! I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow throughout this exciting process, and share my journey and the beautiful things that are sure to come out of it with those who are interested.

1 PORTRAIT EVERY DAY FOR 1 YEAR.

 
For those just joining… I am drawing 1 portrait every day for 1 year to help fund a full-length drawing/painting tutorial via Kickstarter*. Those who support the project have the opportunity to be one of the “days” in the 365 days and have their own unique and meaningful personal portrait drawn.

In appreciation of all of the love & support I’ve received from this project…

I’m giving away THREE free portrait days!

 
To give you a glimpse of what 365-pledgers (and portrait WINNERS) have to look forward to, I’ve created an example of what one of these sketches will look like along with a time-lapse video of the making-of.

^ An example of a 365-sketch (Cora, 8×10, Gesso/Graphite on Illustration Board)

(detail)

Watch it on YouTube: http://youtu.be/flgSn2lb_8U
Watch it on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/40547161

WANT A CHANCE TO JOIN IN THE FUN?

TO ENTER:

• Share this post on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, your blog… anywhere!
• Leave a comment below.

RULES:

• Deadline to enter is Wednesday, April 25th at 5pm EST.
• Anyone worldwide may enter!
• Three winners will be chosen at random and announced sometime Wednesday evening on this post.
• The 365-day portrait project starts June 6, 2012 and ends June 6, 2013.
• Portrait days will be chosen for each of the winners.

Thank you and good luck!!

 
*Kickstarter is a platform for artists to showcase and raise funds for their creative projects. It allows fans the opportunity to help bring the ideas they choose to life. The best part is that in return for a pledge, backers get cool rewards… in my Drawing a Drawing 365 project this includes prints, DVDs, personal portraits, even an e-book sharing what I’ve learned to help fellow artists launch projects of their own. (www.DrawingADrawing.com)

——————– UPDATE ——————–

AND THE WINNERS ARE…

Thanks to everyone who entered! I truly appreciate all of the wonderful, beautiful comments. You guys are awesome and I wish I could create a special portrait for each one of you!
Unfortunately there can only be THREE winners and they are…

• Congratulations Courtney! Your day is October 20, 2012.
• Congratulations Laura! Your day is October 21, 2012.
• Congratulations Lee! Your day is October 22, 2012.

(I've emailed each one of you with details.)

 


I’ve got an exciting new Kickstarter project in the works…

• 1 portrait daily for 365 days
• A new full-length painting tutorial
• EXCLUSIVE Limited Edition prints
• And rewards starting at just $5!!!

Join in the fun @ www.DrawingADrawing.com

 
*Hurry! This project ends April 28th!

As a requirement, students at Muhlenberg County High School in Greenville, KY study a living contemporary artist of their choice every semester. So when Ms. Stewart, a MCHS visual art instructor, wrote to tell me her AP Studio Art class chose me and was going to hold a ‘Michael Shapcott Day’ I was thrilled.

I’ve never been to Kentucky but it totally blows my mind that a high school there has heard of me. It’s a huge compliment that my work is valued and acknowledged in that way. All I can say is that I’m honored and Ms. Stewart and the art students of MCHS are awesome!!

For their study, each student created an ‘original’ work of art while concentrating on the ‘M.Shapcott’ technique of shading, acrylic washes, and details with oils. They then had a ‘Michael Shapcott Day’ where they ate the foods I liked, put on a presentation of my work and techniques, and most importantly showed off their own paintings in what they call an ‘Art Speak’ where the students discussed their work with fellow classmates, invited teachers, parents and administrators.

(A shot from the day & a spread of my fav foods that students munched on)

The class was featured in two local newspaper articles and one student’s work received a Gold Key Award in the regional art exhibition with a chance to compete nationally (Congrats Jordan)! It has been so incredible hearing about the day and seeing all of the awesome pictures of the artists and their work. The students did an absolutely beautiful job interpreting my paintings!

So here’s a shout out and a huge THANK YOU to Ms. Stewart and the art class at MCHS!! Again, amazing job guys! I wish you all the best in your artistic endeavors.

Una
16″ x 20″
Graphite, Acrylic, Oil on Canvas

(Detail)

Prints available HERE. Original for sale. Please contact me if interested. Thanks!

Work in Progress (Graphite)

I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of seeing into the future. Ultimately I feel that we are the creators of our own destiny but also that there is this mystery and force that is greater than ourselves simultaneously at work. It’s no doubt that our choices and actions help to create our future but how much is left to fate or to the great threads that link all of our lives into one? Perhaps most intriguing, is there a way to tap into and obtain a glimpse of what can or will happen to us?

With these questions and ideas in mind, I decided to create this visual story of a girl who traveled a long distance and overcame many challenges to obtain an ancient power to see into the future. Instead of a crystal ball, her tool is an actual crystal which she retrieved from this rocky and violent mountain landscape. The painting image is the point where she rests with her hard-won prize and is unexpectedly shown a major shift in her life’s course, a big change like the one often depicted in the death card from tarot decks.

The girl in the painting is named Crystallina. I found it fitting not only because her power comes from a crystal but because of an interesting personal story… A few years back, my fiance and I decided it’d be fun to go to a psychic. During my session, the woman reading me looked at me and super-seriously said something like, “When you’re painting, there is a spirit around you helping you. Her name is Crys… Crysta… Crystal… CRYSTALLINA!”  I didn’t really know what to think. I remember part of me found it funny (a “bull s!@#” might have ran through my mind) but another part of me was intrigued by the idea of this spirit helping me paint and maybe working through me somehow.

The Death of Crystallina
24″ x 36″
Graphite/Acrylic/Oil on Canvas

This piece will be exhibited alongside many other talented up-and-coming artists at Thinkspace Gallery’s Picks of the Harvest 2012 show opening March 3rd and on view through March 24th in Culver City, CA. It’s an amazing line-up so if you can make it out in person, do it! If you’d like to see a preview of the show, visit Thinkspace’s sneak peek HERE. The complete lineup is listed below (click to enlarge).