From May to September 2020, Karen took part in the 100 Days Project Scotland 2020 to practise making art.
Making use of materials
I took on a bold challenge for my 100 Days Scotland Project in 2020. I created one hundred portraits from a single reference photograph, choosing to utilise only the mediums and materials that I already owned.
The selected photo captured a tender moment between my daughter, Ava, and one of our cats cuddling on the sofa. Although, the cat didn’t feature in any of the portraits. The photo was taken during the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
For me, this project was an opportunity to explore the possibilities of different mediums, materials, and techniques, which I had not allowed myself to do before. Some of the portraits took minutes to complete, some took many hours. To me, some of the portraits felt like cheating to keep going through the 100 days, created using digital tools with little skill required or accidental portraits found on materials used to protect other surfaces.
With experimentation came a mixture of results, thoughts, and feelings along the way, including joy, frustration, admiration, dissatisfaction, pleasure, surprise, boredom, peace, and love.
Although many of the portraits did not bear a close resemblance to my daughter, the joys and sorrows of experimentation created a collection of portraits that were unique, meaningful, and reflective of the love that I have for my daughter. Through my exploration of different mediums, techniques, and materials, I was able to make the process of creating a portrait more enjoyable and meaningful for me, as I experienced the beauty of the unknown.
