Drawing (almost) every day for a month

I know, I know- Inktober is nothing new. Every October, alongside the official Inktober account, dozens and dozens of high-profile artists post their own daily prompt lists. Ever since I was in college, I had ambitious thoughts about completing a full month of the challenge. Yet, every year, I begin planning, inspired by all of the different prompts I’ve seen, only to fall irrevocably behind as I get caught up with the rest of my life.

I was really determined for this year to be different, but the conditions had to be right. It had to be something small, something sustainable.

And then I found a leaf.

Left: October 1st’s leaf

Thus began Leaftober. I was going to post an autumn leaf every day for a month. It had to be a leaf I collected, not a picture from the internet, so that I could practice drawing from life. It also had to be a leaf specifically drawn for this challenge; I had drawn several leaves in the past, but posting them would be cheating.

So before I get into the process of it all, let’s cut to the chase- how did I do? Well all in all, I drew 27 leaves and posted on Instagram for 28 days out of the 31 day month. While not perfect, this is by far my most successful and productive October, and I’m really proud of those stats! I work a 9-5 job with an hour commute each way, so making time for art during the week can be difficult, and I think I did a good job.

Right: October 13th’s leaf

My favorite part of this challenge was finding the leaves- every leaf I drew was found while I was just going about my normal day, and it was fun to try and hunt for interesting shapes and colors. Watching the ground as I walked and paying special attention to the same streets I’ve walked hundreds of times was an interesting exercise in mindfulness. Though some days I felt a little stressed at the prospect of having to rush to have a drawing to post, the actual process of drawing the leaves and cutting them out was meditative and calming.

I love everything about autumn, except that the days begin to shorten and darken, a constant reminder that I’m about to be plunged into another gray and dreary Seattle winter. I found that focusing on the leaves and how beautiful all of the colors are this time of year helped me appreciate the season instead of feeling dread about the approaching winter.

Left: October 10th’s leaf

In my own art practice, I have been taking lots of inspiration from nature, and this challenge was a way to generate lots of new collage bits that I will be able to use for projects later on down the line. I’m excited to see what combinations I can create with my 27 new paper leaves.

All in all, I’m so glad I was able to make this challenge something of my own, and I’m so excited to see what inspires me for next October!