"Art attracts us only by what it reveals of our most secret self."

Day 82:

I never really understood why people created self portraits? It always seemed like such a bizarre thing to do. Currently though we are living in a pretty bizarre world so as I enjoyed creating the picture of Opeie  earlier in the week so much, I thought I'd give it a go. Its definitely not something I could see myself doing again but I'm glad I had a go. I'm really loving this new style of drawing, we may be mid lockdown but this limited life that we are all living has definitely unlocked my creative side and given me a real hunger to keep those creative juices flowing.

"“Dare to love yourself as if you were a rainbow with gold at both ends.”"

Day 73:

Ive said it so many times since this lockdown started, The #creativelockdownproject that has really kept me and Opeie in a happy creative headspace and I don't think I've ever been this creatively motivated in a long time. Its been great to really reinforce to Opeie that art is everywhere and it doesn't have to be something that has taken a chunk of time to create, to make people smile. as the creative word today is 'books' Opeie decided to search through his collection and make a book rainbow. It certainly put a smile on my face.

“True emotional healing doesn't happen without feeling. The only way out is through.”

Day 66:

I used to be one of those people that would think 'bloody hell another blogger hash tagging 'mental health'. A few years back everybody seemed to be jumping on some sort of mental health band wagon and I really didn't understand it. It turns out that I'm an idiot, and the reason that everyone was talking about it back then was because it was the start of society really giving it the attention it deserves. The last two years have been an emotional rollercoaster and have really made me appreciate how hard it is sometimes to stop myself (and Opeie) feeling like we are emotionally sinking. This Coronavirus has become testing to most peoples emotional health and when there are other issues in your personal life too (especially ones that are unnecessary) it really adds to those negative feelings. Tonight is one of those nights where I feel like I've been on the verge of tears for quite sometime, So, as todays word on our #creativelockdownproject is 'Afloat' I figured my brain and emotional wellbeing were the things that I'm always trying to keep above the surface. 

Be kind to each other, It really makes a difference.

“This is the way.”

Day 62:

I never really thought that much of Star Wars, always swayed towards the super heroes instead but over the last few days we've been watching the Mandalorian and I'm pretty hooked. So as todays word over on the #creativelockdownproject is 'Kindness' and Mando is so lovely to Baby Yoda 'this is the way' we went with our pieces. I am loving painting, its really keeping me in a lovely headspace and all this creativity is working wonders for Opeie too.

"A hero is somebody who voluntarily walks into the unknown."

Day 59:

Todays #creativelockdownproject word is 'Hero' and there is no one more heroic than the people out there risking their lives so that we can all be safe in our homes while this awful virus is taking so many lives. These people are just getting on with keeping the world turning and taking everything in their stride. I for one feel so grateful for all that they are doing for us.

"Some days, the supply of available curse words is insufficient to meet my demands!"

Day 58:

Todays #creativelockdownproject word is 'Unfinished', the original plan was to start a new piece and leave it incomplete but I walked past my disappointing piece from the 'Music' day and realised that that needed to be my piece for today. No matter how many times I drew Opeie's mouth I just couldn't get it right, so I had just rubbed it out completely and he sat on the shelf mouthless... unfinished. 

I really didn't want to attempt that mouth again only to be left frustrated so I gave that little potty mouth of mine a fitting replacement and the piece made me smile again.

"Adventure is not outside man; it is within."

Day 55:

Over on the #creativelockdownproject that we have been taking part in, the days word is adventure. At first it made me think of the adventures that we've been missing out on, the trips to the beach and all the places we like to pull up to and paint. Then I reminded myself that 'adventure' is what you make it. So we grabbed our Minifigures and went for a good stomp for a couple of hours, the perfect mini adventure for a lockdown day. 

"He travels like a lightning streak and he strikes from town to town. Then he gets you when you're weak and tares your playhouse down."

Day 53:

As an enthusiast of all things LEGO I love a good challenge and being able to only build in one colour has always been something that I have enjoyed doing. With todays #creativelockdownproject word being 'Monochrome' it gave me the chance to get in to a mini LEGO project. For some reason the first thing that came to mind was the devil minifigure so I chose to stick with red and create the build around that little guy. To see more of satan's thrown room check out our Instagram page HERE.

"Peace begins with a smile."

Day 49:

Todays #creativelockdownproject word was 'Peace', obviously a fitting word for this day but for me it made me think of how much slower life has become since this lockdown period. I sat in the garden today and painted with my favourite peeps and it was perfection, we had nowhere to be and didn't leave the garden all day, LUSH!

"Rise up, you dead, slain of the hydra. Rise from your graves and avenge us. Those who steal the Golden Fleece must die."

Day 44:

Ever since this whole lockdown started we've got into this strange routine of being really motivated to get stuff done first thing but then just after lunch feeling like we just don't want to do anything, its really frustrating. By the time we receive the following days word for the #creativelockdownproject I nearly always think 'Urgh... I might just skip tomorrows'. But then magically the following morning I'm pumped and ready to go. Todays word was 'Mythological', so while we drew we watched Jason and the Argonauts. I drew the children of the Hydras teeth and Opeie decided to create a crossover of King Midas and Midas from Fortnite, pretty cool I thought.

"If you try to knock me you'll get mocked. I'll stir fry you in my wok. Your knees'll start shakin' and your fingers pop, Like a pinch on the neck of Mr. Spock"

Day 42:

Today Ive definitely been feeling a little more myself which has made the day so much easier. Getting out for a nice walk this morning really cleared my head (which I definitely needed). Todays word on our #creativelockdownproject was 'Intergalactic', Opeie wasn't feeling it so I went it alone today and created this Watercolour galaxy collage. The daily creative project is giving me something positive to focus on each day and its good to have that little nudge to get me creating.

Building a better you is the first step to building a better anything.

Day 37:

This crazy lockdown kinda feels like its been sponsored by LEGO in our house because it has pretty much shaped every day of being stuck at home. Keeping our creativity alight is getting the both of us through this and in a much better headspace. Yesterday we built a tin robot for the word 'Vintage' on our #creativelockdownproject over on Instagram. 

If you fancy a bit of creative inspiration to get you through, head on over and join in HERE.

“What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity."

Day 36:

As expected yesterdays miserable day was long gone when we woke up this morning. Shockingly I slept from 8:30 till just before 7:30 which is really unlike me. We got straight up and went for an hours walk which was lush. The morning was filled with LEGO creating for our #creativelockdownproject which today was 'Botanical'. Before heading out again in the car to make the most of the Pokemon Go community day (with no community 😥). Everything about today was happy and we're both hoping that the coming days are much the same, I need to hold on to this sunshine feeling.

“The real world is where the monsters are.”

Day 34:

Todays picture is actually from yesterday, it was really colourful and that's how I'm feeling today. We both slept well, we were out early for a walk again and now we're eager to get some creativity pumping. Opeie started to flag yesterday afternoon and was really fed up (we're all going to have days like that) so I'm going to do what I can to hold on to this positive start to the day.