Student Spotlight: Jason Heitz

Student Spotlight: Jason Heitz

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Jason Heitz lives in Littleton, CO with his family and a slew of pets including chickens!

Q: Jason, how did your creative journey start?

A: I have always had some type of creative outlet. Drawing, painting, carving, weaving, sculpting, or building models. It ebbed and flowed throughout my life as I took drawing and painting classes here and there. I was always productive in class but once the class ended, my practice would taper off until a museum trip or art show inspired me again. My wife’s friend suggested that I take a look at Sketchbook Skool a few years ago which opened my eyes to a daily habit.

Jason Heitz sketch work

The community of artists that it has brought together is a wellspring of creative energy that I can’t help but want to be a part of. It then inspired me to seek out a local urban sketching group and I’ve been more productive in the past 2 1/2 years than I have ever been!

Q: You’ve shared so many wonderful drawings with us as you follow our daily prompts! How do you stay motivated to make art every single day?**

A: The key to my daily habit has been to work in a small format. After seeing other artists making art from the A Drawing a Day prompts, I gave it a try. In January 2017, I began doing a full page in an 11×8.5 sketchbook. I quit after a month because it was too much and it wasn’t fun. It was something that I was so excited to do but it flopped and made me unhappy.

Jason Heitz Artwork

In January 2018, I gave it another try. This time I chose a 3”x3” format on recycled cereal box cardboard and I’ve never felt stressed to complete a day. Using cardboard made me fearless and I had no concerns about ruining the page of a precious sketchbook. And now that fearlessness gives me the confidence to dive in to any sketchbook and start making marks (even on the 1st page!).

Jason Heitz Sketch work

Q: What have you learned from your creative habit?**

A: To trust myself. If I can imagine it, I can find a way to get an idea down on paper. Not always on the 1st try, but after trying over and over I find a way to express it. I’ve also learned that I love working in mixed media. For some reason I never thought Acrylics, inks and watercolors should mix. For most of my dailies, I used to do a thumbnail sketch first in pencil to get a feel for the layout. Recently I’ve stopped doing this and now I am skipping the thumbnail and just going for it!

We love seeing Jason’s style evolve through his daily drawings as he grows more confident and has all sorts of fun with them!

3 mins

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