I can thank a former colleague (thank you, Leia!) for telling me about Danny Gregory six years ago. Danny’s book:

The Creative License: Giving Yourself Permission to Be The Artist You Truly Are 

And the description by Amazon.com: When Danny Gregory’s life was turned upside down by tragedy, he learned to cope by teaching himself to draw. The result was a complete transformation of his life, his priorities, his career, and the way he saw the world. In handwritten chapters full of his lush watercolor illustrations, Danny now offers readers a program for reconnecting to their own creative energies, using drawing as an example. He gently instructs us in the art of allowing ourselves to fail, giving up the expectation of perfection and opening our eyes to the beauty around us. The result is the permission to express ourselves fully and take part in the creative process without fear. Artist or not, readers of all stripes will find inspiration in this unique and beautiful book. 

This book was released in late 2005 and has become an inspiration for many to keep drawing and creating, even if for short periods of time and even when drawing seemingly the most mundane objects. Six years have gone by, Danny has experienced significant loss in his life yet has responded by releasing other books along the way. Usually communicating through his drawings, Danny also uses his gifts as a writer to share his emotions with the reader. I believe that Danny’s audience motivates him as he motivates us.

Today is the first day of the new year. Happy New Year! On his blog, Danny has posted the Every Day Matters challenge, which is to do a drawing each day for the whole year, based on a list prepared by artist Karen Winters.  So far there are 328 drawing ideas posted on the blog. Here is the link to the blog and the list: http://dannygregory.wordpress.com/edm-challenges/

So why am I telling you about this? I am inviting you to join me as I draw one drawing a day for the Every Day Matters challenge.   Today’s assignment was to draw a shoe. I took a long ride in the car today and since I was a passenger, I brought my iPad and did my drawing on that using ArtRage. Here’s my shoe(s):

Santa was very good to me this year and brought me a new stylus to use on the iPad. It is made by Sensu and is actually a paintbrush. I used it to make the shoe drawing. As I was drawing in the car, I referred to a painting of shoes by Vincent Van Gogh for the style  and shape of the shoes. I took a big step away (get the pun?) from Van Gogh with my palette.

Here is a photo of the stylus/brush:

Anyway, back to the Every Day Matters challenge. I invite you to participate and post your drawings on the Mona Lisa Lives Here Facebook page. Who’s with me on this? AWESOME! Here are the first 50 items:

1 – Draw a shoe

2 – Draw a desk lamp or other lamp

3 – Purses, Wallets or Bags

4 – Draw your mug or cup

5 – Draw your bed

6 – Draw your favorite well-loved object … or a childhood toy

7 – Draw a bottle, jar or tin from the kitchen

8 – Draw your watch or other piece of jewelry

9 – Draw a bit of “organized chaos” – your messy desk, your table stacked with books, etc.

10 – Draw your hand or hands (or someone elses if you like)

11 – Draw your glasses or sunglasses

12 – Draw what you ate for dinner

13 – Draw your telephone (land line, cell, old-fashioned?)

14 – Draw what you see in the morning when you get up

15 – Draw a tree or trees, leaves or branches

16 – Draw a favorite tool

17 – Draw a musical instrument

18 – Draw the view from a window of your house, apartment, office, etc.

19 – Draw something you’ve made

20 – Draw something “Dad” – in honor of Fathers Day

21 – Draw something old, antique or vintage

22 – Draw a piece of clothing

23 – Draw your foot

24 – Draw a piece of fruit

25 – Draw a glass (the kind you drink from)

26 – Draw anything you like. If you want to draw a vegetable, that’s fine, too.

27 – Draw a book or anything else you want.

28 – Draw an appliance or anything else you like.

29 – Draw something architectural or anything else.

30 – Draw a chair or anything else you feel like.

31 – Draw something you collect

32 – Draw something metallic

33- Draw an eye

34 – Draw a fall leaf

35 – Draw a bicycle or a part of one

36 – Draw out in public

37 – Draw some keys

38 – month long challenge until end of November 2005 – draw at a museum

38 – Draw something related to Halloween, All Souls Day, Dia de los Muertos, All Saints, etc.

39 – Draw your toothbrush

40 – Draw something with folds

41 – Draw a landmark of your city

42 – Draw something you are thankful for

43 – Draw something china or ceramic

44 – Draw an animal – a pet, a zoo animal, a stuffed one …

45 – Draw your medicine cabinet (the inside of it)

46 – Draw something holiday themed (Hanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, winter solstice)

47 – Draw a challenge from the past year 1-46 that you didn’t try before

48 – Draw something that represents your new year’s goal or resolution

49 – Draw your refrigerator interior (and contents) or exterior (and what’s on the door)

50 – Draw your home’s entryway and journal your thoughts and feelings about “homecoming.”

I won’t keep you any longer…you’ve got a shoe to draw!