Motivation experiment days 7 & 8

One week into my experiment with drawing daily and it’s effects on motivation the challenge for drawing ideas has gotten no easier. Drawing cartoon-style faces is a common absent-minded doodle I’ve done in the past; so I drew another cartoon face.

Smiling cartoon face with beard

Motivation experiment day 7 – drawn 27/04/2014

On day eight I decided to go back to doodling some abstract, bold black lines. I tried experimenting with the smearing technique I’d discovered on day three. I liked the effect and it reminded me of an eye. So I found a photo of a cat’s eye and traced it into the background:

Abstract cat's eye

Motivation experiment day 8 – drawn 28/04/2014

Now, for the second time I’d drawn something I quite liked.

I was posting daily on facebook and had some positive feedback on specific pictures on days five, six and seven, and positive feedback (likes or comments) on my drawings most days. That feedback, plus having drawn two things I liked myself in just over a week gave me a boost of interest in continuing this drawing exercise. I started to look forward to drawing, which meant thinking about it sometimes during the day – which finally generated ideas for things to draw.

About Paul McQueen

Dr Paul McQueen is a Clinical Psychologist, holding a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Melbourne. He has experience working in both adult and child mental health services in Queensland and Victoria. Dr McQueen is comitted to providing high quality, evidence-based interventions for a range of mental health conditions. He specialises in the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder and Depression.

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