Making More Art

We often want to create more frequently and make more art.  Yet it can be hard to settle in, get past the yelling of our inner critic, and establish a routine.  One approach that helps me create is to attach art-making to other things I already enjoy.  

I love to go for hikes in our state park.  Adding a small art kit and including stops for sketching helped me to fill this accordion-fold sketchbook.

Maybe you like to go to coffee shops and sip a hot drink.  What if you took a sketchbook & a pencil, and gave yourself the assignment to sketch people?  If drawing people seems overwhelming, you could draw, hats, shoes, or patrons' hands holding coffee cups.  You could even draw the festive centerpiece gracing the cafe table where you sit.  The world is full of things to draw and paint!

Make a plan. 

Think about things you love to do or things you regularly do.  Riding a bus to & from work can be an opportunity to sketch your fellow bus riders. 

Find a partner.

My husband likes to take nature photographs, and we often hike together.  While he sets up a photo, I sketch.  Do you have a friend who wants to make more art, too?  You can encourage each other and make a habit out of creating together.

Give yourself an assignment.  

Narrowing down what your subject matter will be can help you focus and feel accomplished.  You could fill a sketchbook with tiny things in nature, botanical drawings or pets in your neighborhood.

Start small.  

And build as you go.  A small sketchbook, a simple goal, etc.  Remember, persistence is far more important than seeking perfection!

Keep your kit simple.

The fewer decisions you have to make, the more likely you are to pick up your art supplies and create.  You can skinny down your supplies to fit in a small zippered pencil pouch.  You can always change out that graphite pencil for an ink pen if you prefer. What is the absolute minimum equipment that would work for you?

Celebrate your wins.  

Post your artworks on social media if you like, share it with a friend, or simply prop your artwork up in your home where you pass by often to remind yourself of how beautiful your artwork is!

Wishing you many creative adventures and a new routine to fill your sketchbook and create joy.

Happy Creating!

Coffee Shop Fridays

When the third wave of the pandemic reached its worst last winter, I found myself longing to sit in a cafe, to drink tea and sketch or write.  Just to be around people as I used to do was a dream.  

So, I dressed up in an artsy black dress and boots, put on the tea kettle, and poured myself a hot Moroccan Mint Green Tea.  I even used a paper cup -- a relic of holding in-person open studios before the pandemic.  

I found coffee shop music on YouTube, set out my acrylic paints and paper, and embarked on an evening of playing with my paints.  Hours drifted by, and I was surprised by what came out of my paintbrush.  

Some weeks, it was abstract art in black and white.  Sometimes, it was collage pieces.

And, sometimes, it was more colorful or realistic.

With the leftover paint on my palette, I felt free to experiment.

I have heard other artists talk about the process of creating in an art journal, and the way that certain types of images just showed up as if out of nowhere.  I didn't think that would happen for me.  But Coffee Shop Friday Nights made things pop out that I didn't know were inside me.  And I enjoyed every bit of the process.

One day soon, I will be able to return to a coffee shop and spend an hour sketching people or writing, or chatting with a dear friend, even.  But I may just keep having my own Coffee Shop Friday Nights for the sake of self-care, exploration and play.