Inspiration from the Past

Do you ever go back and flip through old sketchbooks and notebooks?  It's a great way to see the terrain you've covered as an artist.  You can witness how you've grown, and find bits of inspiration that reignite your current art practice.

I was decluttering in my studio recently, and found the notebook pictured above.

The colors on this page caught my eye right away, and the quotes felt uplifting. Inspiration struck and I got out my watercolor crayons.

I made a wash of colors -- from magenta through scarlet, orange and yellow -- in two different notebooks.  

I used a General's Sketch & Wash water-soluble graphite pencil to write out dates, & events, adding doodles to decorate.  I love the way that a weekly planner invites loose creativity with no expectations.

 This type of no-expectations play with art supplies is essential to developing your creative ideas.  You may hear your inner critic complain that it's a "waste of time."  Please remind that voice that an art teacher (me) told you that it's super important (it is!) ... and it's fun.  We could all use more Vitamin Fun!

I hope you take some time to playfully doodle soon!

Some ideas for those who don't use a homemade weekly planner:

1. Work on loose paper so there's no pressure to add another "pretty picture" to a journal or sketchbook.
2. Pick up an art supply that you bought and never or rarely use. Or, use nontraditional art supplies, like a highlighter, a ballpoint pen & a 3-hole punch.
3. Grab a stack of 3"x 5" index cards and create a bunch of small doodle-pages. Does less space to fill make you feel less pressure?
4. Create on found materials -- junk mail, a receipt, used wrapping paper, a fallen leaf, whatever catches your eye!  Using "trash" releases us from any expectations or pressure to make "good art."
5. Tell yourself you're just making "pretend art." I take this idea from The Unexpected Gypsy, who makes pretend paintings -- real paintings with no pressure behind them.
6. Try to intentionally make "bad art" by using your non-dominant hand, or by drawing/creating under a time-pressure. For instance, you could try drawing the worst bird you can imagine, or try drawing a cat in under 1 minute.

Happy Creating! 

The Art of Mistakes

I found the book, The Art of Mistakes, through the public library, and what an inspiring book!  

If you're looking for help in fighting your inner critic and getting back to creating after a creative block, reading this book is a wonderful encouragement.  It's a warm, real pep talk from someone who has made plenty of mistakes and discovered how to harness them in her creative career.

Author Melanie Rothschild cuts right to the heart of the fear of creating.

She helps the artist think through what's important, and her beautiful artwork is peppered throughout the book.

Today, I was thinking about the importance of playing with no expectations and no fear of making a mistake, and I simply painted my weekly planner page.  I've posted these planner pages before, but this time, I could feel Melanie Rothschild cheering me on, and I let my paintbrush be loose and experimental.  It's a lovely feeling to truly not worry about the end product! 

After the paint dried, I discovered that I loved the rose at the bottom of the page -- the shadowy phthalo blue strokes mixed with the permanent rose to create rich depth.

I hope you pick up a copy of Melanie's book and take inspiration from her words.

Happy Reading & Creating!

Watercolor Sketching in the Flower Garden

The season has begun when we can sit outside by a flower garden and make watercolor sketches. 

The pages above were in my garden at home, and below were from Highland Park in Pittsburgh.

Pick your favorite medium, whatever feels best in your hand, and get outside to explore what nature is doing in the garden!

Remember, you can do anything in a sketchbook.  Have no expectations of making "perfect pictures." You're an explorer, and your pencil, pen or brush is your tool for making discoveries.  

If you decide that a sketch didn't work out, turn the page!  

If you don't have a few pages that look like a total mess, you're not trying hard enough.

Here are a few of my recent messy pages that I chalk up to experience.

Each of these were practice and taught me something. The one above taught me that rainy days can make for low-contrast, dull paintings.

The sketch below reminded me that when I'm in a rush and very excited to see a wild turkey in my yard, I'm not at my best as a sketch artist.

The rest of these are just warm-up practice.

It's a normal part of sketching to make some inelegant drawings.

I find it freeing to accept these messy pages as part of the process and move on.

Happy Creating!

When You Don't Like Your Artwork

One of the things that keeps people from creating in a nature journal or sketchbook more often is the fear of making a page they don't like.

It's important to remember that you won't like every page.  You will have days when your sketches fall flat, and nothing seems to work.  Perhaps you're tired or distracted.  Maybe you're out of practice and not feeling inspired.  We all have these days. That's normal.

Maybe you're experimenting, and you haven't found the way it works yet.

The important thing to do is to keep sketching -- keep creating!

Keep trying new things, exploring different approaches, different media even.

Remind yourself that if you like every page in a sketchbook, you're probably not trying hard enough.  

Every artwork does not need to have a purpose other than the experience of creating it.

And if you turn the page and keep creating, you'll find subjects that inspire you, and techniques that work for you.

Pablo Picasso famously said, "Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working."

I don't love every painting and sketch I make, but I know that making "bad" art is part of the process. If you trust the process and keep creating, you learn, develop new skills and make wonderful discoveries.

The "meh" pages make the "Wow!" pages more satisfying.

Happy Creating!

Make "Bad" Art!

I recently watched this inspiring YouTube video by Marie-Noëlle Wurm on making "Ugly Art:"  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kngc8LXYdkc

She invites us to intentionally make art we expect to be ugly, and in doing so, releasing ourselves from the expectation that we'll make something pretty, acceptable, worthy, or popular. 

I tried it & had fun!  When I meant to make my bird drawings ugly, I stopped judging every line and nuance as I made it.  The first one (top) I feel is truly ugly.  I don't really like it, but it opened the way for me to experiment & quickly draw these other 3 birds.

Each one has its own personality. This one seems like a mashup of Foghorn Leghorn and a magpie.

This one feels childlike and hopeful sailing through the sky like a character from a Roald Dahl story.

The last one seems like a Robin/Bluebird combination ... with a worm.

After I made these, aside from laughing a bit, I realized that each had qualities I liked.

I recommend watching Marie-Noëlle Wurm's video and trying it yourself.  It's a playful way to start an art session.  It could be a warm-up for more drawing or just an art break for self care & laughter.

After you make your drawings, step back and notice little things you like about your creations. Because you created freely without expectation, you might make discoveries.

I hope you try your hand at making "bad" art.

Happy Creating!