Have you ever had a day in the studio where everything you tried to do just ended up as really bad art?? I had one of those days a couple of weeks ago and no matter how much I tried to fix it to take it to a place I was happy with, it just kept going south until I found windows within!
The muddier it got, the more discouraged I became. So, I decided to close the sketchbook and walk away for a few hours. In the past I would have ripped it up, and given up, but this time I tried to start putting into action that saying I hear around the art ridges of “you need to make a lot of bad art to make good art.” I started telling myself that I was just having a bad art day and it was okay, and didn’t mean I was a hopeless artist.Read More »
The temperature reached 40.8 degrees celsius today with very little breeze, and rather than just sit and swelter I said to myself “colour your day” instead! My only art option that didn’t dry on the spot was watercolour!
Where to start?
I pulled out my cluttered box of watercolours gathered over time, only to find some had totally dried up! Some were sticky from the heat, some were just empty tubes after being devoured by a recent mouse plague (they love blue and yellow!) and others were still intact thank goodness.
Looking at them I became overwhelmed with the choices of colours and had no idea where to start or which ones to choose.
Recently I came across this quote from Albert Einstein “Out of clutter, find simplicity”, and decided it was time to simplify!
I thought it would be fun to just choose 3 colours (a triad) and see how they interact with each other and what other colours I could create with such a simple palette.
Choosing my ‘colour your day’ with a triad
I decided that the primary colours were the best place to start. So Cobalt Blue, Nickel Yellow and Vermilion became my first triad
Join the challenge
To explore a variety of different triad combinations, I decided to do a mini 5-day challenge.
You are welcome to join me for the challenge via email so feel free to sign up to my newsletter . I’d love to see what combinations you use. For Day 1, choose any blue, yellow and red you have on hand.
Painting not your thing?
If you’re not a painter, why not choose 3 colours of fabric, ingredients from the pantry and create a dish, or a group of cushions for the lounge.
As we take our first steps into another year, let’s add a little colour into our days after the dreary year that we’ve just had.
“The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.” – Isaiah 40:8
I’ve found myself in a creative desert! Even my daily landscape is once again dry and dusty with no rain falling during the winter! I must admit that like my natural environment, I’m going through a really ‘dry’ time creating at the moment, and feeling very much like this dead leaf that I tried to paint recently in my sketchbook.
struck by artist’s block
No matter how hard I try to be inspired, nothing seems to come or sparks my creativity. This brings with it all kinds of chatter in my head…”I can’t draw”, “I’ll never be able to paint again”, “What if I never get inspired again!”
Do you ever go through periods of time in your creative practice where it feels like everything is standing still?? What do you do to help yourself get out of the creative desert?? I’d love to hear what works for you.
I’m told that this is fairly common, but it sure is no fun going through it and wondering if you’ll every come out the other side.
Still, even though I’m feeling like this for the last couple of months, I’ve been trying to encourage myself to do one or two small sketches that only take a small amount of time, just to do something, and hoping that through the doing small, going for walks, reading novels and chatting with friends over coffee, some inspiration may come in the days ahead.
inspiration from unexpected places
Yesterday I received an email from Urban Brew Coffee (where I buy some of my coffee pods) talking about ways on how we can turn things we struggle with into a potential to have fun to redirect our brains!
So that got me wondering if it is possible to water my creative desert by finding ways of making it fun! (and drinking coffee of course!) The coffee guy suggested getting simple, getting silly and getting creative! So what do you think? Any suggestions on how I could make it fun to see if I can light that creative spark again?
Do you ever go into an art supply shop and always come out with something new to try!! Well that’s certainly me! Online shopping is particularly dangerous!
Recently I saw these gorgeous Art Graf water-soluble graphite supplies and just had to buy some! I haven’t used water soluble graphite before, so to get a handle on them I decided to set myself a challenge for the month of June! 30 Days of Graphite Girls to teach myself how they work and interact on different surfaces and with other mediums.Read More »
Since getting back into my art after a 10 year hiatus, I’ve been thinking about what has enabled me to do that and to nuture and grow my artistic skills. There are 6 things that I’ve included in my life that have had a huge impact on where I am today, so I thought I’d share them with you and perhaps they may inspire you too.Read More »
Priming the Pump to get the creative juices flowing
Do you ever find yourself doodling while talking on the phone? Or when listening to a boring speaker when you should be taking notes?
I often find myself doodling shapes, lines and circles that go on and on in those times and it takes me to a quiet place in my head where I’m not really concentrating! And yet, amazingly I found I have been listening and can recall much of the phone call! I’m not sure how that works, but it is one reason to doodle!Read More »
Hello and a warm and colourful welcome to my little corner of the creative world. Ever since childhood I’ve loved colour, paint, music and singing,... Learn More »
