Need Some Art Inspiration Right Now?

It’s May! It’s beautiful outside. I love the month of May and am so excited to be here with you again today.

Do you need some art inspiration right now? We are nearly half-way through the year. Sometimes, at this point, my creativity lags because I’ve busted through a bunch of the big goals I set out for myself back in January.

When I feel stuck, I have a three-part system that I use that works for me every time and I want to share it with you.

IDEA # ONE: TRY SOMETHING NEW

Often, when I hit a rough patch in my creative journey, trying something new is exactly what I need. I love to learn new things. That sense of experimentation, freshness, exploration, and freedom helps me get my groove back.

I will often gravitate to something outside my comfort zone. Urban sketching perhaps or even a book binding class! This means I’ll have no expectations and be able to approach each lesson as a complete beginner. I'll simply enjoy the experience and see what happens.

Here are two resources that I’m exploring right now:

·      Sketchbook Revival, an online workshop with Karen Abend. This workshop is FREE and Karen interviews two artists each day who share tips and inspiration around their sketchbook practice. The content so far has been AMAZING!

·      Sketchbook Skool, founded by Danny Gregory and Koosje Koene, offers paid courses in the $29 to $99 range. Check out their FREE YouTube channel: Sketchbook Skool Draw Tip Tuesday for fun, quirky tutorials on Tuesdays.

Koosje Koene narrates the Draw Tip Tuesday lessons on YouTube and, for the most part, her tutorials are short and approachable! Here is a little watercolor pear that I did after watching her Watercolor trick tutorial today.

A little pear watercolor...

IDEA # TWO: RE-FOCUS (or GO DEEPER)

I received an iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil for my birthday back in December. I was so excited to get it! It’s another beautiful product from Apple but initially I had a hard time figuring out how to incorporate it into my workflow.

I knew from friends and colleagues that one of the best apps to use on it is called Procreate but I didn’t know how to use that. As a Skillshare teacher, I have access to thousands of classes for the $15.00 a month membership fee. Sometimes I forget what an incredible resource that is. Here is a link to my most popular class: From Sketch to Wrapping Paper.

Here are two classes on Procreate that I absolutely LOVE:

·      Introduction to Procreate: Illustrating on the iPad Pro with Procreate by Brooke Glaser, Illustrator and Children’s Designer

·      Art Made Easy: Draw and Paint with the iPad Pro by Gabrielle Brickey, Portrait Artist

Procreate has a fun time-lapse feature that allows you to show your work in progress and then your final product. I sketched this spring wreath in Procreate a few days ago and love watching the time-lapse. It's only 28 seconds!

IDEA # THREE:  TAKE A SHORT BREAK!

If you’ve been reading my blogs, you know that I recently finished my first 100-day challenge. It started on January 1st and wrapped up on April 10th.  It was a fabulous experience and I recap it in back-to-back blog posts that I published on April 10 and April 17. 

I jumped right into another one called The 100 Day Project and frankly, I needed a break! Getting into the habit of sketching everyday was wonderful. That desire is still very strong inside me but I have to give myself grace, periodically.

Just so long as I don’t beat myself up and jump back in after a few days, I’m cool with it. A short break can be refreshing and allow us that space that we need once in a while.

Here are two things I do when I’m taking a break:

·      Go on an Artist Date – one of my favorite things to do that I learned from Julia Cameron’s book: The Artist Way. I describe what it is in this blog post.

·      Get some exercise – just going outside for a walk or a hike helps tremendously.

I do a lot of work at the computer:

o   This blog every week

o   The weekly email to my subscribers

o   My pattern and product design work

o   Uploading my art prints to Society6

o   Watching online art classes

o   Creating my own online art classes

We all have to step away from the computer and reconnect with nature and the outdoors to recharge our batteries.

These are the art inspiration ideas that are helping me right now. I hope one or more of them helps you too!

And don’t forget, if you want to learn how to make a video using just your iPhone and the app iMovie, join my FREE TRAINING: Create Your First Video in Just 5 Days. 

It starts on Monday, May 7th and is only available for a limited time so grab your seat.

And remember, It’s Never Too Late To Create.

xo,

Anne

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