It is 2017 already , Where did the time go ? If you are like me life happens and we all get busy doing "good busy things". I am grateful for my family and for all the opportunities God has placed in my path , now the question is How do I get my creative life back onto my priority list ? Not that it ever left but fell way down on the priority list as it should be for me .
Here are some things I am doing and have done to get my creative juices flowing . I hope you find them helpful .
I am using a Stillman & Birn Alpha soft covered sketchbook lately after a recommendation from Liz Steel . I love it , it is light and good quality paper for pen and ink sketches and light watercolor washes . I like the 8x10 size as well as the smaller 8x5 as it fits in my city backpack. I am calling these books
" My Workbook Sketchbook " leaving my Canson Montval Sketchbooks for traveling .
Keeping your sketchbook readily available will make using it easier . I use mine as a journal and try to put something in it everyday , did you notice the word try ? I don't beat myself up if I don't get to it.
If I have not planned painting time at your easel and don't know how to get started, I love ,
You Tube segments. there are so many free artist demo's online to inspire you . I find if I watch a few I am ready to jump into doing my own art . Search artist you like by name or ask " How to paint skies in Watercolor "as see what comes up .
I love going through the art books I have from John Sargent to John Yardley and many in between. I copy the paintings I like with a note @ Charles Sovek for example , taking notes and keep them in a practice box so I can refer back to them. How did they do that ? Can I make that color with my limited palette ? You will learn so much doing this and after one or two I find myself ready to make my own art.
I love doing Robert Wade's postcard size practices . I teach these during class , so much fun to do and learn from . They are on his dvd
Wade's Watercolor Wisdom.
Craftsy online is a wonderful place to take reasonable priced classes .
Craftsy The classes once purchased can be watched on an iPad and are yours to view over and over .
I also love
Drawing Tip Tuesday by Koosje Koene on You Tube , fun tips and inspiration for sketching and making art .
Draw Tip Tuesday
How did I originally get into the sketching habit ? Sketchbook Skool , a fun online site for inspiring sketching classes .
Sketchbook Skool
I also use google images a lot.
Google ImagesThere are tons of artist reference photos available especially if you have been to a place before to paint from. I also like their clip art to make cards.
Well, I ran out of space so I will leave this here and will get back to you when other things come to my mind to help you . Please feel free to email me or FaceTime me with any questions .
