Creative prompts #1

Art making in a busy time

Playing in my handmade sketchbook

This is the first instalment of a series of monthly posts with creative prompts devoted to different topics, techniques and processes.

I have been collecting creative prompts for several years now and have an extensive “library”, but it has been difficult to use the prompts, because there has been almost no logic in organising them. This is when it occurred to me that it would be a great idea to start organising my prompts thematically and also share them with you along the way!

I hope that this new shorter format will help you (and me!) to be more inspired and more consistent even in busy periods.

Autumn tends to busy for many of us - it can be going back to school, coming home from vacations, preparing for the winter season, moving into a new apartment, or just coming back to your regular routines after the summer. It can be an overwhelming time and in recent weeks I could create art only in little pockets of time, so today the creative prompts are all about creating art in a busy period!

This month’s prompts:

• Create a limited art kit - a limited colour palette, a small sketchbook, a couple of brushes and a couple of pencils will do for now.

• Prepare a stack of reference photos and add them to your art kit - you can cut out pages from a magazine or an old book, print pictures you found on the internet or use your own photos.

• Work from the same references and explore them multiple times in your own style - use your references as a starting point and feel free to explore them in various ways.

• Simplify your process and create studies instead of finished pieces - focus on contour sketches, colour swatches, value studies, compositional thumbnails, etc.

• Curate inspiration in quick and accessible ways, e.g. create a Pinterest board with examples of art you love, pin some colour swatches you find beautiful, look for examples of others’ sketchbook practice and exercises, save for later anything you find interesting and worth exploring in your own practice.

You can use these simple prompts to carve out time for yourself and your creativity, to feel more inspired, generate new ideas and improve your skills. It’s okay to have some unfinished sketches and pages, they still count!

Thank you for reading and being here! Feel free to share these prompts with a creative friend. I’ll be happy to hear from you in the comments! What are your go-tos in a busy period? What would you add to my list of prompts?

Further inspiration

How to stay inspired in your art practice

Until next time!

Lisa