Sparks of inspiration May ’24
Some good things to share in May
Here are some articles, videos and podcasts that inspired me and my art recently. With spring coming I feel more energised and productive in my art practice, learning new things and finding all sorts of inspiration from other artists, so I am sharing some of the positive vibes through this post!
Hopefully, you’ll find something useful, fun and inspiring for yourself!
Get inspired
Making great art is like getting struck by lightning? Conversation between Ian Roberts & Angela Fehr. This is SO GOOD!! Ian and Angela are great artists and teachers and I absolutely loved this conversation. It is easy to become frustrated, because you are not ending up with a masterpiece every time you paint (or whatever your artistic endeavours are), but the most important is to let go of expectations and simply find joy in making your art!
Educational tips
What are the 7 Painting Principles and why do they matter? - Will Kemp. This is a great page that contains links to Will’s posts on different principles of painting, including colour, composition and value. It’s very handy to refer to this page, if you want to explore a specific topic. And Will is always very generous with his advice.
Two versions of the same scene - Liz Steel. Within my 100 day project I experiment with watercolour landscapes and one of the goals is to create several versions of the same scenes, experimenting with techniques and styles. This post by Liz also gave an additional idea to experiment with scale. I want to bring some of the favourite pieces into larger pieces of paper after I finish creating for the project.
Making and Using Color Notes - Stephen Berry. Colour notes is something that I experiment with within my 100 day project, both in watercolour and coloured pencils. I found the post very useful, especially for the purpose of painting on location.
On watercolour
Watercolour Triads - Jane Blundell. I absolutely love searching through Jane’s site and blog for some watercolour wisdom. I am a little obsessed with colour and I love learning all the ways colours work together and mix with each other. I like the idea of playing with a colour triad - not only with all sorts of primaries as in Jane’s post, but also other triads that can create a variety of mixes for a specific subject or goal.
How to Read Watercolour Labels - Watercolour Affair. A very simple and useful guide!
Experimenting with Daniel Smith Granulating Paints - Calico Art. I currently don’t own any watercolours from this brand, but I really enjoy playing with granulation in my watercolour pieces. I use paints from Van Gogh and Sennelier and some of them do produce a granulating effect, but Daniel Smith has a specific reputation for having a wide variety of granulating pigments. As it tends to be quite an expensive brand, I think using this guide to choose a couple of granulating colours (most useful for my purposes) and adding them to my palette for mixing experiments - keeping in mind what specific mixes they can produce thanks to this post!
On art business
20 plus Lessons Learned from 20 Years in Business - Creative Thursday Podcast. Marisa is very honest about all the ups and downs of running a creative business. I make notes from quite a bit of her podcasts, because of how useful and insightful they are - and this one is no exception.
The Multi-passionate Myth and Why You Need a Niche - Made Remarkable Podcast. This episode complements nicely Marisa’s and gives additional insight into all the ways you can run a business being an artist and the importance of having a specific focus.
Pinterest Mini Training: Get More Eyes on Your Creative Work! - Laura Horn Podcast. As I am not on social media with my art, I am exploring various platforms I can use to show my work. Pinterest seems to be a lucrative alternative to Instagram in terms of increased searchability and it is a visual platform, but it works quite differently from traditional social media and allows for quite a bit of automatisation if used wisely.
I hope you found something to inspire you!
Thank you for being here and until next time!
Lisa
