Sunny May is here and it almost feels like summer here in my part of the world!
April didn’t go fully as planned due to sickness, work, studies and some other life stuff, so I wasn’t able to finish an essay I was writing and I didn’t make as much art as I was planning, although I finished a handmade sketchbook and kept up with my 100 days project.
I hope that May will be more productive, but I’m not putting too much pressure on myself as it will be an active month!
Late spring and summer have always been my favorite time of the year when everything seems to be so bright, energetic and alive. My little balcony garden seems to thrive, the streets turned into a lush green garden, so I’m hoping to direct some of this energy into my creative practice.
As usual I collected some lovely inspiration to share with you:
Piece of advice
It’s common for creatives to feel doubt on their journey, especially for beginners, when it might seem that you will never reach your goals. In such moments it’s crucial to give each other some encouragement along the way and I really liked these supportive messages from Liz and Louise:
“Give it three years” and three other helpful quotes from my friends - Liz Steel.
The three things every artist needs - Louise Fletcher.
Process inspiration
Creativity has to be nurtured and stimulated in a variety of ways, including finding inspiration in artwork made by others. I am a big fan of learning the creative process of other artists as it fills up my own creative cup and gives me fresh ideas for my art practice:
Exploring Still Life Like Never Before -
.Loosen Up Your Landscape Paintings. 3 Ways to Use Photos as a Starting Point -
.
Working on a larger scale
One of my yearly art goals is to go out of my sketchbooks and start working on larger pieces of paper. I am experimenting behind the scenes and it’s not an easy task I must say! Not only it’s a completely different process, I am also feeling some sort of resistance and procrastinate, so I need to relax and let go a bit. I found this advice from Will and Angela very helpful:
Guide to Working Larger in Watercolor - Angela Fehr.
5 Little Lessons from Painting a Large Painting in a New Space - Will Kemp.
That’s all for this month, I hope you enjoyed the list!
Thank you for reading and being here, everyone is greatly appreciated in this space!
Feel free to share this post with a creative friend and I’d be happy to hear from you in the comments.
Until next time!
Lisa
This flower 🤩
thanks so much for the mention! Also, loving how you've combined the patterns/textures over colour washes in your painting at the top of the post, absolutely lush :)