finding time for making art

July is just days away which makes this the perfect time to talk about your plans for your summer holidays. (The following is from my TMS June 27th, 2014 Newsletter)

Let me ask you this, do you ever find yourself wistfully wishing you could find more time to do art? If you are like a lot of people, the answer will probably be yes. The lack of time for the things that give us pleasure is a very common frustration.

 Are you ready for a solution?

Start now and plan on making art during your vacation.

And yes I can already hear your objections...

1.      You don’t understand, my holidays are already booked full with activities for everyone in the family. I simply won’t have time to draw or paint.

2.     I am traveling and I couldn’t possibly find room in my luggage or the trunk of the car for all sorts of art stuff.

3.     I can’t possibly work on my art during my vacation because I don’t have time before I go to get prepared for a project.

Hang on, keep reading, because as your art making mentor, I won’t let you stay stuck in your excuses.

a quick sketch of a bean from my garden using ink and a few coloured pencils

Here is my list of tips for making art while on your vacation:

 

·        No matter how busy your holidays look to you right now, please admit to yourself that you will be able to find 20 or 30 minutes each day to yourself. Imagine grabbing an early morning coffee, heading to the dock or verandah, sketchbook in hand. Grabbing some pens, pencils, markers or perhaps some watercolour paint you do a quick sketch – of some flip flops, a child’s sand bucket, a bird feeder, anything you can see from where you are sitting. That seems pretty do-able, right?

 ·        Pack simple art making items - some graphite pencils, or pens, a small number of coloured pencils or a small tin of watercolour paints and a brush. Add a small sketchbook and you are good to go. You don’t need to box up your studio! Even if you don’t normally making quick studies or sketches, your vacation is the perfect opportunity to give this a try. You won’t be disappointed. Working small, quick and imperfectly is addictive.

 

·        If you wish to work on a project, don’t fret about creating a new one from scratch – head to your stash and go find one that is waiting for you. You know what I am talking about when I mention your stash – I am referring to that pile of unfinished works-in-progress stored somewhere in your home.  You have probably forgotten about that drawing of a lemon still life you started in an art class that you never finished or that terrific photo you took and have always meant to use as a reference for a work, or that drawing of your grandson that you never got around to completing, that something that you kept meaning to come back to when you had a bit of time...Once you start really going through that stuff in your stash, you will surprise yourself at what you find and what you have forgotten about. It will be a gold mine for finding something you can dive into, now.

 

a very quick sketch of a poppy, done in ink and coloured pencils

 

Bottom line, you can have your planned holiday and make art. Keep your expectations simple. Decide to create fun, quick, spontaneous pieces. Or perhaps dive back into a piece that you walked away from and forgot about long ago.

You goal isn’t to create art that will be framed or offered for sale. Grits of sand and a smudge from a dog’s paw are all okay.

Instead, your goal is to be creative and to revel in the bliss of creating art.

You can do this...it is your holiday after all, why not fulfill that creative desire and stop wishing you had more time to sketch and colour? ‘Wishing’ isn’t a powerful place to live one’s life from...

 Next week I shall share a super easy project that you can do with your children or grandkids this summer.