I have had a very busy week finishing up artwork for a project and today was the first day I had to just sit back and do my own thing. I wanted to paint.
I sat down with my sketchbook. I looked at some drawings I had planned to paint. I thought abstract, but then dismissed it for floral. I thought collage, but I wasn’t sure I felt like paper cutting. I thought green, no, coral.
I was getting nowhere fast. I just needed to Start.
Who would have thought? Potato stamps.Yes, a potato from my kitchen.. Having flashbacks to grade school art class?
Having lost by painting mojo with all of my indecision I ended up cruising through my inbox and stumbled upon yesterdays Design Sponge blog post here. Well, it looked pretty cool in the pictures so I had to try.
In my desperate attempt to make cool marks, I have tried many a thing from cellophane wrap to feathers. Some successful for making a good mark, some not. The potato wasn’t all that bad.
I doubt I will be making wrapping paper even though theirs looks great. Mine looks,well, not so great. The lesson here for me was ~ just do whatever it takes. In my my art world that usually means trying something new.
I painted for a number of hours with nothing finished to show. I tried some new shapes, more charcoal and ink and some scratchy scraffito. Lots of new ideas and most importantly moments of calm and satisfaction along the way.
How often do you get to paint with no game plan? Mark making just for the sake of it. Trying new colours. Playing.
I can’t even remember the last time I just played with no plan for its outcome.
A goal for 2015- more art journalling? I hope so!
Below is a journal page I did some time back. I think it was probably 2 years ago now. It has been sitting in a basket along with many other finished and unfinished journal pages. Lots of experimentation going on in that basket.
Guess what?
Yesterday it got licensed. (along with 8 other pieces!) More on all that later, but needless to say I am pretty happy.
Another gentle reminder to just keep at it. No artwork is ever wasted.
Feeling inspired,
