| …maintenance and care are necessary—without rest we cannot regenerate. These days I’ve come to believe that it’s natural for many of us to go through periods when we put words to the page and times when we can’t. These aren’t separate, distinct states; rather than agonizing over ‘writer’s block,’ maybe we can accept that we aren’t blocked at all, and that resting might just be part of our process. ~ Kate Angus – Maybe the Secret to Writing is Not Writing |
Farmer’s understand the importance of seasons, of letting fields lie empty (fallow) in order for them to have a greater harvest. This is a lesson we often have to re-learn in our personal lives. It’s easy to keep pushing forward, to think that a break is unproductive and that we always have to be moving. Working consistently without breaks actually makes us less productive than building margin into our practices. Time off allows us to recharge, to gain perspective and fresh inspiration. Without it, our art, our lives, can become a drudgery – and that’s just no fun!
- This week’s artist is – Kevin Eslinger – who I ran across at the recent Autumn Arts Festival. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to chat with him in person and can really only say that his work caught my eye and you can see more work and learn a bit more about him on his website.
- There is a full week of classes at the Scrapbook Nook. Join the gals tomorrow at 1 for Favorite Fall Layouts. Then on Saturday at 10 you can make some specialty cards! Tuesday at 1 play with a new paper and get a pad to take home!. In October they’ve also added a series of open classes at 11am on Wednesdays!
- While checking out today’s featured artist’s website I stumbled across his brief advice on building a career as a fine artist.
- A few thoughts about living on in doodles.
- To discover, you have to dig.
- The Animas Valley Balloon Rally is coming up soon. If you want to get out and photograph, paint, or just see some hot air balloons up close, check out the Rally’s website for their schedule of events over the 18-20th.
- Here are 4 tips for painting trees. You know, if you’re into that sort of thing.
- If people are more your preferred subject, you might want to check out JustSketch.me – it has manequins you can pose for reference.
- By no means am I a collage artist, but here is a thought on gluing things together.
- Inktober has started! Are you joining in the fun? Here is more info and here are the prompts.
- Our next art contest is live. We’ve been pretty painting-focused for the rest of the year so this go-round we’re switching it up. What are you going to do for the Draw Something contest? Check out the contest page on our website. Yes, one of your Inktober drawings can be your submission!
- These events/contests/prompts are supposed to be fun. Please take the time to notice when you are happy.
- This week’s featured products are Tradio Sketch Pens, in honor of Inktober! While I’m a fan of fountain pens in general, I had my reservations about these sketch pens. After testing one out as a daily use writing/sketch instrument I realized that I had been using it for over 4 months, it had become my go-to pen, and I still hadn’t replaced the ink. If you’ve seen any of my Inktober sketches, they’re done with one of these.
The goal of Inktober is to draw more, not to create a chore for yourself. You don’t have to draw every day – try every other or once a week. Play and have fun with it! If you think that margin and taking a break won’t work for you, think of the example water provides us here. In the winter it falls as snow or freezes to ice – then it rests for a season. Eventually the thaw comes and it comes rushing down, carving the rivers deeper, gnawing away at rocks and boulders, pushing trees out of its way. If it came slowly, evenly all year long, the results wouldn’t be nearly as effective or dramatic. Following Bruce Lee’s advice – be like water. Over the course of your life, you can be healthier and still create an amazing body of work!
Cheers!
Matthew & the Art Supply House crew
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