Daily art therapy

11 February 2017

Dear reader - if you peruse these little meanderings from time to time you may know that I have been a bit active since Christmas. But while I have been laying down new background papers, something has been missing from the creative process - an artistic itch if you like.

When it's cold and dark I find my studio very unwelcoming. It's a conservatory off my bedroom. A lovely size and fabulous light but freezing cold and when it rains it's like being in a snare drum. 

Consequently I have been finding it tough to get in there in the evenings. By the time I have walked the dogs and made supper the evening is in full swing and it's too easy to slump on the sofa watching some junk on tv. 

And this is where Instagram has come into its own. 

A few artists post frequently and seem to do something daily. And I have been really inspired by Alisa Burke, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and Laura Kemshall

Alisa Burke posts frequent little sketch book videos filling her little journal with flower sketches. 

Julie Balzer went mad in December with a little daily stamp carving. 

Laura Kemshall recently posted a blog post about how her studio was in turmoil and how a little portable arts caddy was a fabulous way to grab a few minutes on the coffee table. 

Inspired, I grabbed my holiday art bag and a new sketch book ( I seem to have a little stash of new art books - how did that happen?) 

I'm keeping it very simple. A little water colour palette, a koh-I- noor inks palette, a tin of Inktense pencils and a pencil case ( which in all honesty needs a bit of an edit). 

The book is A5 with good quality paper able to take water. And I'm keeping it to 20 minutes. 

And it has been a brilliant exercise so far. 









You can follow my progress on Instagram. I don't post them all. Only the ones I really like! 

And one final benefit - which I hope isn't a conincidence - but it's usually the last thing I do and so far I have been sleeping better. I'm really hoping this benefit will continue! 


Thanks so much for dropping by, and if you are doing a 'sketchbook page a day' or something similar pop the link in the comments so we can all pop over and share the love.






10 comments

  1. This looks very theraputic, an actual achievement & you didn't freeze your bunns off!

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  2. Happy to hear you've found a daily art practice that suits your fancy. I'm really adamant about that for myself. I don't want to be doing exercises as it were just for the sake of practicing every day. I want to spend my time on something meaningful or enjoyable. Your pick of flowers is delightful and I especially like the next to the last one. Maybe it's its airiness that appeals so.

    I have not had much luck sticking to a time limit, although 20 minutes should be plenty for this type of thing. I lose track of time really quickly when I work on sketches and don't like feeling rushed. I think your choice of time to pick it up is perfect though. We truly can "waste" a lot of time in front of the tv at the end of the day when our energy is spent - or mostly spent. Bravo and I hope you can keep this up for a good long time. :-)

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    1. Thank you Sheila. 20 minutes is an excellent discipline - enough to get something decent and keep it really simple. Also keeping the materials simple too helps.

      Trying hard to keep it up, though would you believe that yesterday, Saturday when you would think there would be plenty of time, it slipped!! But my excuse was that I was in the studio doing other things!!

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  3. Lovely pages. I'm trying to stick to 10 minutes arty activity / day and once I get started,it is difficult to limit myself to that 10 minutes. I hope you are staying warm today.

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  4. How fab!
    It's like Spring has sprung! X

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    Replies
    1. Well, the days are noticeably getting longer so while not exactly sprung I reckon it's poised!

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  5. You're obviously in the right place at the right time with these! Keep going....

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  6. Gorgeous flower sketches - what a lovely daily discipline. And I'm sure it's related to the sleeping. Good luck with the onward journey.
    Alison x

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    1. Thanks Alison - and I have been enjoying your blog too.

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