5 Things I’ve been inspired by lately

I’ve had a great start to the year in terms of creativity, filling lots of sketchbooks and trying new things. So I thought I’d share a few of the things that have been keep me feeling inspired so far in 2023.

Patreon

I’ve signed up to a couple of Patreon* accounts this year, including Sarah Dyer and Emma Carlisle. They both share a lot of sketchbook tours, material testing and sketchbook challenges. There’s regular live zoom sessions where everyone draws the same things together, and lots of advice on creativity and an illustration career. I’ve particularly enjoyed the life Drawing sessions from Emma, and the videos on a Sense of Place by Sarah.

*If you’re not familiar with Patreon, check it out here. It’s where you pay a monthly subscription to other creatives for exclusive videos, drawing challenges etc.

Life Drawing

As I mentioned above, I’ve started getting in to Life Drawing via Emma Carlisle’s Patreon. She holds regular sessions on Zoom and there’s plenty of replays available from the last year or so too.

I hadn’t done any life drawing since Uni - when it wasn’t exactly my favourite thing to do as it involved being in a very cold building for an 8 hour day, usually with a hangover or lack of sleep too! But since getting back in to it this year, I’ve been really enjoying it. I’m always very firm on saying “I can’t draw people”, because they’re definitely the thing I find the hardest to draw, but I’ve been finding it much easier as i go through these sessions. The quick 2 minute poses really help to loosen up, and worry less about “drawing a person” and just focusing on drawing the lines and shapes that you can see.

I’ve been trying out different materials during these sessions too, and really enjoying the lines I’m getting from a neocolor, and the texture from building up different colours and materials during the longer poses.

Marianne North

On my most recent trip to Kew gardens, I went in to the Marianne North gallery for the first time. Its full of hundreds of beautiful paintings, all by the same artist (an impressive amount of work). There’s a small room playing a short video about the story behind Marianne North, an artist I wasn’t familiar with before. Her story was so inspiring to me, and I couldn’t resist buying the book about her from the shop to learn more. She was initially inspired by a trip to Kew Gardens and the tropical plants she saw in the Palm House, and later in life she spent 15 years travelling the globe and painting on location (even more incredible considering this was a woman on her own in the 1800s), learning about plants and nature and even discovering new species that have since been named after her.

There’s no photos allowed in the gallery itself so go take a look at Kew’s website to see how beautiful it is.

My Photo Library

When I’m stuck on what to draw, I’ve been trying to turn to my own library of 1000s of photos I’ve taken, rather than always relying on external sources online (although I do also love Unsplash and Pexels for reference imagery).

I’m always taking photos, wherever I go. But do often I forget to refer back to them when I’m drawing or painting. A drawing always feels extra special if its come from one of my own photos or memories, there’s always more of a story behind it which I love. I started a folder in Google Drive a while ago with all of the photos I’ve taken in gardens and on travels, but I’m definitely behind with it and need to update it with everything I’ve taken in the last few months. I’m also trying to remember to “favourite” a photo right after taking it if its something I really want to draw from, so I can easily find it in the days after and draw from it while the memory is fresh.

A New Routine

In January I started a new routine (a flexible one, that I could work around other plans and how I’m feeling each week). A huge priority in that routine was making time to draw and create each day. I now start my work day with at least half an hour of drawing in a sketchbook, before I even respond to emails or any other admin work for the day. This is where I’ve been using a lot of my own reference images, filling a page with drawings of something I enjoy working on. I’ve got a dedicated A4 sketchbook that stays on my desk, so its there waiting for me each morning, and I haven’t skipped a day yet. It’s so fun seeing this sketchbook fill up, almost like a visual diary of what’s been inspiring me each day.

I’ve been saying for (literally) years that I wanted to make drawing more a part of my daily routine, but I never actually did it. Now that I have, its made such a difference already. I’ve been drawing more in the evenings too because I’ve warmed up for the day and I’m never going long without drawing so I don’t get that “out of practice” feeling. As well as the dedicated morning sketchbook, I’ve filled up a whole A5 Moleskine in just 6 weeks, and I just keep wanting to do more.

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