Getting back to my practice

Going slow, noticing and drawing

Sometimes life throws a lot at you, the days can be hard, emotionally, physically and creatively. Getting over the exhaustion of it all can feel overwhelming and sort of impossible. How do you even know where to begin? I’ve barely painted, I haven’t written, I feel like I haven’t even moved my body much. I’m in a stalemate. But I’m ready to gear up and get back to life. I need to figure out how though. I love painting and I can often paint stuff just with muscle memory. But how do I get my heart back into it, my imagination, and my passion? I’m sitting in my garden right now, there is a reflection of a plant that I don’t know the name of in my studio window, the flowers are an acid yellow. It always surprises me, that color, when it blooms each year. It’s sitting next to another plant with brownish/aubergine leaves. I love the color combination, I hadn’t noticed it before. The bits of noticing are a way back in.

I spent this morning looking back at some landscape paintings I did last summer. They bring me back to a moment when I was very in the present and at the same time in a very contemplative and intuitive mood. I was on a roll then and was so excited about painting big. Now I am feeling more constrained and feel like limiting myself in scale. I know how important it is to listen to my voice. When I don’t, It shows.

I took a nice walk down my local trail yesterday and stopped to sketch the outlines of a view in front of me. (I used a Kuretaki Marker Pen) I had no patience and gave up quite quickly but I got the basic view down.

When I came back to add color today I still wasn’t in the frame of mind to paint but I made myself try. I knew I had to make it quick, fun, and messy. And I did have a good time in the moment so it was worth the push. I’m using my Muji “low stakes” sketchbook. I love it because I don’t have the pressure of making something perfect, beautiful, or even very good. I can get something down and then turn the page. As a whole though, the sketchbook is very helpful to look back at. I recently switched from the thick Muji book to this one. It has fewer pages and lays flat. I can easily slip it into my bag with a few markers for outside sketching. I know that taking time to be in the process of drawing, sketching, playing, and experimenting is the path back to finding my creativity.

On Thursday on our Patreon we will be drawing a live model. We do this often and it’s another amazing way to see, draw, practice, and break out of a funk.

And you can join us!

Paint with Gayle and Jennifer Patreon

Gayle Kabaker

and I are so grateful to have created a wonderful community of artists on our Patreon. Twice a month we hang out and paint and chat for an hour on Zoom with our Opera Pink level patrons ( $12 a month) This coming Thursday, June 27th at Noon EST we’re going to draw the wonderful model Catarina. We will show how we simplify drawing a figure - keeping our theme of drawing the essence of what we see, but not exactly what we see. If you’re already an Ash Blue member - consider upgrading for the month so you can be part of this fun drawing session, or if you’re not a member consider joining for a month to check it out. It’s a great deal for just $12! And if you can’t make these Zooms live, you have access to the recordings as well.

We chat and draw and have fun! (She will be clothed for this session so we can record it)

I have added a bunch of the smaller landscapes and a few others, 10x14” to my shop so please stop by and check those out!

I have some beautiful cotton summer scarves in my shop. They are large 43x43” square 100% cotton lawn. I wear mine all the time. I love having them to save me from over-air-conditioned places, and at the beach, I wear them as a cover-up.

This gorgeous green one will be back in stock next week on 100% cotton lawn. I will send that update when they arrive!

Thanks for reading and it’s always a pleasure to hear from you!

xxJennifer