Daily Art - Stamping and drawing
Printing and drawing in a homemade sketchbook.
I quite often meet people who say they would absolutely love to be more creative and to create more art, but don’t have the time or space to do so. Sometimes, they went to art college or were pretty very creative when they’re younger and feel like they really can’t get back into the groove any more.
I think for most people, it’s not so much a question of time - it’s getting started with a blank page or knowing what to concentrate on, when there’s so many things they could be doing. It’s also about the fear of failure. It could be that they think they should be producing beautiful art all the time and if they sit down for 10 minutes to sketch, they don’t like what they produce and it triggers insecurity whch makes the experience really upsetting.
I would argue that social media has been a brilliant invention for artists. It means we can get a work out there to a potential audience of millions (although in reality it hardly ever happens it is still a platform) but there is a huge downside in that you see images of other peoples amazing art all the time. Of course, you don’t see the journey or how they got there or how many years they studied or all the things went wrong along the way. We have to try lots of things and be open to trying them. One of the first things I would argue anybody who wants to be creative and and make work needs to do is to FORGET that they’re making it for somebody and concentrate on playing and exploring and trying to meet work they like themselves.
Monoprintng to loosen up
One of my favourite things to do at printmaking sessions with people is monoprinting, because of the marks and tones and surprises that you get from a printing plate. It’s really good to loosen people up and get them to make art without thinking too hard about it.
I’ve been making monoprints for years and quite often I absolutely hate what I’ve made (like I want to have a toddler tantrum nd destroy it) The colours aren’t right, the tone is not right or it hasn’t printed properly for whatever reason, but recently I’ve started putting the prints to one side and when they’re dry, looking at the finer detail then cropping and chopping them up into little bits. Quite often I am pleasantly surprised, because I actually find that even if the whole print doesn’t work, there parts of it that work. There might be a texture or a mark or a bit of colour which I can hone in on and gain some hope from that I’m not a complete failure!! It takes my ego out of it because it helps me not to beat myself up too much about not worth making work which I think is good.
Making art every day
When I started making art regularly, one of the things I did which helped most was to start, not even consciously, was to start a daily habit. I got up half an hour before the kids, made a (GOOD) coffee, sat down and played in a sketchbook - Every Day (pretty much)
It’s something that I still do, and if I don’t get that time to myself in the mornings, then I’m really grumpy or should I say grumpier than normal. Sometimes I sketch my coffee cup, sometimes I’ll get a bit of a cardboard, dunk it in some ink and stamp it all over the page. sometimes I look out the window and sketch the garden. Or there’s something in my head from a run or walk.
Even if it only lasts 10 minutes or five minutes then I’ve set myself up for the day. Thinking about art and what’s working and what’s not.
Often it’s these morning sessions which give me the ideas or directions for my prints or paintings because I’m not trying to make anything good. Nobody sees my sketchbook these days mostly. It’s just for me. So if there is one piece of advice I would give anybody who really wants to start making art, it would be: get a sketchbook, get a few materials you enjoy playing with (something fun when you see it you think Oh! I’ve got to try that) and just play for 10 minutes each day. And you don’t show anybody - unless you want to.