Pen and Ink Drawing for Inktober – Secret Sanctuary (Flowing)

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Finding Time for Inktober

The challenge of sketching an ink drawing in a sketchbook every day for 30 days can be overwhelming when you already have a busy month. This year’s Inktober was no exception, but I’m glad I squeezed a few of the sketches in between other obligations. When drawing is at the front of your mind – when you’ve decided to prioritize it – reaching for your moleskine sketchbook is easier. Your sketchpad calls your name and reminds you to grab it in snippets of time when you’re sitting still; in between patrons at an art festival, on the couch with tea just before bedtime, on the phone with a friend.  Those 10-30 minute sessions work well for laying in the “bones” of a drawing so you can add ink to your sketch later. And then there are longer periods of time that are *perfect* for drawing – like Jury Duty. ??‍?

Managing Time for Making Art

The phrase “I don’t have time” is bothersome.  It suggests that a schedule is dictated by a mystery taskmaster, and we have no say in the matter. I catch myself saying ‘I don’t have time’, and it stops me long enough to own it: ‘I haven’t made time’. Obligations can squeeze art,  but I *do* have time to sketch.   Do you?  If I can snag 30 minutes on the couch before bedtime, I can make a small drawing. I can sketch while I’m eating lunch. You’ve heard the phrase: When you really want something, you’ll find a way. When you don’t really want something, you’ll find an excuse. A simple time audit will reveal all sorts of opportunities to make art in your day. Put a system in place if you are floundering. Every year, a new darling in Time Management Systems sprouts up; Asana, the Pomodoro Technique, Trello, etc. The old standby planners still persist too: Franklin Covey, Daytimer and AtaGlance. Here’s an article in Forbes with a list of twenty quick Time Management tips. All that to say – managing the ebbing hours of each day has been a stressor for decades. How we find efficiencies to do the work that makes us happiest every day is solely and completely up to us, individually.

Eye Candy for You

• Textile artist Emily Jo Gibbs uses transparent layers of fabric and different colors of thread to paint images with textiles. Take a look at her gorgeous work in this article on Textile Artist.

• If the structure of word prompt assignments to make art gets your art supplies moving, don’t despair that Inktober is finished till next year. Visit a few 30 day challenge ideas for art-making on Pinterest, like this one aimed at projects in a classroom. Your sketchbook is a classroom in your hands. 🙂

• There’s all sorts of inspiration on Instagram, like The Sketchbook Project, Polish artist and motivational speaker Mariusz Kędzierski, British packaging and book illustrator Ohn Mar Win, author, traveler, and urban sketcher James Richards, California watercolor painter and instructor Brenda Swenson, the official instagram account of Urban Sketchers, UK pet portrait and wildlife artist Jess Pritchard, Lebanese ballpoint pen artist and software engineer Samia Dagher (you can watch her complete a full color ballpoint pen portrait of Salma Hayek as Frida in this clip)

I hope you feel inspired to make art this season, and your sketchbooks and pens ans brushes and pencils are calling you to get started soon. Thanks for stopping by and I’ll see you in the next post!

Belinda

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Art Quote

What bothers me about collecting art is that once a painting moves into my home, it is seen by relatively few people. Paintings are extroverts, even if their creators are not. They need to mingle with people and try to seduce them. My paintings are more akin to restive nuns in a convent, struggling against their narrow confinement.

Art Collector, Billy Hunt

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