Sunday, November 20, 2011

Morning Sketches

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Sometimes life gets pretty crazy and starts to get in the way of our best intentions. It seems to be that way for me lately. Usually when that happens time for art starts to suffer, especially if I have no commissions or deadlines to keep me on task. I get lazy or tired or just feel uncreative. If I let it go for too long I get a little grumpy and need to give myself a jump start or try doing something different to get the creative juices flowing again. Enter Morning Sketches!
My usual morning routine includes some quiet time sitting with my cup of coffee and a journal where I let my thoughts run amok on the pages. I usually keep the lights quite low, just bright enough to write by and ease into my morning gently. To me it's a good way to start the day. Then as the morning light gets brighter I get myself up for my walks with my dog, Maggie. But lately, I've been waking up earlier than usual and when I'm done writing it's still fairly dark and I'm not excited about walking around outside when there's little light to see anything by. So last week during my writing time a new idea revealed itself. Why not use this extra time to squeeze in some sketching? I grabbed a sketchbook, pencil and a few photos and curled up on the couch again. In a short while I had made a few quick sketches and began to feel like a kid again. (As a child I would often wake up before anyone else and lay on my bed and draw until the rest of my family would get up.) I enjoyed this little exercise so much I'm considering making it a regular part of my morning routine. It's a good way to keep me in practice and happy until I can get back to my art on a more regular basis.