Episode 49: An Artful Summer

Join Val and Armin as they discuss setting intentions to keep your art practice engaged throughout the summer. Setting a few intentions of what you want to accomplish will help you stay focused but still have time to just relax and daydream. The trick is to keep your plans flexible and give yourself a lot of room for improvisation for some spontaneous experiences. These experiences can then pop up many years later and supply narratives for works of art or topics for ongoing series. Summertime recommendations to keep in your radar! Pack a travel set of art supplies. Could be as simple as a sketchbook and a pencil. Val likes to take a sketchbook, Sharpie pen, some charcoal, and oil pastels. Armin is a light packer with sketchbook and mechanical pencil. Some travels such as month-long stays or artist residencies can have a much bigger supply list, especially if you are driving. Take time to daydream and/or just look at the clouds. Those quiet times yields future ideas. While driving, be sure to leave time open to stop for photographs along the way. Great way to collect reference photos. If staying home, spend some time making your studio just the way you want. This could mean organizing and cleaning or adding new equipment to your studio. Continue your journals, if that is one of your rituals. When going to museums and galleries, pace yourself. Smaller time periods in museums allows more retention of the memories. Keep flexible. It's more important to collect experiences than sketches so be easy on yourself. Show notes: Your Brain on Art Written by: Susan Magsamen & Ivy Ross Urban Sketchers: A Global Community of Artists Travel supply ideas from My Modern Met Littlefield Gallery with Jane and Kelly Littlefield Intermediate and Advanced Online Drawing Class with Armin Starts Wed. May 24 Abstraction Now! Summer Session with Val Starts Wednesday, May 31