✿ Less scrolling more strolling ✿
Exploring and gathering inspiration from the source
Hello lovely soul,
What little sunshine we’ve had so far this summer (in Scotland anyway). If I see even a glimmer of sun, you best believe i’m spending my time outside.
After a few impromptu day trips I found myself excitedly scurrying back to my desk to get painting. My love for painting never changes but my love for what I choose to paint certainly does. Little road trips are such a good reminder that my ideas and concepts flow more naturally when I go back to gathering inspiration from the source itself. That “source” being Mother Nature.
Using Pinterest, Instagram or even google images for reference photos are convenient for sure, but over the years i’m slowly seeing that my work has a different quality when i’ve actually ventured out to gather my own references, whether that’s from photos, sketches or even sounds.
Back in the Studio
Typical that it started pouring once I plonked myself down to begin riffling through all my images and videos. It was a good excuse to actually get some solid hours of painting done. I began with some sketches in different materials…
…I knew instantly I wanted to capture something with the lily pads and water reflections. From here I played around with some compositions and integrating a little character…
…Then I got going on the final image, layering acrylic inks, gouache and pencil.
Back to the source
It may seem like a simple three step process; explore, gather, paint, but in actuality doing it this way is obviously a much lengthier process than grabbing a quick image from google and sketching from that. Sometimes, if a client has a quick turnaround, I will work from a google reference but if time is on my side I will choose the longer process.
If you’ve been mulling over an idea for months, whatever the project, I really believe getting outside is the most effective way to bring a clear vision to the forefront of your mind. I always feel when I work this way that the final piece sits closer to home, feels more “me” and just has a more unique finish.
For the whole process
As you probably know…i’m over on YouTube. This little video contains my day trips, an honest chat and the painting process. So if you’re like me and enjoy a balance of reading and watching then don’t forget to hit those subscribe buttons (it goes a really long way ♡)
On that note, less scrolling and more strolling my lovelies ✿
