At the end of the year, I always look back and think about the things that have defined the last year – what happened, what went well, what helped me to grow as an artist. I also look at what needs a bit of course correction. Looking at the good sides helps me to appreciate my journey and my accomplishments, and it’s motivating – getting positive feedback from yourself makes getting back to work in the new year much easier. Here are the things that have helped me most:
- Drawing more: although I write a blog about sketching, I don’t actually love drawing itself all that much – I’m a natural painter and feel much more relaxed with a brush in hand than with a pencil. But drawing is an essential part of painting, it’s the basic framework for all that happens on the page. I’ve discovered (once again) that when I draw more, I get better results, and it comes much more naturally to me, even with unfamiliar subjects. Practice and repeated exposure is really everything for these basic skills, and when you get better, you also tend to enjoy the process a lot more. I’ve come to like making lines again a bit more this year. As always, I’m planning to share my findings and to help others get into sketching a bit easier.
- Quitting social media: This was probably the area where I noticed the biggest positive effects. I’ve written and talked about this in detail before – I deleted all my social media profiles in summer (except for my Youtube channel), and it has been the best decision for my illustration career and my personal life for the last few years. From a professional standpoint, I have more time to spend on personal and client projects, I can set aside more time to learn new things, or just relax. I feel calmer, less anxious, and the pressure to compare myself and live up to whatever I saw on these platforms has disappeared. I enjoy that I’m not bombarded by ads anymore. I actually feel more creative and more like myself, and bit by bit I discover more of my own ideas. I wouldn’t say I’ve overcome all obstacles and have the perfect creative workflow now. I still look at screens a lot of the time, and I’m still a sometimes tired (or lazy) human being giving in to old patterns of mindless browsing. But I’d like to change my consumption of news and other online sites that want you to scroll a lot – that’s something I want to tackle in 2020.
- Taking breaks, creating margins, doing nothing: this sounds counterintuitive, but it has actually helped me so much with my creativity. As being creative is my job, it’s sometimes hard for me to take breaks, or see when I’ve worked enough. It’s also really hard to build in breaks and free-time when you work on our own, since there’s always something to do. Over the summer, I was forced to slow down a bit, and I took that time to revisit my routines and work ethic. I’ve allowed myself to work less hours (but be more productive and focused in that time), and have more time where I’m allowed to do nothing, and that was really beneficial. In the last few years I’ve sometimes worked under insane circumstances and I’ve had quite a few turbulences in my personal life, and I now feel the exhaustion from these years. I’m actually glad that I’ve found a way to allow myself to take breaks.
- Offline activites: This ties in with the above points, and it has been so helpful and enjoyable to spend less time in front of devices. One would think I already spend a lot of time in nature, with my focus on field sketching and nature topics. Actually, this year it often was more of a wish to get away from the computer – client work, online courses and working on the blog also means staring a lot at screens. So, in addition to hiking and taking walks as much as I can, and reading more books, I’ve started a vegetable garden. This has been an excellent way to get away from the computer and the desk, and to fill up my creative inventory (I will write more about this concept, and why I think it’s so important soon). I haven’t brought a sketchbook each time I was in my garden, merely being in and looking at nature was enough for me at times. Digging around in the dirt, and seeing my own food grow has reconnected me to all the things I love about nature – the circle of life, the colors and sounds and smells, watching birds in the field, and riding my bike the first thing in the morning through dewy meadows. I’m already looking forward to the next gardening season.
- Loosening up in painting: the last year has been interesting in terms of style for me. I’ve started to use bigger brushes for a lot of things, and this has led me to a less rigid, more flowing painting (and illustration) style, which I’m very happy about. You can see a lot of that new approach on painting in my Drawing Ideas For Autumn class. Paintings don’t always turn out the way I intend them too, so it’s also about giving up control to a certain degree – it’s freeing (if a bit scary). Whenever I reach for a brush right now, I try to remind myself to stay loose and not to get too granular. It’s like that old rule for drawing mammals: if you want to draw fur, don’t render every hair, but draw the pelt. I’ve been attempting to draw the pelt more often this year. This has also led to (another) change in my palette, which I will shortly share!
- Having routines: I found that creating routines has really helped me. By creating routines I mean creating patterns in my day in a way that makes sense to me, not just following someone else’s model in a quest to become super-efficient. I’m bad at following through these type of programs and other people’s plans, as good as they might work for someone else. I should stress that I’m not the world’s most disciplined person, and so I quickly tend to lose interest in following the same steps every day, even if I know they should be beneficial. But I know that sticking to certain routines is helpful for me, and I create them in a way that’s flexible enough but still effective. This might look like following the same steps each morning for a while (for example when I’m writing a lot each day for the blog), but then changing my morning routine again when I’m painting or hiking a lot. I always try do to the most important thing of my day right after getting up, so that I have a feeling of accomplishment for the rest of the day. I like getting up early to get things done, but I’ve stopped to criticize myself when I don’t. I’ve also experimented with banning screens entirely for certain tasks, which has helped me to stay on track and be more focused. All in all, this probably sounds more wonderful and super-efficient than it is, because I’m still very much impulse-driven in my daily tasks, and sometimes I just feel lazy and not motivated to follow any routine at all. I still set up tasks and goals, but I still like to have a lot of flexibility throughout my day. Admitting this and finding a way to make it work, especially in a society driven by efficiency and self-improvement to the point of perfection, has taken out a lot of pressure for me, and actually makes my days more enjoyable. I won’t write down “staring into the clouds” onto my list of tasks, but I definitely hope I do it every single day.
This is what my look back on the last year brought up, I hope some of this made sense and maybe even gave you some ideas for your own creative habits. I really like to do this kind of looking back ritual when the year comes to a close, to remind myself about all the small and big positive steps I’ve taken. Do you do the same? What has your creative year been like, and what have you learned? I’d love to hear from your experiences.
Overall, it’s been a great year, even if there were some difficulties and setbacks. Thanks to each of you for coming along and being part of this journey (and reading through all of these long posts!) – I’m very thankful for all of you being here and I’m looking forward to 2020!
Thank you for this ! It is very helpful in trying to establish more satisfaction with my work in 2020. I am looking forward to reading more next time.
Thank you Sonia!
Hi Julia, this is an excellent blog post! I have been wanting to get off social media for a while now and I am finally taking the plunge! I read your article about it and agree wholeheartedly! I love the tips you gave here about drawing more and setting a routine. I hope you have a wonderful 2020 and I look forward to future posts! 🙂
Thank you Rose, and a wonderful and creative 2020 for you, too! And what a good decision – for me the step away from social media was totally worth it.
Hi Julia, what an interesting and inspiring post! I have been following your blog for this last year and a lot of what you posted has resonated with me. I have started drawing a bit besides my bookbinding and printing activities but have not been very disciplined. So this is something I would like to improve next year. So I am looking forward to your informative and helpful posts, wishing you a satisfying and creative new year!
Danke Christine! A wonderful and creative year to you as well!
What a wonderful post! Your tips on routines really inspire me for 2020! Have a great new year and wishing you all the best
Thank you so much Anne and have a great & creative 2020!
Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your blog posts, and your work. I know that sometimes it’s difficult to keep writing when you don’t know if anyone’s reading, and I suspect a lot of us are reading, but never taking the time to tell you so. And I agree, getting away from screens in general and social media in particular is definitely a key to greater productivity and peace!
Thank you so much Lynn that you took the time to write this, I really appreciate your kind reply! Wishing you a wonderful and creative year!
I’m only new to your blog and your resources. I do like what you’ve written here, and it prompts me to do a similar exercise. 2019 is definitely the year I finally understood that the three activities of walking, art and meditation are really one, and drawing the natural objects I really love is all that matters to me in art! That’s why I subscribed to your blog, and look forward to reading more, and studying with you as the year goes on. Thank you!
That sounds great, Josie, I too find that walking in nature can indeed be such a powerful meditative practice, especially when combined with observing and art making. Make sure to browse through the blog archive, especially last winter I shared a lot of thoughts about this. Have a creative 2020!
This was so good for me to read. I have had a year of medical issues and lots of expensive testing to be told that it’s mostly caused by anxiety. Wow. I have been letting go, as a result of that news, of social media and focusing more on the moments in the day. I’m very weak physically but the same week I let go of facebook I began to get stronger. (It’s not just facebook though.) I look forward to regaining my strength. I’m 60 yrs old now and want to go back to the time before social media and electronics. I love how your brush size helps to loosen up. It’s a great article with so much help. Thank you for writing it. Hanna
It’s good to hear your medical issues got a bit better when you let go of social media – I found the same, and I hope you’ll regain your strength. I too would love to go back to the time before these platforms, and I definitely enjoyed the internet more in its early days. Wishing you a great and creative 2020!
Hi Hanna,
I am 60 also and have suffered from lyme dis-ease for 21 years. This really is hard to deal with as I have constant pain and fatigue. In 2015 I started art and do drawings of nature and my horses. You can build up your strength in baby steps. Start out with small walks and lift soup cans. It will come back. Happy drawing.
Irene in Canada
Julia, thank you for always inspiring and cheering us on. Your posts are very valuable for me. And I can’t thank you enough for your well written and thought out article on quitting social media, it was the final push I needed. The results you describe are real and I love the freedom now.
All the best to you on 2020.
Aneta, I’m so happy to hear this again from you after a few months have passed. All the best for your wonderful Etsy shop in 2020! Your wooden watercolor paintboxes (are these new in your shop?) look absolutely beautiful!
For me it’s been a year of trying new things and new approaches.
Some things have stuck and for others I realised they weren’t for me.
Meditating, journaling and running are the things that I have enjoyed the most. I have even developed a different mindset about them. For example, instead of running to get fit, I run because I’m a runner.
My approach to the computer has also changed. The only usage of social media is for a couple of clubs who use it as their way to pass on news. Games have been removed and not missed. Notification sounds and banners have been removed to minimise distractions. I just use badges which I only see when I am between apps.
The biggest change though, has been how many apps have been replaced with pen and paper. I get much more satisfaction writing things down and find I action things more. I originally started with just the journal but after a while I wanted to go further. I now use a Filofax Clipbook which is part Filofax and part A5 notebook with movable pages. This has now also become home for my calendar, to-do list, reminders, running log, boat log, notes, even some of my spreadsheets.
Over the last few months, I have slipped out of sketching regularly. I was doing it daily and I think I put too much pressure on myself and ended up sketching when I wasn’t in the right mindset. I was mainly doing travel and urban sketching which I fell out of love with. For 2020 I want to try to do more nature sketches. I live on a boat in the countryside and yet I don’t really record what I see very much. January though is probably not the best time to start.
My biggest discovery this year was understanding my introverted nature and embracing it. It all started with this article https://riskology.co/what-is-an-introvert/ The big take away from this and all the changes and adaptations that I have made this year, is that I feel more relaxed. I have taken the time to find out what works for me and I’m now seeing the benefits.
That sounds like you tried a lot of things, Steve, so many great changes. I’ve also found writing down notes and tasks by hand very helpful, and it has the benefit that I can look back at the end of the year and see what I’ve done.
All the best for your sketching plans! The place where you live sounds great for it. Winter can be a good time to sketch birds, and for getting to know nature and landscapes slowly and deliberately before everything explodes in green again.
As a fellow introvert, I can only second that it’s so important to build your life around your introvert needs.
Thank you for sharing this, it’s always so interesting to read other experiences.
Great post and reminder for me. There are parts of social media I like – the groups I’m interested in. The other stuff – not so much. (understatement). One concern is I’m not finding or taking time to continue courses I started (like yours), something I get so much pleasure from. It seems I’m letting others’ needs and tasks determine my days. That’s what I need to get control of. I’m putting off doing what makes me happy so that needs to be changed. Perhaps being more mindful of all this will help. Thanks for your post. Here’s to 2020!
Thank you for sharing – I think this effect happens to almost all of us today on the internet because the sites are built to make you spend more time on them. It’s a good thing you noticed it. A strategy for change might be to build in time blocks into your day that you reserve for yourself – learning, creating art, etc. I found that blocking internet access during those times helped me immensely. Wishing you a great 2020!
Good for you Julia. We all need to slow down and smell the roses. Thank you for all your sharing.
Irene in Canada
I was introduced today to your blog and I already feel motivated. Thank you
I’m glad to hear that Rita. Welcome to the blog!
How’s the vegetable garden?
Still dormant because of winter, but I’m already looking forward to it! 🙂
I love your comment about staring into the clouds. I sometimes make myself stop what I’m doing (even if it is reading) and stare into the clouds and explore some dream or off-beat idea. Sometimes I feel something inside me pushing to be expressed or explored – and I think that this is so necessary. Day-dreaming is a wonderful thing!
You’re so right about this Leah, I too feel it’s important to let your thoughts drift off sometimes. There is even scientific data that shows that we need this kind of idle time to form creative or deep thoughts. It’s a fascinating topic.