Have you ever wished you could paint every day but just can’t figure out how to find the time? I have felt the same thing from time to time. My days are busy looking after the family and it can be hard to find the energy to do anything in the evening. But as hard as it is to imagine, it is possible to create everyday even when you have a busy life.

Last year, I shared on social media easy things to do in order to make creating everyday a reality.  Each day I shared a tip on things to keep in mind  in order to make it less daunting.   Here is a recap of that week. Enjoy!

Day 1- Tip 1- Paint Small

Since I want this to become a habit I do each day, I am going to keep things small. I found this extremely helpful when I was just beginning to paint. For almost a year I didn’t create anything larger than a 5×7 unless I was asked to. And there were a few reasons I chose to do that.

1. There’s nothing worse than staring at a large blank piece of paper wondering what to paint. In fact that alone can keep a person from painting anything at all!
2. I want to be able to finish my paintings quickly. I don’t have a lot of time and knew I would get discouraged if it took me forever to finish.
3. Let’s be honest. Art supplies can get expensive! By working in a smaller format I didn’t feel guilty experimenting with different techniques and colors.

I keep a stash of paper already cut to the size I want (in this case 4”X6”) and ready to use. I also keep a small kit of my art supplies – including a jar of water- ready to grab. That means when I am ready to paint, my supplies are ready as well.

I’m not in love with how my flowers turned out so I added a bit of ink. I like them better now but it may have more do with the fact I stopped criticising my work. This week is going to be about releasing my expectations of what I want my art to look like and embracing the excitement of painting again.

Day 2/Tip 2 – Consider Tracing

I sat down last night with no idea what to paint, saw this little sticker one of my daughters left on my desk, and thought why not Pooh? I actually found sketching this guy a bit challenging as I’m out of practice. So if he looks a little lopsided he probably is! It got me thinking about how challenging, and at times even intimidating, drawing can be. So I’m going to say something that can be a bit controversial but here it goes. If you want to paint, but feel like you can’t draw, consider tracing. I was surprised at first to hear that many artists use tracing, even some of the greats! So why not try it? And keep in mind that tracing can be considered practice. Your hand is learning the lines, angles and details you want incorporated in your drawing. And you may find after a while that you feel more confident to tackle drawing on your own. So don’t let something like drawing keep you from exploring your creative side! You can do it!

Day 3/Tip 3 – Try New Things

This was a bit of an experiment. I have always been fascinated by how to create a sense of light in watercolors so thought I would try it. Because why not? Why not try something new? Since I’m already working in a smaller size it is not as intimidating as I thought it would be. This is a great way to try out new techniques, paint in a different style, and in general paint in a new way! I have intentionally been painting completely different things this week than I normally do and I’m really enjoying the freedom of that simple decision. If you feel like you’ve been in a creative rut this is a great way to break free from it! So be brave and try something new.

Day 4/Tip 4-Keep it Simple.

I’ve had a terrible cold so I really needed to do something simple. A cup of chamomile tea seemed perfect. This also ties in with my next tip, which is to keep things simple. Consider limiting your supplies. This week Ihave intentionally been using only the supplies shown in the picture. And there are a few reasons why. It’s good to get back to the basics. I have a full size pallet with beautiful colors that I love but some times I end up spending so much time trying to decide what colors to use! So this week I’m sticking with my travel pallet that has my basic set of 12 colors. It’s been great getting back to mixing my own greens and experimenting with how to create turquoise. And it’s great practice in mixing colors if you are just starting out. I’m sticking with 2 brushes and 2 pens as my “special tools”. I am simplifying my creative process so I can focus on creating instead of thinking about all the extras. Don’t get me wrong; I love my extra paints and brushes. But for this week I’m enjoying the simplicity of creating.

Day 5/Tip 5 – Be Kind to Yourself, Stay Flexible

I had planned to paint something completely different for day 5. But little ones needed extra cuddles before bed. By the time I was able to sit and paint I was exhausted. So instead of sticking with my plan I did something else.

It’s a simple enough concept but it can be hard to implement if we have projects or timelines we are trying to stick to. But I chose to be kind to myself. Instead, I painted this whimsical little doodle. I really enjoy painting in this style and find it relaxing, although I probably added a few too many branches! It sure was fun.

So my tip for today is don’t forget to be kind to yourself. If you are struggling, slow down. If you can’t squeeze in a project no matter how small, remember this should be fun and a quick little doodle totally counts for art. Soon I will touch on what to do when you just can’t find the energy to be creative. I’ve been there!

Day 6 – Tip 6 – Be Intentional

I got home late after being with friends and did this quick sketch before bed. It took about 15 minutes. And most of that time was spent waiting for paint to dry. I would love to paint more landscapes and this was great practice. Yesterday I wrote about being flexible, and today I thought I would mention the other side of that which would be, to be intentional. If there is something you want to improve on painting small and regularly is a great way to do it. You could paint the same scene using different colors or techniques. Or you could do the reverse of that by painting different but similar scenes practicing the same techniques. By doing these intentional bursts of practice you will see growth and progress quicker than you think. This is only my second landscape painting, it’s not anything special but I learned a lot, and all it took was 15 minutes of my time. So the next time you sit to create perhaps think about how you can be intentional about practicing and learning something new.

Day 7- Tip 7 – Find Your Artistic Input

Today I thought I would finally talk about those days you just don’t have it in you to create anything but another cup of tea. I think we have all had days like this. Maybe we feel exhausted, are sick or need to cuddle that little one who is teething. These are the days to take a deep breath and keep being flexible.

On days like this I like to focus on gathering things that inspire me. And there are so many inspiring things around us and that can be found. Some ideas could be reading your favorite poetry or scripture or listen to soothing music. Find something that will help replenish your soul. Remember your art is important, but you are so much more valuable than anything you will create.

Having said that there are also some great ways to find artistic inspiration right at your fingertips. Pinterest is a great place to gather ideas for future projects. I have all kinds of pins on my Pinterest accounts on exploring creativity. There are some great ideas there for many different mediums, check them out if you’re interested. There are some amazing artists on social media! My favourite platform for finding inspiring artist is Instagram. And I’m pretty sure you all know about YouTube.

There are many ways to find inspiration so you are ready to create the next time you feel able to. My point being, even though you aren’t able to create anything (artistic output) you can still find some amazing “input” that will still help you along your artistic journey.

Missing a day or two of practice here or there doesn’t mean you won’t grow as an artist. You will. Take a deep breath, gather your inspiration and when the time comes you will create beautiful things!

So there you go! Seven tips to help you make creating daily easy, fun and possible! Let me know what you think? Can you think of other tips to add to this?