Playing with 'Creative Playgrounds'

Some of you know I take part in daily arty challenges. Last August it started with month of hand lettering daily, then a month of food, then desserts and biscuits. There was no major thought process behind them, it was to keep up with my drawing skills without engaging my brain as to its final use, if any.

I am still taking part in daily doodles #365doodleswithjohannafritz if I can, and sometimes mashing it up a daily watercolour in my moleskin and even further mashed with #alittleart that Victoria Johnson started (tiny art in any medium no bigger than 2.5") Indulge me I'm getting to the point...

It wasn't until last month when I took part in Build a Freelance Illustration Business that I realized this kind of approach has a name...'creative playgrounds' . I am simply 'playing', its done freestyle, its quick, maybe messy but I'm always having fun. I never realized that also submitting to the Spoonflower and Tigerprint competitions even taking part in Inktober and #the100day project was this 'creative playground. Submitting to They Draw and Cook...some of you know I submit to them a lot... is also a 'creative playground'  

I made a commitment to myself to just spend 10-30mins each day to explore or try something new. You simply don't know until you try how its going to turn out...that new PS brush, shifting the images to 'colour burn' or drawing with a toothpick. And the super outcome is connecting with others who are joining in too, supporting their art and vice versa.

So I said I drew without thinking too much...well I want to show you some outcomes..why its good to play.

First up are these donuts I drew at the suggestion of picture book illustrator Claire Lordon during 'dessert a day' month (November 2014)...

....so these donuts ended up in at a foodie event banner in Toronto, each about 3 ft wide!

Next these very British biscuits were designer Harriet Mellor's request during food doodle month (October 2014)...

...which ended up in a UK adult colouring in publication earlier this year.

And just this week I started on Este MacLeod 'Explore Colour' painting course. The first assignment much to my delight was simply to draw swiftly the structure of fruits and vegetables, sections, slices, every angle. The butternut squash sketch ended up in this weeks They Draw and Cook submission.

And finally this is one of my very first doodles during hand lettering month last year (on vacation in Cornwall in a old sketchbook)....which will be appear in a publication later this year....

I feel its been truly beneficial to put ward work like this, letting go of the need to always know how the end result will pan out. Some of my doodles take days to a year to be worked into something that can be placed in my portfolio. If you would like to know more about the value of creative playgrounds watch Salli and Nate HERE



Tigerprint Say It With Words...competition

It was only last week I saw the details of this months competition - a different way of putting forward a sentimental phrase in a typographic setting. Oh gosh I'm such a sucker of hand lettering I couldn't resist.

First of all was finding a phrase...how does one say 'Happy Birthday' differently? Or any of the other dozen key greetings that come up time and time again. I settled on '365 days Older and Wiser' which is quite polite and not at all offensive as one tots up the years ( and grey hairs) Again I went down the vintage inspired route with a male recipient in mind. 

At the weekend I came up with something quite daft - still thinking along the lines of a sentiment with a twist. I felt the slang 'totes adorbs' could be used on a New Baby card. Keeping it simple and more modern in approach. I had fun with this one too.

30 Days of hand Lettering - week 4

Oh my gosh August has just flown by. The kids start school in a few days, including my youngest which will certainly free up more creative time. I'm setting myself another challenge for September - 30 days of FOOD drawing. Again it will just be line illustrations - I feel not putting myself under too much pressure is key to keeping it loose and joyful. 

I've realised these personal phrases are rather popular on Pinterest and have been gobsmacked by the levels of repins - hopefully this will lead to something exciting in the future.

30 Days of Hand Lettering - week 1

Last month I set myself the challenge of creating a hand lettering doodle a day for the month of August. The kids would be on school hols and all routines would be out the window. It would keep me creative and I hoped it would help me loosen up a bit. I didn't have any phrases in mind and just worked with how I was feeling that day. Below are what happened in the first 8 days.