How To Simplify Art Making

This year my goal is to simplify. Do you have a similar goal? Simplifying is a hard thing to do, but it helps us accomplish more and feel better. Feeling scattered and overwhelmed is not fun. 

With art I like to simplify by...

1. Buying art Supplies I need. When I go to an art store it's because I'm looking for something specific not filling my basket with likes, hopes, and wants. I already have the project in mind, I've gone through what I have first, and I know I'm going to need what I'm getting.

2. Throwing away. When my art supplies get old or ruined, I throw them out. The trash is meant to take away my garbage and clutter.

3. Give away. Sometimes I find that I hardly used an art supply. If it has sat for a season, even if I think I may use it someday, it goes to someone who can use it today. I sometimes forget that what I have takes up space, time, and energy, even when I don't use it.

​4. Organizing. My mom taught me that there is a home for everything. So I make a separate home for things that belong in families. For example I have a storage easel for my oil paints and all that I use with them. My acrylics have a separate home and so do my drawing supplies, and my watercolors. All of these supplies while separated by medium are in one designated art space in my home. If I take something from it's home I need to return it. This way I always know where something is. 

5. Designated Art Space. I make a special place to do art. I don't let the fact that I don't have my own art studio stop me either. With what I have I find the best place to do art daily and then I make my art supplies handy in that space.

6. Set up. I set up my space so that in the following days I won't have to spend as much energy setting up. Energy is a luxury and I want to spend most of it actually creating. 

7. Focus on now not someday. I like to have an outline on what I want to create throughout the year. However I'm aware I can get what I call somedayitis, when I gather supplies for someday, hold onto boxes of reference photos, and books they I won't read again. Dreaming is funner than doing sometimes. My goal this year is to focus on what I'm creating now and what I need for it and worry about the next thing when I'm done with the first. 

8. Steps make life easier. I can break up everything I do into small steps and focus on one step at a time. I do this in my art tutorials for you because I know this helps. Artwork can look overwhelming to create as much as a blank canvas can seem daunting and steps help me overcome those blocks. 

I hope this helps you simplify art making! I have many simple, step by step, art projects for you to choose from, that I think you might like to check out. You can find them organized by art mediums below. 

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