Join Me Next Month for Intuitober

Inktober has always been a fun time for us artists. I’ve loved picking and choosing my own prompts from Jake Parker’s list and combining them with prompts from other artist lists. But there isn’t one designed for intuitive art–at least not one that I’ve seen. So last year I started Intuitober.

What is Intuitober?

Intuitober is just like Inktober, only instead of prompts to inspire illustrations, these prompts are designed to be more sensory, emotion-based, and/or vague enough to have multiple interpretations. This makes it easier to work intuitively/subconsciously. Last year the prompt list for Intuitober was short, with only six scribble-evoking words to use throughout the month. But this year I’ve made prompts for the entire month of October. Not only that, but I’ve gone beyond the sensory-provoking words and have also added songs and poems to inspire your daily scribble.

And, of course, because it is the spooky season, each prompt has a element of eerie.

Five Blind Scribblings

Last week is a blur for me. I caught my daughter’s head cold and it put me up on blocks for days, during which I lied pitifully on my death bed (the couch) and napped between spurts of art documentaries and Sims 4. My Covid test was negative, but with how delirious I was I wouldn’t be surprised if I botched it somehow.

And, while I’m out of the thick of it, I’m still not up to full speed, which is making it a bit hard for me to find the focus to do intuitive work. Which I find interesting, actually, because while I was on death’s door I was feverishly painting gouache landscapes.

But getting going intuitively seems to be trickier when I’m sick. This might mean that it takes more focus to work subconsciously. Or maybe it means working from a photo is more mechanical than it is emotional. Either way, my subconscious mind is a bit “sleepier” at the moment, giving my conscious mind full reign to remind me of things like “composition” and “color theory” and “the perceived importance of straight lines.”

So what does one do during a time like this? I suppose I could melt into the couch some more and live vicariously through my Sims.

Or I could blindfold myself.

Let’s take a look at what came forward when my hands were given full autonomy, shall we?

Prepping for this little blind session was pretty easy. I simply put a few different dry mediums into a box (dry pastels, oil pastels, charcoals, etc.) and kept their color scheme relatively “earthy.” Except for the one bright pink oil pastel, which I’d hoped I would grab at least once during one of these little scribblings. I got lucky twice!

After the first two pieces were finished, I noticed that I began to move my whole body instead of my arm. I experimented with using my non-dominant hand. I enjoyed the luxury of pure artistic freedom. Like I might have as a kid who had yet to learn what made art “good” or “bad.”

And that’s the whole point. These scribblings weren’t about drawing the most perfect image, or about getting the composition right. They were about getting into the very groove of play.

These drawings aren’t masterpieces. And they aren’t perfect. Like at all. But I think that’s what makes them so fascinating. Best of all, they tell the truth.

Until next time, may your scribblings be blind and your drawings be messy.

Five Art Challenges to Get You Out of your Creative Funk

It may surprise you, but I don’t always want to do art. Sure, there are days when it just flows from me and I’m like an art goddess in her temple. But there are also days in which art just sounds boring and pointless. There are two possible reasons for this, at least in my experience. The first is burnout. This occurs when we overwork ourselves and our brain is just fried. I know when I’m experiencing burnout when even thinking about art is mentally exhausting. During this time I allow myself to take a break, watch some Supernatural, maybe clean the house a little.

The second possible reason for this meh feeling about art is a result of “sameness.” This is when the routine has gotten a bit too…routine. Whether you’re an artist or an entrepreneur you know that we can all get into the “if it ain’t broke why fix it” mentality and we stay in this little comfort bubble because it’s been working. I can always tell when I’m in this meh state instead of the burnout state because I will still really, really, really, want to do art. It’s just that this repetitive comfort zone I’ve fallen into no longer does it for me.

Those are the times when I need to change things up a bit. One of the ways I do this is to try something new. But this hasn’t always worked in the past because my ADHD-ness will be all “ooh shiny” and then I will stop using watercolor for six months as I work with the loom I built from a canvas frame and old yarn.

So I think the better option when I’m in this funk is to give myself a challenge. I have to make my art fun again.

And if you can relate to any of the above, I hope these challenges will give you a boost of motivation as well.

Go Monochrome

Monochrome doesn’t always mean black and white (though it certainly could if you wanted it to). Monochrome means exactly as it sounds: one color. You can go all blue or all red. You can do different values of violets or every shade of gray you can mix up.

Me? I think when I give myself this challenge I will work with only one color and no values and I will use either a dip pen or a colored micron. The result, I’m hoping, would be similar to a linocut print.

Go Tiny

What’s the smallest work you’ve ever done? Go smaller. Then, see if you can go even smaller than that.

But don’t just doodle something because it’s tiny. Get as detailed as you possibly can. Use a magnifying glass if you have to. Take your time. Take longer than you think you’d need to. Try to create a piece that would go in a museum.

Bonus points if you frame it afterward.

If you need inspiration, you should check out the work of Lorraine Loots.

Mix Weird Colors

This is a challenge that could get messy, but this is art. So let’s get messy. Make it a goal to mix (number) of the most (adjective) colors as you can.

Can you mix ten of the most hideous colors?

Can you mix five of the most delicious pastels?

Can you mix up ten grays without using the same color twice?

Try going with shades you never use. The point is to get out of your comfort zone. So if you always use delicate greens, maybe it’s time to mix up some electric oranges.

**Bonus points if you can make a piece with all of the colors you mix up. Especially the hideous ones.

Destroy your Paintings

I’m not talking about the stuff you’re hanging in a gallery. I’m talking about the random pastel sketches that you hold onto simply because you worked hard on them. I’m talking about all those watercolor practice sessions that were total failures and are just taking up space in your closet. If you are totally on the ball and toss whatever isn’t a failure, then this is the time to paint something with the sole purpose of destroying it.

Tear it up, cut it up, beat it with a stick. Whatever makes you feel better. Then you can take what’s left and either toss it in the garbage or, even better, create a collage. It will be like a Phoenix rising from the ashes. You won’t be able to sell this monstrosity, but it sure will be liberating.

Note: I’m not talking setting your work on fire here. If you choose to do that, do it responsibly, and do your research about what chemicals might be released and how flammable your medium is.

Use Unorthodox Tools

In 2020, in the thick of things, I was so fed up with all of the noise on the news and in my brain–and in my house–that I lost my mind a little and went outside to gather nature stuff. I grabbed dry grasses, sticks, maybe a flower here and there, and I brought it all inside to paint with. Once I was finished with the paintings, I did the above challenge and ruined them with a large red line of oil pastel.

I gotta tell you, using those nature things as tools instead of brushes really helped me get outside of my comfort zone. I no longer cared about whether it was going to be a perfect painting. I just wanted to get my feelings and confusions down onto the paper. Then, no matter how “pretty” I thought the piece was, I ruined it with that red line. Because that’s how I was translating the world at that time. I named the series: “Translating Chaos.”

To this day it’s still one of my favorite challenges and I hope to try it again in the future, maybe trying things even more unorthodox, like stones or sand. I could use water directly from streams for my watercolors. I could paint with mud. Whatever to get my mind out of the sameness and also get me out of the house and into nature.

Whether you’re in a full-blown creative funk or just need a change of scenery, I hope these challenges will help you get your mojo back. I’m already excited to try them, and may not even wait for the meh to return before going full monochrome or mixing up some hideous yellows.

Until next time, may your colors be weird and your chaos be translated.