A little over a week ago my friend Alyssa Nassner invited me to join a new tumblr blog she was starting called Positive Inking. The project is based around the idea of Daily Affirmations for artists.
Alyssa wrote to me:
I think we all get the point in our days/careers/goals where we feel washed out, not confident, or like we’ve failed. This blog is about those moments, but instead of dwelling on them – I’m asking artists (and myself) to look at the positive! We’ll be sharing motivational illustrations, goals, and advice for ourselves, and one another in a fun type-and-illustration driven way!
I loved the idea and immediately got to work, sketching pages and pages of ideas. Seriously. pages. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I sketched, and doodled, and scribbled for a few hours and came up with all kinds of ideas. I’m looking forward to eventually finishing them all up!
With my nieces and nephew at my house last week for Anicamp : Summer 2012, I was inspired by their constant activity and curiosity. They delighted in everything they did from digging in the dirt, to creating a fabric collage, to picking blackberries and discovering a nest full of baby robins.
It was so much fun to be around the constant activity, and I recognized how different the schedule was from my day-to-day life in which I spend a whole lotta time with a computer on my lap. I was inspired by their curiosity to illustrate an animated .gif!
My positive message is to be curious! Get out from behind the computer screen, go outside and have adventures. If you’re anything like me, you’ll feel happier, refreshed and more inspired.
If you haven’t already, go check out Positive Inking and see some of the good advice other artists have been posting. Maybe you’ll see a message that is just right for you!