Do you know what an artist’s date is?

I had no idea.

Until I watched a video by Katie Moody on Youtube. Katie is a sketchbook artist and she’s reading (and doing the homework) of the famous book “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. I’ve heard a lot about this book, but thought it would be too woo-woo for me, given its spiritual/ religious approach. The book isn’t just a quick read either; it’s a 12-week program for artistic and creative recovery. So, the book itself doesn’t attract me, but Katie’s vlog is simply great to watch.
Because of Katie’s vlog, I found out the meaning of ‘artist’s dates’, something I come across often online:  “An artis’t date is a solo excursion, a block of time (ideally two hours weekly) dedicated to nurturing your creative self. It’s a “playdate” for your inner artist, a chance to explore, discover, and reconnect with your creative side.”

Now, that does sound familiar 🙂

This summer I’m aiming for at least one plein air drawing session a week- exploring the woods, ruins, or quiet places by the lakes. Anything is possible.

I also have a thing with mines and quarries:

My main goal this summer is drawing more, as much as possible.

Why?

-It’s great practice.
-It’s great for focus and noticing more in my surroundings.
-The sketches and pictures are good material to work on my art journal experiments.
-It’s fun to follow your curiosity and let it lead the way.

Artist’s dates don’t have to be solo drawing sessions in the woods- that’s just what I have available here 🙂
Katie joined, for example, a life drawing session. Other options: visiting museums, hiking, dressing up, being a tourist in your own town/city,… I’ve been rereading some Famous Five novels in my hammock, and I feel that counts too 🙂

Also nurturing for my creativity is the excitement of new materials! That’s probably no surprise lol.
Here’s what I got:

– Artgraf black and white. These are replacements for the 2 colours that are running low.
-Liquid charcoals in the colour Grape Seed Black. I’ve been looking for this for almost a year. It’s nearly impossible to get here, and even in my favourite shop in Antwerp, it wasn’t available (only the set of 3 small tubes), so I ordered it online in Spain. This specific colour is more blueish.
-The limited edition Neocolor 2 from Caran d’ache in Dark and Pastel- a birthday present! These have been widely discussed online, often sparking a lot of frustration because Caran d’Ache decided to release 15 new colours for their 50th birthday, but divided them over 5 different sets. Each of the 5 sets has 3 of the new colours and 7 of the regulars. I found these 2 sets worth it for me for 2 reasons: 1) I really like the new colours of each set + the other colours are also ones that I use regularly and 2) my plan is to create a palette in one tin to take on location. This way, I don’t need to take Neocolors from my big studio box, and I will have a small tin that fits my bag.

This is a location I’d love to visit again with my sketchbook: