Artwork in Progress

How do you deal with fear of the blank page? Simple: Make it un-blank! In other words, just make a mark! Do ANYTHING! ✏️
Creative Sandbox Way™ guidepost number 5: “Just start. Anywhere.”
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Once you’ve made a mark, you can no longer have fear of the blank page, because it isn’t blank anymore! 😊 Now your job is simple to respond to what’s there. And keep sending your gremlins off to get pedicures, of course! ✏️
Creative Sandbox Way™ guidepost number 8: “Dismiss all gremlins.”
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I like to imagine that my inner 4-year-old is inhabiting the tip of my pen, and I give her free rein to do whatever she wants. 4-year-olds don’t care what anyone else thinks. They’re not trying to impress, or win awards, or make money—they’re following their curiosity! Period. Pure play.
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The gremlins will continue to pop in and tell me how ugly and awful what I’m making is, and I just thank them for their concern (they’re just trying to protect me, after all), and send them away again.
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Respond to what’s there. Accept the reality of what’s in front of you and build on it. Let your inner 4-year-old inhabit the tip of your pen. Dismiss the gremlins.
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It’s all part of doodling as a spiritual practice. 😊
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#doodlingasaspiritualpractice #doodle #dailydoodle #dailycreative #dailyart #imperfectionism #letitbecrappy #artistsofinstagram #artistsoninstagram #doodlesofinstagram #tinyart #abstractart #doodleart #creativesandboxway #creativeplay #pigmamicron

Another morning doodle to start the day.
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#doodle #dailydoodle #dailycreative #dailyart #imperfectionism #letitbecrappy #artistsofinstagram #artistsoninstagram #doodlesofinstagram #tinyart #abstractart #doodleart #creativesandboxway #creativeplay #pigmamicron

Morning doodle. As with all my doodles, this one started out with a random mark. I had no idea it would evolve into what feels like a landscape—like looking out from inside the mouth of a cave on a barren landscape. Like what you might find on a planet like Ilus, perhaps? (For fans of The Escape, which my husband and I are addicted to! 😊)
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This is the fun and joy of spontaneous doodling. I start from zero, and let my inner 4-year-old inhabit the tip of the pen. Then I give her free rein and see where she goes!
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At some point, a pattern starts to emerge. Often it’s completely abstract. Sometimes, as with this doodle, it’s evocative of the natural world. Whatever the pattern is, I lean into it.
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So I’m this case, I decided to play with cross hatching. Not something I’ve done a lot of in the past, but I wanted to give a feeling of depth.
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The doodle started out as some squiggly lines running along the long edges of the card. Then I added narrow stripes (I guess you’d call them?) in the space between the edge of the card and the squiggles. Or maybe those stripes qualify as cross hatching?
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Then I started adding additional squiggles, and it was at that point when I thought, “Hey, this looks a bit like a landscape! Let’s lean into this!”
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At this point I was in flow. IN the process, immersed. That’s the goal, folks. It’s not about creating Great Art. It’s not about making something Like-worthy or Pin-worthy, it’s about THAT MOMENT, when you lose track of time, and everything becomes about you, your pen, your paper, and your hand moving through space. IT’S SO DELICIOUS! 🔥🌟❤️
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I set a timer today. It went off after 15 minutes and I spent another minute or two completing the cross hatching at the top. (I’m other words, getting into a state of flow doesn’t take as long as you might think!)
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I was just reading an article yesterday about the health benefits of making art. Which I was already aware of (hey, I TEACH this stuff!), but still needed a reminder (we live in a society that does NOT reinforce that creative expression for its own sake is valuable!) 🖊
So let this be your reminder to get creating! #doodle #dailydoodle #dailycreative #dailyart

#tuesdaytutorial How to draw a light bulb. 💡 🖊
A classic for expressing:
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💥Ideas
💥Breakthroughs
💥Innovation
💥Creativity
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Think you can’t draw?
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If you can WRITE, you can draw! 🖊
Notice that the first step is an “O”! And the second step is a “U”! Add some lines and loops, and voilá! 😄

Stop at step 4 or 5, or go all the way to step 6 and add shading—it’s up to you.
Drawing is easy when you break it down into steps! 😄
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#visualfacilitation #graphicfacilitation #visualnotes #graphicrecording #sketchnotes #sketchnote #sketchnoting #sketchnotearmy #graphicrecorder #visualthinking #neulandmarkers #doodle #imperfectionism #tutorial #howtodraw #creativesandboxway

#tuesdaytutorial Just in time for New Year’s: How to draw a popping champagne bottle.🍾 Of course, a popping champagne bottle brings to mind New Year’s Eve.

But this simple graphic can represent ANY celebration. 💥Use it to spiff up a report of unexpectedly high quarterly earnings. 💥Or a note to your team to let them know the big proposal came through. 💥Or jot it on a sticky note or card for someone’s birthday or anniversary.

You may be surprised how impressed people will be when you include hand-drawn visuals.

People are so jaded by digital these days.

And most people think they can’t draw.

But drawing is actually easy when you break it down into steps! 😄 (Tip: notice that all of my bottles are DIFFERENT, and that my lines are wonky! You do not have to be able to draw a straight line in order to draw! You get to be imperfect!) —

Your turn: Do your plans for New Year’s Eve include champagne? Answer in the comments! —

Want to learn to draw to communicate ideas? I’m putting together a Beginner’s Drawing Guide! Get on the interest list and I’ll let you know when it’s done: http://bit.ly/CSSdraw

#creativity
#communication
#visualthinking
#design
#play
#visualfacilitation #graphicfacilitation #visualnotes #graphicrecording #sketchnotes #sketchnote #sketchnoting #sketchnotearmy #graphicrecorder #visualthinking #neulandmarkers #champagne #newyearseve #drawingtutorial #howtodraw

Morning doodle. .
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#doodle #dailydoodle #dailycreative #dailyart #imperfectionism #letitbecrappy #artistsofinstagram #artistsoninstagram #doodlesofinstagram #tinyart #abstractart #doodleart #creativesandboxway #creativeplay #pigmamicron

#tuesdaytutorial How to draw a Christmas caroler!
Last week I showed you how to draw #learning or reading.

Someone commented that the same drawing could also represent singing…

But I knew a circle for an open mouth, plus a couple of musical notes 🎶 would make that distinction even more clear.

Two upside-down U’s for eyes make our singer look focused and happy.

Add a Santa hat, and our simple reader has transformed into a Christmas caroler. 😊
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#visualfacilitation #graphicfacilitation #visualnotes #graphicrecording #sketchnotes #sketchnote #sketchnoting #sketchnotearmy #graphicrecorder #visualthinking #neulandmarkers

A hippo taking a bath. Of course.
This is from today’s LinkedIn post:

If you’re generating lackluster ideas, maybe you need to warm up first!
Athletes warm up before an event. Musicians play scales. Artists draw quick sketches.

Roger Firestien, Ph.D., author of the new book, Create in a Flash, helps groups of business people become more open-minded by asking them questions like: • How do you get a hippopotamus out of a bathtub? • What are all the ways to improve a refrigerator? • What can you do with 10 tons of gelatin? • What can you do with 50,000 bowling balls that are flat on one side? “These are really silly challenges, not related to the problem at all,” he says. “[The exercises] train the group in the methods that they’re going to be using to generate those ideas. They sanction the time for speculation… And by working on something that’s admittedly silly, something that’s admittedly whimsical, people loosen up… they have some fun.” And fun (i.e. play) is ALWAYS good for creativity! —

Your turn: How DO you get a hippopotamus out of a bathtub? First thing that springs to mind—no pondering! .
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#doodle #dailydoodle #dailycreative #dailyart #imperfectionism #letitbecrappy #artistsofinstagram #artistsoninstagram #doodlesofinstagram #hippo #hippopotamus #silly

#tuesdaytutorial How to draw #learning. Or #reading. In 6 or 7 steps—take your pick!

Or even 5 steps, if you eliminate the hands.

Notice that this #drawing is VERY CLEAR, but is made ENTIRELY of curved lines and almost-circles. (Ovals or circles work equally well, as do wonky circles or crappy circles or crappy ovals.😉) Drawing for communication is all about SIMPLICITY.

The point is to make MEANING, not art!

So if you’re one of those folks who’s always saying, “I can’t draw,” it’s time to change your tune!
We’re NOT trying to be the next Rembrandt here.
If you can write a grocery list, you got this!👍😎
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#creativity
#play
#visualcommunication
#visualthinking #visualfacilitation #graphicfacilitation #visualnotes #graphicrecording #sketchnotes #sketchnote #sketchnoting #sketchnotearmy #graphicrecorder #visualthinking #neulandmarkers

Teeny tiny morning doodle. .
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#blackandwhite #doodle #dailydoodle #dailycreative #dailyart #imperfectionism #letitbecrappy #artistsofinstagram #artistsoninstagram #doodlesofinstagram #tinyart #abstractart #doodleart #creativesandboxway #creativeplay #pigmamicron

“Squee!” Doodle right before bed. Letting my inner 4-year-old inhabit the tip of my pen and giving her free rein.
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#doodle #dailydoodle #dailycreative #dailyart #imperfectionism #letitbecrappy #artistsofinstagram #artistsoninstagram #doodlesofinstagram #tinyart #abstractart #doodleart #creativesandboxway #creativeplay #pigmamicron