Let me guess: you’re thinking about dipping your toes into some artsy things, but you don’t know where to start, what to create, or what supplies to get. Don’t think that you’re creative enough? Such nonsense, everyone is creative in their own way. But, here are some ideas and recommendations for you to get started!
Artsy Ideas
- Doodling
- Coloring
- Painting
- Floral Arranging
- Beading
- Collage
- Photography
- Hand Lettering
Let’s Dive In!
Doodling
There’s nothing like a good old doodling session to calm one’s nerves, brainstorm, relax, or think something through. And you can use whichever medium you’d like. Pens, color Pencils, graphite Pencils, paint, markers, you name it! You have options. All you’ll need is your medium of choice and a piece of paper or if you want to be fancy a sketchbook or journal and you’re on your way.
Now what to doodle? When I’m feeling frustrated, in a funk, or in a certain mood that I need to be fully present in but not take with me throughout the day, I open up one of my mini sketchbooks, grab a pen or brush pen, put on some music and freehand it!
Sometimes I’ll follow the music to see what comes, or I’ll challenge myself to not lift up the pen to not disconnect from the paper or get whimsical with it. You can doodle for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, or even an hour. But truth be told I haven’t doodled for a complete hour straight, so if you do let me know how that goes lol. Here are some examples of my doodling moments.
Coloring
Who says you’re too old for coloring or that it’s just for kids? Pish posh! I love a good coloring book, from intricate ones to cute adorable ones. If getting a coloring book is too much of a commitment, grab a coloring page from Etsy or Pinterest and then print. Or if you want to take it up a notch, you can create a coloring page by hand or use Canva. Now with coloring, I’m a traditionalist in the sense that I tend to stay within the lines and use either crayons or color pencils. But you don’t have to, because you have options. If you want to use makers, pens, charcoal or even pastels go for it!
Painting
The world of painting is vast and can be intimidating, but remember to have fun and that you have options. There’s watercolor, acrylic, and oil to name the most notable. Don’t think that watercolor is for beginners and not to be taken seriously. There are levels to it: beginner, intermediate and advanced. You can create beautiful works of art regardless of where you land on the scale. Depending on what medium of paint, determines what materials you’ll need.
Materials to get started:
- Paint
- Brushes – It’s always great to have a variety of sizes and weights, so that you can be as broad or detailed as you’d like
- Water
- Paper or Canvas
- Palette to place and mix paint
Floral Arrangements
Many cultures and societies around the globe practice some form of floral arranging, so you can too! I’m all about sustainability here, so we can still partake in floral arranging in a manner that isn’t wasteful and unsustainable. Let’s start with your flowers and greenery, you can buy local from your farmer’s market or local florists, or if you want to take a nature walk and grab some botanical materials that are already lying about that would be great too. And if possible let’s try to use what is currently in season in your local environment.
What first got me into floral arrangements were my sketches and drawings of botanicals and viewing a showcase of the Ikebana practice of Floral Arrangements. This prompted me to attend a few classes at the local Ikebana chapter in my city. From there I was hooked! Now I create live floral arrangements and once they have finished, I construct arrangements from the dried flowers and greenery. I personally love making arrangements where I can appreciate the transition from vibrant and lush to it becoming delicate, fragile, and peaceful. From this new creative outlet, I’m happy to say that I have more floral artists on my algorithm on IG.
Beading
Bead it up! I can honestly say that I have not dabbled in the beautiful and intricate world of beading, but I can share my honest admiration and appreciation for it. With beading you can enter the world of jewelry, create keychains, or even works of art. Art? You don’t believe me? Then check out Jeffrey Gibson’s work from the 60th Venice Biennale at the U.S. Pavilion. He beautifully incorporates beading into his paintings and creates standalone pieces of beaded birds and punching bags. (Click here to see these works)
Collage
This medium has been gaining more attention over the past two decades, as it should because there are phenomenal artists out there making dynamic and impactful work with collage, Deborah Roberts anyone? And you can too!
It’s easy to get started, all you need are a couple of magazines, old novels, and glue and you’re good to go. You can create a vision board, mood board, fine art, a motivational poster, and more! It does require a bit of time to decide on what you would like to make, searching through your materials for the right image, phrases, or letters, and committing to where you will place it on the paper. I suggest listening to your intuition and going with the flow.
Photography
In my creative practice, I’m exploring movement with photography. Last summer, I rented time in a dance studio and set the music and got to moving. Here are some drafts of those images. I’m still figuring out how I want to move forward with these.
You can start off small by taking photos of places in your neighborhood while on a walk, or become the person who always is ready to capture those candid family moments or create a visual log of your adventures.
Thanks to mobile phones, everyone has a camera on hand, which is pretty cool considering that you’re able to capture moments and things that are personal and unique to you. But you’re not limited to just your phone, there’s a world full of cameras to choose from. Some options include:
- DSLR: Digital Single Lense Reflex | very popular for beginners and professionals alike
- Mirrorless Cameras
- Compact Cameras or Point & Shoot Cameras
- Bridge Cameras
- Instant Cameras | Hello Polaroid!
- Film Cameras
- Action Cameras
- 360 Degree Cameras
- Underwater Cameras / Waterproof Cameras | Great to capture those moments under the sea or while at the lake
- Medium Format Cameras
- Smart Phone Cameras | Most people have this one handy, but I won’t get into which is best, **cough, cough, Samsung**
- Rangefinder Cameras
Hand Lettering
Just as the name suggests it’s creating lettering by hand. You can get as fancy, elegant, fun, funky, or wild as you like. You can try to practice some font styles that you like, many great ideas and inspo are on Pinterest. But if you’re looking to challenge yourself, try creating your own style, based off of a feeling, color, or moment that you would like to evoke or express. When it comes to materials, depending on how fancy you want to be, you can go with a stylus with ink, ink brushes, color pencils, markers, or pens. One of my favorite is Tombow’s Dual Brush Pen Art Markers.
Subject Matter
So you’ve decided on how you will create but coming up short or blank for the subject matter, the what.
Here are some ideas that work well across all the mediums listed above:
- Nature
- Botanicals
- Landscapes: Parks, Deserts, Mountains, Coastal, Cityscape, etc.
- Abstract
- Color Blocking
- Patterns
- Emotional / Mood / Vibe
- Geometric Shapes
- Portraiture
- Animals
Material Recommendations
- Artist Loft: I love introducing my nieces, nephews, and children to art with this brand. It’s affordable and they have products covering basically every medium you can think of, including paper.
- Paper
- Graphite Pencils
- Pens
- Sakura Micron
- Staedtler: Excellent writing and art pen
- Sharpie Pen
- Crayons
- Crayola: In my opinion, they have the best crayons and so many color options, hello 64 pack and 120 pack.
- Note: If there are crayons that you’d recommend drop them in the comments below. Would love to hear what people are using.
- Color Pencils
- Rose Art | Apparently it is now back under Cra-Z-Art
- Faber-Castell
- Prismacolor
- Markers
- Crayola
- Rose Art
- Tombow: Dual Brush Pens
- Ohuhu: I love how these are dual-sided, brush side and chiseled side
- Paints
- Artist Loft : They have water color and acrylic!
- Liquitex
- Winsor & Newton
- Pastels
- Artist Loft
- Faber-Castell
- Sennelier Pastels: I was lucky enough to come in a set of 50 at a local community art closet. These are so snazzy!
So you love the ideas mentioned above, but you’re thinking, ‘Jakia, this is great and all, but I need a bit more structure and guidance’. Not a problem!
Here are some resources where you can learn more, hone your skills, and receive more structure:
- Skillshare: Excellent platform where you can take online classes with artists and other creatives who have classes for beginners to advance.
- YouTube: You can learn just about anything at YouTube University.
- Craftsy
- Support a local artist by taking a workshop or class.
- Join a Facebook creative/art group.
I hope you found these ideas and recommendations helpful to get you started on your artistic and creative journey. Always remember that you are creative. It just shows up in different ways, and there are no barriers to entry. There is no right or wrong way to create. The fact that you are creating is a wonderful feat in itself!
Lastly, one of the biggest lessons I learned years ago is that how the work comes out is how it comes out. I’m not attached to an idealized version of the work. Inspiration happens when you’re creating and you want to give yourself the flexibility and space to pivot when you need to. It doesn’t need to be perfect, because life isn’t. Enjoy the process and go with the flow.
Let me know what you get up to creatively. I would love to see it!
Jarifuller 