Since becoming a Mum in 2014 I haven’t spent any time away from my kids on my own. I’ve had the occasional business trip with work and a few hen weekends but time alone? Ha, no.
I’ve always been introverted and enjoy my own company. I’m guessing it has something to do with growing up as an only child. So I finally decided to book a few nights away for myself to focus on art, reading and writing. My very own ‘creative retreat’.
I grabbed my sketchbook, art supplies, study books, a fridge worth of Pepsi Max and headed off to my little apartment on the Ayrshire coast.
I had made a rough plan ahead of time of some things I wanted to accomplish during the weekend, so that I didn’t end up doomscrolling or sitting around not knowing where to start.
Here’s the list;
- Read a book
- Go for a walk
- Research the impressionist movement
- Do some filming for YouTube
- Start filling out my accordion sketchbook
I really enjoyed reading about the impressionists and learning more about some of my favourite artists. The books I had taken with me were bought from a charity shop so I enjoyed underlining my favourite quotes and tearing out pages for using in my sketchbook later.
Something I hadn’t anticipated was how much I would enjoy filming and taking photographs. Trying to get the ‘right shot’ and seeing how I could capture the relaxed mood of the weekend.
My main purpose though, as much as I enjoyed reading and quiet contemplation, was to put pen to paper and actually make some art. I had purchased an accordion sketchbook a few months ago and was determined to make a start on this and use it as my study companion for researching the impressionists.
I started by tearing out a few pages of the Renoir book and trying to replicate the stripes with oil pastels. I’ve decided to use oil pastels from now on…because they’re just the BEST (in my opinion). I use the Sennelier oil pastels with various types of paper and I love them to bits.
I recorded the process of putting this sketchbook together, with studies from Renoir and Morisot. It’s something I’ve wanted to make a start on for months now and going away on my own gave me the space and time I needed to finally kick off this project. I will share the YouTube link here once it’s live but might be a while yet as it’s back to the business of work and home life now…
To be honest this weekend has made me realise that there’s actually plenty of time in my week where I could be drawing and working on my hobby but because I’m tired I usually pick the easiest option – which for me is gaming. So there’s a balance to be struck somewhere…I’m not sure what that is yet but I’m glad I went on this creative retreat to help me re-focus on my goals.
T x