Taking It Outside - Finding Inspiration in Nature - guest post by Taylor Adams
all images via Taylor Adams
Guest Post by Taylor Adams
Some days, after working in my studio or sitting at my desk for long hours, I start to feel a sense of restlessness. When you’re feeling stuck, tired, or just a little cooped up, it can be hard to imagine staring at the computer screen for another hour without going insane. When these feelings start to creep in, I’ve found the best medicine is a simple remedy: go outside. Even if it’s just a 10 minute walk, a bit of fresh air instantly revives and re-centers me, allowing me to come back with fresh eyes, a clear mind, and the focus to dig back in. I’m a firm believer that what you can see and experience beyond your front door has an immense power to fuel creativity. So if there’s so much inspiration to be found in the outside world, why not take my artwork out there with me?
It’s amazing how much you can gain with just a few simple items and the opportunity to explore. I’ve put together a little art-to-go kit that I like to throw in my backpack and venture outside with whenever I’m in need of a field trip. For my sketchbook, I like to use a little 4x4 inch handmade book made from pages that I cut, folded and bound with embroidery thread and cereal box covers. The paper is thin and light weight - not meant for wet media, but I’ve found it to be an interesting surface when pre-primed with splashes of gesso on each page. Applied quickly and unevenly, varying the textures of my marks, not only does the gesso make the paper a little more durable, but it brings an element of surprise to the surface. When I’m outside working with color, the wet media interacts with the grooves and lines established by the previously dried media, highlighting texture that was not otherwise visible in its white surface and changing with each new mark.
For my outdoor media I like to carry an inexpensive tray of watercolors with me. In my studio, I typically use inks and watercolor tubes. However, I’ve found if I carry a simple tray, I can pull it out and have a wide range of colors all accessible at once. This allows me to mix and experiment with ease no matter what my outdoor surroundings are. Add in a couple brushes and a small canning jar for carrying water (the sealed lid is perfect for preventing leaks), and I have everything I need for a successful session of color studies.
Perhaps my favorite thing about working outside is the change of pace. On a sunny day, paint will dry faster than it would sitting inside. This enables me to work quickly, adding more layers of media or moving along to a new page, absorbing as much information into my sketchbook as I can. When you’re working outside there’s no time to be precious or overly conscious of your decisions. It’s about going with your instincts and reacting to your surroundings as they actively change around you. For example, this particular session I was working from one of my all time favorite spots, Folly Beach in Charleston, South Carolina. My brushes would get sandy, or the wind would blow my book shut in the middle of a drying page, but instead of fighting these elements I had to learn to embrace the environment and work with it. Can I use the sand as a texture? If pages are blown together does it establish a new mark that I may have not otherwise discovered?
Sitting in a new environment there's an abundance to explore, and you can work through ideas quickly. But you can also slow it down. Take moments to watch marks dry, observe the colors around you, soak in and appreciate your surroundings. There’s a level of flexibility and fluidity that makes it a unique experience in addition to the change of scenery.
With so much going on in our day to day lives, it’s nice to step away from screens - unplugging and cherishing solitude without distractions. Especially now that it’s officially spring, I encourage you to get outside, soak up some sun and new ideas, and experience fresh colors in their truest form. There’s a whole world of inspiration out there, just waiting to be discovered.
More about Taylor:
Taylor Adams is a Florida based artist exploring the world of abstraction with thread and ink in hand. Fueled by a love of the outdoors, she is largely inspired by beauty found in nature. See more of Taylor’s work at tayloradamsart.com and follow along on Instagram/Twitter @tayloradamsart to get a closer look at her process, current work, and daily explorations.