creative

Looking back and looking forward on my creative resolution

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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When I first made “my creative resolution” just before the start of 2014, my mission statement was: “Hoping to draw, paint, and create my way through 2014.”

I just wanted to be creative. I didn’t even know what I’d be working on. My interests were a varied list of painting, working with recycled materials, refinishing furniture, decorating my mantle, etc. The real goal was to be creative on a regular basis, and finish projects. I had a terrible habit of never finishing things. I made great progress in 2014, my interests became more focused on drawing and painting, and I finished almost everything I started, including some old projects.

At the start of 2015, my mission statement was: “Continuing my creative journey into 2015.”

I knew I had come so far, and I wanted to keep growing, and learning. I wasn’t giving up. I had a long lists of goals, although this list, wasn’t as varied as the year before.

Things I want to try in 2015:

  1. Linocut
  2. Lettering
  3. Online workshops
  4. Painting on dark paper
  5. Doodling
  6. Video
  7. Patterns
  8. Maps
  9. Digital Brushes
  10. Watercolor Parties

Most of these items, I tried at least once. Some, like designing patterns (surface design), I adopted as a monthly goal. See all my 2015 patterns here.

My mission statement for 2016 is more of a declaration of me: “Painting, Illustration, Surface Design, and Animation.”

I want to continue painting, working on my illustration style, and designing surface patterns. And I want to learn and grow in the area of animation. See my recent post on exploring animation here.

It’s important to look at where you’ve been, and plan on where you want to go. These two years have been amazing for me. I’ve grown so much on this creative journey. I’ve met amazing friends. It has made me feel happy and fulfilled, and I’m excited about what 2016 will bring. 🙂

Only 16 Days til Christmas!

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

daystilchristmas
I had a list, a mile long, of all the creative projects I was going to work on this month. The best laid plans and all that! Instead, (in addition to everyday life), I’ve been going to parties, decorating the house, and shopping, with a little creative time squeezed in.

Since, I’m starting to feel like I have the Christmas preparations under control, and there aren’t any parties this weekend, I’ll hopefully have more creative time. Whatever I don’t get done this December, I’ll have to pick up over the Summer. Although I don’t think I’ll be in the Christmas spirit then!

When I was younger, I wanted to be a cartoonist. I wasn’t particularly good at drawing or writing cartoons (my 10 year old son is awesome at them), but I loved reading them – Cathy, Ziggy, For Better or Worse. Here is my cartoon, to show you what’s been going on in my world.

Hope all is well with you! 🙂

Nutcracker Pattern – and it’s available as fabric and gift wrap on Spoonflower!

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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I’m so excited to announce that this Nutcracker pattern is available on Spoonflower and can be ordered as fabric or gift wrap! I just received some Nutcracker fabric and I’m excited to make something with it for the holidays!


You all know how passionate I’ve been about surface design this year! I’ve been wanting to take the next step, and see these patterns in action. And make them available to anyone else who is interested in them. I plan on adding some of the past year’s pattern designs to my Spoonflower shop too. If there is a particular one you are interested in, please let me know (links below).

This Nutcracker pattern is my “November” design. I know it’s jumping ahead of Thanksgiving, but I couldn’t help myself! I’ve already uploaded another holiday design and am waiting to see it printed. I’ll share with you, once I have it in my hands!

My surface designs this year:
January – August
September (includes a tutorial on making a repeating pattern)
October

10 ways to find inspiration for your creative projects

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

10 Ways to come up with ideas for your creative projects
I originally wrote a version of this post just one month into my creative resolution. Almost two years later, many of these ideas still work for me! The biggest change since then? The inspiration I get from others through social media.

Ten ways to find inspiration for your creative projects:

  1. Scroll through your feed or do a search on WordPress, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. – there is so much to look at and be inspired by!
  2. Take a walk. Whether it is a walk in a nature preserve, along the beach, or through the neighborhood, you’ll notice things you’d never see driving by. And if you see something inspiring – take a picture!
  3. Find a photo. Look in magazines, catalogs, or your own photo library. Keep photos you like in a folder or hang them on a corkboard. Search Google or any social media. Virtually save links using tools like Pocket or pin stuff to your Pinterest boards. See mine here!
  4. Go to the library – where there is an endless supply of art and how-to books, and magazines on any subject.
  5. Learn about other artists. I love reading about other creative people, no matter how different their craft is. Each artist’s creative process, and how they got their start is so interesting. (Two great podcasts for this: What’s your story and While She Naps.)
  6. Just start. Once I get started drawing or painting, the ideas come. Sometimes ideas come to me, by just setting up!
  7. Keep a list of project ideas. I keep a notebook with an ongoing list of ideas and refer to them when I’m stuck.
  8. Look through old sketchbooks. I try to keep everything, because I enjoy seeing the progress I have made. Sometimes I find the start of an idea.
  9. Have coffee with friends. Find a creative friend, or two, and get together with them. When you share your ideas with others, you can get great feedback, and different points of view.
  10. Sit outside. I am so inspired by the Seasons – Spring flowers, the beach in the Summer, Fall leaves. I’m even inspired by the bare trees against the Winter sky.

Ideas can come at any time from unlikely places. Soak them up! I’ve gotten ideas for paintings while watching TV, eating breakfast, etc.

Read –

19 Books for Creatives

My Art Supply Closet

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

 One of the ways I’ve been able to incorporate creating into my daily life, is by having my supplies close by. I use a closet close to the kitchen table for storing my paints, brushes, paper, sketchbooks, inspiration magazines, and more. It makes it so easy to pull stuff out and work. Clean up is quick too. Since I recently organized my art supplies, I decided to give you a peek! Happy Sunday!

Be creative! It will super charge your senses

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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One of the side effects of living a creative life is your senses become super charged. Plainly stated you notice things. On a recent walk with a friend, I stopped her a few times to say, “Look at that!” Her response, “I forgot I was with an artist.” I was finding beauty in things she didn’t even notice. I mean just look at these flowers!
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I love this “stop and smell the roses” mentality. As a runner, I see things all the time that I’d never notice driving by in a car. I often stop running and snap a photo. A common caption on my Instagram is “Found during my run.” Many times these photos are inspiration for my paintings.

I’ve realized over the last year and half, how much the seasons inspire me. Here in New York, the leaves are just starting to turn. I see hints of it here and there. And I can’t wait. My recent artwork reflects how Fall is inspiring me.

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I’m already doodling Halloween stuff in my sketchbook…can’t wait to share! 🙂

Forcing myself to finish.

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

nodiving
One thing I’ve learned about myself as an artist, is that I dive into a project with enthusiasm. I think it’s the Aries in me [read more about that here]. It’s great for starting a project, but for me, a couple of things can get in the way of finishing a project.

  1. I lose enthusiasm.
  2. A new project grabs my attention.
  3. I get worried about ruining a project.
  4. I’m not sure how to proceed because I haven’t planned things out.

When I started my creative resolution I forced myself to finish a bunch of forgotten projects. I also forced myself to finished most of the new projects I started. And I adapted to work within my personality. Most projects I work on, I finish within a few days – before the enthusiasm fades or I get sidetracked (or I get paralyzed worrying about ruining it or I start to overthink the next steps).

Recently I started this pool painting. I forced myself to paint, what I thought of as the hardest part of the painting – the lane lines – before I left for a short trip. I knew that if I could get that step out of the way and left only the pool water and a few minor details, I’d be much more likely to finish this painting when I got back.
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Some of the valuable lessons I’ve learned in the last year and half, have less to do with painting and technique, and more to do with how I work. And how to get things finished.

My solo painting party

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

I wanted to really get into the creating mode so I set myself up for a solo painting party. I love doing this – starting several paintings at once because the watercolor layers need time to dry. I literally move around the table and work on different paintings and play around. Some of the paintings I finish that day, some hang around for awhile until I pull them out and finish them. I find these solo watercolor “parties” a great time to play around and explore.

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Where is this leading? It’s leading where I want it to go!

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

girlinrain
Every couple of months I experience doubt and think to myself, “What is the point of all of this?” But this time I didn’t let negative thoughts stay around long, before I started thinking of all I have accomplished.

  • I’ve kept My Creative Resolution, and have been living a “creative life,” for well over a year.
  • I’ve developed a style with watercolor and ink that feels like me!
  • I paint/draw and share my work on Instagram almost every day.
  • And of course, I love sharing my process and inspiration (and random thoughts) on this blog!

So when I start asking, “Where is this leading?” I need to rephrase the question and ask myself,
“Where do I want this to lead? Where do I want to go?”

Answer: I would love to do editorial illustration. I would like to create illustrations to accompany magazine articles.

How do I get in there? I don’t really know, but I have to start figuring it out. I need to start reaching out to people. I can’t expect that they will come to me.

Case in point:
As you may remember, I’m a Graphic Designer. and this Summer I struck out on my own. In November I saw an ad for the opening of a local clothing boutique. A new store usually needs a new website. So, stepping out of my comfort zone, I called them and left a message, telling them who I was and what I could do for them. A few months later, I followed up with a postcard. Last week they called me! If I hadn’t made that phone call, I would never have gotten the opportunity to design their website.

As Abby of “While She Naps” says, “ASK.”

So, instead of feeling negative, I’m feeling good about how far I’ve come on my journey and I am excited to take the next steps. You have been a HUGE reason that I’ve come this far without giving up and I appreciate that so much!

Thank you!
Eileen