Looking for quick and easy ideas to loosen up your art? Read on!
This whole idea of shaking up our art and moving away from tight habits has been on my mind a lot lately. So I decided to ask some artist friends for their tips and advice.
From scribbling on your work to using a timer, there are plenty of very easy-to-do ideas here – take your pick and get painting!
Sonal Nathwani
“One thing I love to do when my work feels too tight is to simply scribble over part of my painting with a children’s coloured pencil (I like the Woody from Stabilo*)….it usually messes it up nicely and then I refine some parts if I need to. Actually scribbling is an integral part of my work.”
Becki Petersen
“When I feel as though I need to loosen up, I hide my pallet knives and smaller paint brushes so they are out of sight and (usually) out of mind! This forces me to stick with a smaller number of brushes and larger sizes to keep me at the loose and flowy stage I always even up overworking.”
Veronica Funk
“The best way that I find to loosen up my art is to move away from my studio and use tools that aren’t necessarily typical for painting – printmaking brayers, lids, spray bottles, spray paint, stencils, old gift cards…it’s a great way to cover a blank canvas which can be intimidating.”
Renata Abma
“I have been trying two things to loosen up when making art: One is starting a new painting with a more intuitive drawing, no reference photo and no preconceived idea, just get on the ride and see what comes up. The other is a small quick 4″x4″ water color painting a day. Similar thing, no time to think and the size helps me edit stuff out and be playful.”
Tracey Downing
“I’ve been taking my mini sketchbook out when I walk my borrowed doggy and making 3 small sketches of our surroundings, mostly trees, shadows and sky. I’ve then used the sketches as a basis for painting made on a larger sketchbook with a view to using the painted images as a starting point for larger paintings. In terms of loosening up I’ve worried less about the final image and concentrated on a few “themes” from the landscape before me.”
Shawna McComber
“I have a few strategies, but my most effective strategy is to use a palette knife. Sometimes I do the whole painting with a knife and other times just use it in conjunction with the brushes. This is the painting where I learned this lesson. It was causing me no end of trouble and I was getting tighter and more frustrated until I took some blobs of paint, my palette knife and just painted big, loose, abstract flowers.”
Jane Hinchliffe
“One of my favourite ways to loosen up, is to include some delicious ‘wabi sabi’ (even love the term!) as secondary elements along with a ‘tighter’ primary element. I enjoy both the physical action of tearing paper (very satisfying and almost naughty ;)) and also the visual juxtapose between the detailed work I’ve created against the imperfection in the torn paper. ”
Gina Axlund
“When I realize I have gone into the “detail” mode far too early I try to take away the parts that cause trouble. Sometimes it helps to paint them back in a new way and sometimes the painting lets you know that only the essentials should be there.”
Alison Hart-Arkley
“For loosening up – I look at other people’s work and try to remind myself that perfection is boring!”
Suzie Chaney
“When I need to loosen up I actually remove choices so I go A5 or A6 and only one colour. I think about the play of light on something I’ve seen that day.”
Laura Lineback
“Allow myself to make the painting as tight as my brain wants. Then make another painting with the original as the inspiration or jumping off point.”
Niya Christine
“When a bit stuck or tight while painting, my go to is scribbling. Either to scribble on the canvas in front of me or grab my iPad and start scribbling on glass which I love. Sometimes words come but the idea is complete wild and unhampered letting go. Then I get back to it.”
Stacey Mitchell
“One thing I love to do to loosen up my art is to set a timer for particular time, say 5 minutes. Then in that time I just stop thinking about what I’m creating and just see what happens. It never fails to loosen things up!”
Nothing like a bit of crowd sourcing to open the doors to even more ideas and possibility. 🙂 What do you do when you want to loosen up your art? Let us know in the comments!
Fancy some guidance and company on your loosening up quest? I have a course for exactly that – cryptically titled Loosen Up! Simply click here or on the image to find out all about it and join us!
Hi Tara, thanks for including myself and all these other fab artists in this informative and inspiring post with tips on how to loosen up our work – yay!
Yay! Thank you for being part of it. 🙂
Great post!
I like to use a big cheap brush and work fast to loosen up.
Definitely a fun way to go loose! 🙂
I loved reading all the different ways some artists loosen up and especially enjoyed the wide array of wonderful paintings! You are doing such a great job!
It’s fun to see how many ways there are – like permission I think. We all have our ways, and they’re all equally valid. 🙂
Hi Tara, loving all the artists work and comments, I’m not brave but, at this moment I am feeling inspired and granted permission to just bloody well do what i shouldn’t, and don’t do what I flipping well should …. So there… Haha !!!!
Thanks all for your guidance. X
That’s all you need! Don’t wait till you feel brave. Start anyway. {That’s the big ‘secret’! No one’s fearless!} 🙂
What a great post and so fun and inspiring to read all of the different strategies and see the results. I know I will read and re-read this one! And so true what you said above about no one being fearless. I have been away from painting for two weeks due to health issues and feeling anxious about getting back it. I know from experience it just means I have to face the fear.
Thanks ffor sharing fellow artists I appreciate the ideas for loosening up. I like to use my nondominantI hand for sharing, “fellow artists”. I appreciate the ideas for loosening up. I like to use my nondominant hand or go back-and-forth , ruin something purposely on the paper, decide I like something and then push myself further, try to simplify and try it on different types of paper— from sketchbook, mixed media to watercolor sketchbooks, etc., those are a few. Sally
What an inspiring post to read! Enjoyed this!
Yay!
Excuse typos, above. It looks like my corrections didn’t stick I hope you can make sense of what was intended. Sally
Very good info. Lucky me I discovered your blog by accident (stumbleupon).
I have book marked it for later!
I have my 4 year old granddaughter scribble on each page of my sketchbook and start from there. Works by getting rid of blank canvas or page and a jumping off point. She lived to do it. My son says don’t let her ruin all your good paper but I say nonsense , I like it! I will be in St. Ives for a garden sketching workshop . Never been there before. Did you like it?
Love that! Collaborating with little ones is so freeing and fun. And I bet she’ll remember that when she’s older and be grateful for your encouragement. St Ives is a wonderful place! It’s very busy during the summer but so much to do and see.
I’m old now, and wish I could have started painting a long time ago.
My father wouldn’t let me do art at school because he said there was no money in it.
Anyway after marrying I started a ceramics studio and taught for 27
years. I liked the Science in it.
When I look back now sometimes at my pots I see my art and creativity.
Love that idea of the science in ceramics – and of course it’s hugely creative too! Such a fascinating blend of two seemingly very different disciplines.
Thanks for sharing the tips. Very Inspirational, making it clear that each of us has to discover what works for us.
Makes me want to run to the studio!
Mission accomplished then. 😉