I've felt a big change in my work recently. Over the last few weeks (maybe even months?), it's felt as if I've looked back across the year and slowly swept through with a big nett, catching all the good bits and letting go of the bits I'm unsure of, and now I'm ready to mould them up into something new. It's felt swift like everything's fallen into place at once; although, as I'm writing this, I've realised it hasn't been so quick after all.
Anyway, first, let me tell you about my Winter tradition.
For the past three years, after all the orders have been posted and presents have been wrapped, I've given myself a few hours to sit down and reflectively create.
I've given myself an hour, maybe two hours max, to draw and paint whilst thinking back over the year about my favourite colours, textures, images, experiments, things that went wrong, and things that went right, and I've intuitively played.
2020
{Winter Tradition 2020}
It started in 2020, when people did almost all of their Christmas shopping online, and small businesses (mine included) felt a massive surge of orders which was (almost) unmanageable and zapped all my creative time.
Once the last order had shipped in 2020, I tidied up the studio and gave myself a few hours on Christmas Eve to play and create some work just for me. I allowed myself to make *anything* I wanted as long as it reflected the work I wanted to make in 2021, a visual resolution.
{Winter Tradition 2020}
At the time, I wasnโt a goal setter but a reflection of the work Iโd been making and what I wanted to do more of felt really good - I wanted my work to be looser, to have more elements and to push a little more abstraction.
2021
In 2021 I gave myself a bit more time for my new Winter tradition. I wrote about this on Instagram "โฆit was so relaxing, no pressure, no plan, just paintโฆ it feels like I've started my own festive tradition of setting aside time for reflective painting - a good omen for the year to come"
I wanted my work to be more colourful and try to take these abstract marks and textures and make them bigger.
{Winter Tradition 2021}
{Winter Tradition 2021}
2022
But as Iโve already mentioned 2022 has been a year where Iโve felt change coming.
{work from 2022}
I've been trying to understand my work recently. During a chat with Studio 1850 earlier this year, I admitted that creating in my sketchbooks whilst watching old episodes of Masterchef Australia has felt the safest. But I've recently realised that I'd held onto other elements of my work which have felt safe but actually were holding me back.ย
Taking time to reflect this Winter and looking back at work from this year, with a bit of distance, I can see a link that I wasn'tย braveย enough to take. Pushing together things I'd learnt within my landscape work with more illustrative elements in my sketchbooks.
I want to be braver next year.
Giving myself this time each year as part of my Winter tradition to reflect back has meant I can see my next steps for 2023, and I'm excited. After almost 12 months of feeling unsure, I amย readyย for change.
{Winter Tradition 2022}
{Winter Tradition 2022}
If youโd like to see the thoughts, research and process behind creating this years images you can watch a full hours video on my Patreon here.
I would love to know if you have any creative traditions this time of year too. Let me know in the comments.
My Winter Tradition...
Itโs always a wonderful surprise to have your words and work in my mail box. I would say Iโve lost confidence in my work this year and havenโt been processing it well. I think when I reflect I am mainly being negative as I am someone who is very critical with themselves. Looking at your last few drawings Emma, I would say your colour and line choices have become more confident and self assured. Itโs like you maybe trust part of the process more? Or in a different way? Iโve been very ill over Christmas so missed out on a lot of the celebrations but I couldnโt sleep last night. Rather than watching something mindlessly on Netflix I made a midnight collage in a sketchbook. For me. I donโt remember the last time I did that. Let alone in a sketchbook. You say you donโt think youโve been brave. That is all I see. Every step is an act of courage. โค๏ธ
For me copying the work of other people I admire, sometimes inspires me to take on a different approach then my own 'go to process' without having to come up with something completely new. I also felt that following some Domestika courses openend me up to different approaches to enrich but also appreciate my own process more. If I'm tired with something, I just let it go. After drawing flowers for a whole year (my 'safe' subject) I feel like I could do with some more challenging topics next year. But I also feel safe knowing that when I'm out of inspiration, I can always draw a flower and feel happy with the process and with result. David Hockney said that he only drew portraits of people who pleased him and I try to stick to that approach for everything.