Week 38 // Making Art Everyday // Year Two • Bardot Brush

Week thirty-eight

You guys, I’m working on a brand-new brush set! I’ve been working on these brushes for weeks, and they are GOOD. But lately, I’ve started telling myself that everything I’ve made is garbage. Can you relate?

We all have an inner adversary. The antagonist within that wants nothing more than to see us fail and be unhappy. About a year and a half ago, I was feeling exceptionally low. I was ruminating heavily in self-doubt. I felt like I was accomplishing any of the things that others expected of me. I felt like a failure. With these thoughts swirling around in my head, I made this:

I just looked back at my calendar to see what was going on at the time. Wow, I was doing a lot! I was four months deep into starting up the Making Art Everyday project and trying to find my way with establishing Bardot Brush as a full-time job, on top of a myriad of other things. All of that self-doubt was a result of EXHAUSTION. It’s really hard to appreciate your own accomplishments when you are feeling absolutely spent. I’ve come to realize what happens when I feel unrested but pressured: I feel like trash and that everything I make feels like trash. Two days ago, I was crushed once again by this exhaustion, lying in my bed sick unknowing what to do. I only felt uncertainty and was overwhelmed by life and the world around me. I needed rest, for myself, my mind, my body, and my creativity.

Yesterday, I gave myself permission to spend the day joyfully watching YouTube videos analyzing music theory of Disney movies while drawing pictures of whatever popped into my head. Your creativity will inevitably allow your self-doubt to sneak up on you. So keep it fun, and remember the purpose of establishing your creative habit: to bring joy into your life. There is so much joy around us, even if it feels like you are living in an apocalyptic landscape, as it does right now in California, surrounded by some of the most devastating wildfires our state has ever seen. That being said, there is still joy in the simplicity of life around me, and I will continue this next week focused on finding those moments each day.

What to Do

This week our prompts are centered around history! Our history provides us with clues about how to tackle future problems. When your inner adversary is getting to you, and you feel self-doubt about your creativity, take a step back, and look to past times when you’ve felt that way before. Were there other things going on, or outside factors that might have triggered you to feel that way? Use these cues as clues to give yourself what you need to beat your inner critic.

September Prompts

School + Applied art

This week we delve into history! Our theme is Social Studies: the study of human society. We’ll begin at the start of civilization and work our way forward, with a few open-ended prompts sprinkled in. P.S. Was anyone else super into the computer game Civilization? I totally was. I think I learned more about history from that game than from school, haha.

Wondering about how to set up your Procreate canvas sizes and printing?

I made this super handy tool for you about how to size your Procreate canvas for print pieces. When you plan on creating art to print, the first thing you need to do is figure out the size you need to make your canvas. Check it out here!

I know I said I’d be coming out with some tutorials about applied design, but it’s been a rough month for me so far. I’m really impressed with the research you are doing on your own about things you can do with your art! Keep looking into ideas and be sure to share your findings in the MAE Facebook group! I still want to get those tutorials out to you, so keep your eyes peeled during the rest of this month and beyond. Thank you for understanding!

Week 38 | Sept 14-20

social studies

Mon: stone age
Tue: ancient history
Wed: monarchy
Thu: wild west
Fri: war & peace
Sat: an important invention
Sun: a favorite historical figure

You can access each week’s prompts, with links to reference photos, at makingarteveryday.com

Making Art Everyday // Bardot Brush

We’ve got a Facebook group just for participants of Making Art Everyday and all things Bardot Brush! Come join our group of supportive artists of all skill levels, share your work, ask questions, and be a part of the community!