If you haven’t already gathered this much, I am a firm believer in embracing and boosting creativity in your own unique way. We all have specific talents that we’ve luckily been able to turn into jobs – some of us are accountants, travel agents, makeup artists, or teachers. No matter what your occupation may be and how creative it already is, there is still room for challenging yourself outside of traditional routines and trying something new.
Having a creative outlet apart from your 9 to 5 can decrease stress and get you thinking in a different way, helping you think clearer in other areas of your life. Aside from the mental benefits, challenging yourself to try something new can boost your confidence, broaden your perspective, and even help you make new connections. There are so many different creative outlets you can try aside from fine arts too; home decor, scrapbooking, sewing, writing, or fashion are just a few ideas. If you have an interest in something, just challenge yourself and give it a try – you never know what the outcome may be.
One definite challenge I’ve set for myself in 2015 is working on my illustration skills and coloring techniques. What makes this challenging is the subject being fashion illustration. I recently became infatuated with Holly Nichols work and even featured it in a recent blog post. My goal is to work towards her level of expertise and take inspiration from her beautiful fashion illustrations. I have so much to learn and I’m so happy to have a little extra time to challenge myself. Above is one of the first fashion illustrations that I’ve created and actually been proud of.
Being a Rhode Island native, I took inspiration from one of my favorite RI fashion bloggers, Sarah Vickers. I always adore her outfits wether they are casual or elegant. I chose to illustrate an outfit she wore several Autumn’s ago since it is one of my favorite’s. The actual outfit I was inspired by is below or see Sarah’s entire post here.
If you don’t have an idea of what creative outlet you’d like to challenge yourself with, go look for inspiration. As you can see I reference a lot of bloggers and fellow artists. The other major place I find motivation is on Pinterest, there are so many ideas floating around! Make sure to share if you find a new way to challenge your creativity and tell me some new things you’ve tried lately!
