Hello everyone!
I hope you are all doing well this beginning of November. Some of you might have seen that last month I did the Inktober challenge (part of it anyway) and I thought this could be a great opportunity to write my first blog post!
I have been wanting to do this for a while, but you know this old friend of ours: procrastination….
Today I would like to go a bit more in depth about why I like doing art challenges and how important they are for my creativity.
I think Instagram, as great as it is, can sometimes be a bit tricky. Especially when your income relies on it! I have noticed a direct correlation between the level of engagement on my feed and how good my shop does. Therefore, it’s quite tempting to keep producing similar content for the platform that people will like, comment and engage with. Offering new products and having a cohesive Instagram feed are also important things to keep my shop active. I know this, and yet it can be exhausting….
I sometimes see myself not drawing for weeks, and when I finally have time for some creative activity, I feel slightly pressured to create content that I think people are expecting to see on my feed.
There is nothing wrong with this, marketing yourself is definitely a very important part of making a living from art... But sometimes the marketing part takes 100% of the time….
That’s when it can be time to reconnect with your creative soul. You know this part of you who has so much fun playing around, experimenting, taking risks! Drawing challenges are an excellent way to reconnect with the spontaneous and joyful side of creation.
Of course, it can be a bit stressful from time to time. But there is no obligation or pressure! Although, there can be a positive form of pressure that comes from the fact you have committed publicly to follow a challenge. But It doesn’t matter if you are not able to strictly do it every day.
Drawing challenges also help me to let go of this need to keep a “perfect” Instagram feed. And dare I say, the fear of turning my followers off by drawing things that are so different from my usual stuff.
But after all, I am a follower myself! And what I like to see is other artists having fun and stepping out of their comfort zone! This is very inspiring to me.
And finally, this is what Instagram is about, right? Not a portfolio, nor a magazine page. But a happy place to share ups and downs, trials and errors. And if I can inspire others to do the same, well that’s a bonus that certainly makes me happy!
Wishing you all a wonderful November,
Keep cosy.
Cécile