Settling in
Where to begin again?
Hey! Welcome to Creative Wanderlust, where weekly prompts and monthly challenges inspire you. Whether you want to unlock joy or boost your creativity, let’s paint together! This summer has been an adventurous journey, and I’m excited to share it in small bites —there’s so much to explore!
Where to begin?
Spending dedicated time offline can be so precious and grounding for your creativity.
After an epic long summer road trip, there is always so much to share and yet not ready to show up online. Turning the computer on and sitting down to write at my desk feels like a muscle I haven’t flexed in a while.
I find myself resisting the urge of perfectionism which holds me back from writing.
Instead, I am curating images, allowing my mind and soul to transition back in time. Travelling through stunning landscapes full of colour palettes waiting to fill a sketchbook.
There is a Dutch expression;
Je ziel reist met pars en wagen, (your soul travels by horse and cart.)
In other words, you may have arrived by car, but your soul is still catching up—you're here, but not entirely back yet.
The pace of life in Morocco is slow and teaches you patience.
So things are still moving slowly for me, and I’m adjusting. After six weeks on the road, I’m trying to ease back into the rhythm of everyday life.
The one thing that hasn’t changed, and has only gotten better, is my regular sketching and painting. That was a very different story last summer.
And not a big surprise is moving to a minimalistic approach and reducing my art supplies on this trip.
You could say that travelling on the go for so long did influence me to simplify my art practice. The confidence to try out new subjects like camels and urban sketches. I say confidence because that is so out of my comfort zone! I was so drawn to the breathtaking architecture and Arabic patterns. So I felt compelled to try something new and capture it in my sketchbook.
In the meantime, finding how to merge travel photos and videos is a new quest for this coming month.
While my creativity is fueled by fresh energy;
For you beautiful paid subscribers, save the date for our next monthly challenge on the last weekend of September—Saturday the 28th and Sunday the 29th. And get your bright colours ready because we’ll be exploring folk art inspired by flowers and, of course, Morocco images.
I am thinking of doing the 100-day challenge this year again. If so, will be starting on September 22, 2024. Not sure if I’ll be painting or exploring another new endeavour but it has to be manageable.
As always, the goal and promise is to keep creativity simple enough to make it fun for anyone to join.
PLUS I’ll be hosting a live painting workshop based on a theme I’m so obsessed with from my Moroccan adventures. I’m still figuring out the details, so more on that next time.
Until Saturday!
What are your top tips for settling back after a big break?
Can’t wait to see you sketchbook!