I could fill a heck of a lot of posts just talking about the excellent art books I've accumulated over the years (maybe I will!). Next to my art supplies, books are my most precious possessions. I've found that books that I bought and scoured years ago can provide me with new inspiration when I flip through them again.
A few posts ago I talked about how important it is to keep a regular sketchbook, but finding fresh ideas day after day can be a challenge - trust me, I've been there. In my search for inspiration I came across (and immediately purchased) a book that's been a rich source of ideas for me. 200 Projects to Strengthen Your Art Skills: For Aspiring Art Students is loaded with projects to try, with lots of deliciously-coloured panels illustrating examples.
At first I was skeptical about buying a book for aspiring art students, but after flipping through the pages for a long time I decided that the title might be misleading to some. The projects inside stimulate creative thought to get you looking at the world in a different way and experimenting with media that might be new to you. That's valuable practice for any artist, whether they are just starting out or simply need a jump-start for creativity.

A quick character sketch I did using charcoal and coloured pencils on plain brown packing paper.

Pen and ink exercise - experimenting with tone and texture.

I stumbled across a blog that I thought I'd share with you.
Urban Sketchers (www.urbansketchers.org) features the work of 100 artist correspondents from more than 30 countries around the world, all working on-location. The artists involved in the Urban Sketchers blog include architects, illustrators, graphic designers, web developers, painters and educators, all sharing a passion for on-location drawing.
The blog is a great mix of gorgeous drawings, photographs, stories and the occasional video that I found very inspiring. I encourage you to check out this blog and hope that it helps jump-start your own creativity in some way!

India ink and quill pen.

Ah, sleep. Sweet, delicious sleep.
Its not news to many of us that good sleep allows for more creativity and better learning and problem-solving. Take away sleep and many people become more distracted and less productive, have slowed reaction times, become more irritable and may be less able to fight disease.
It used to be recommended that we get around eight hours of sleep on a daily basis in order to be creative, productive, effective members of society, humming a happy tune and being so darn chipper that we could give any Disney heroine and her woodland friends a run for their money. Now research says sleep needs are specific to the individual - there is no magic number that fits every person. Something about basal sleep need and circadian dips. I've come to a conclusion when it comes to my own nightly sleep needs - I need at least some.

Ah, cats. Sweet, fluffy, warm bundles of joy.
I love cats - I have two of them. Did I mention that cats are sometimes nocturnal? So, while I was trying to sleep last night, my bundles of joy were playing with their toys, knocking things off of counters and dressers, yowling, and taking turns walking/jumping over me in bed.
So, here I sit, bleary-eyed and trying to put a coherent thought together. I think I made coffee and toast. At least I think I did, judging from the lukewarm mug in front of me and the crumbs littering my desk. I'm going to attempt to get to work now and be as creative as I can with what ragged resources I possess. Wish me luck, and I'll keep out of traffic.

The cats? They're fine, curled up in fluffy, warm balls - currently catching up on the sleep they lost.

I'd like to share some of the drawings from my sketchbook here in my blog so that you can get some idea of the experimentation that I do on a regular basis. Some of the drawings are finished pieces in themselves, others might be a jumping-off point for larger work, and some drawings are just an opportunity for me to try something new. Sometimes my sketchbook simply keeps me busy and working when I'm in between projects, or when my creative spirit is lagging.
My advice to anyone keeping a sketchbook would be this: commit to creating one piece every day. It doesn't matter if you think the finished work is success or a failure. The point is to keep your creative muscles limber by working every day. Paste doodles that you made on a note pad into your sketchbook, or glue in a print ad that caught your interest. Experiment with unfamiliar media or on unusual paper. Whatever you do, work in your sketchbook every day. I heard that mantra from my college art instructors on a regular basis, and it finally sunk in - they were right!

I've watched a couple of documentaries on Netflix over the past few days (one of the best reasons for Netflix, in my opinion!), and I'd recommend both of them.

The first was Exit Through the Gift Shop: A Banksy Film (2010). The subject of the documentary is Thierry Guetta, a French immigrant living in Los Angeles who follows street artists, filming them and their work. Eventually Guetta branches out on his own, finding rather sudden and unexpected success as a street artist himself. There is some speculation about whether or not the film is a fake (mockumentary), but regardless it raises some interesting questions about what constitutes an authentic artist.

The second film was Between the Folds (2008), a documentary by Vanessa Gould that caught my interest after my recent experimentation with origami. The film profiles a variety of origami artists, from Akira Yoshizawa, considered by many to have been the grandmaster of origami, to Dr. Eric D. Demaine, a computational origamist and theorist(!) who (among other things) is using the principals of origami to discover the rules that govern the twists and folds of protein molecules. The film is visually mesmerizing, illustrating the many and varied ways artists interpret paper folding, pushing the limits of origami as an art medium.

It has been months since I finished this latest pen and ink drawing of Lougheed House in Calgary, but I've only just photographed it today. This drawing is done in pen and ink on Strathmore 100lb. Bristol board and measures 25cm by 28cm.
Lougheed House is the second in a series of drawings I've done of local historical buildings. The first drawing in the series was the old St. Mary's Girl's School in Calgary, which was built in 1909 and demolished in 2002.
Visit my web sit at www.azuredragonfly.ca for a look at my pen and ink drawing of St. Mary's Girl's School.

Why blog about what I eat? Why not?
Just thought I'd share what fuels me - in this case, my first smoothie with spinach! This fabulous concoction looked so pretty before I blended it that I felt compelled to take a picture. Mango juice, Greek yogurt with honey, baby spinach, banana and frozen blueberries - delicious!! Really!