Nurturing the Artist’s Soul with Nature

All of us as creative beings need something to nurture our creative souls. Every human has the potential and capacity for creativity, even those who think they have lost it. As I’ve talked about before, being creative is like breathing. In order to breath out, you must breath in. In order to create something new, you must also take inspiration in. For me, one of my favorite ways to breath in inspiration is by spending time out in nature.

I’ve mentioned the book The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron in the past—a 12 week program to nurture your inner “artist child”. I keep bringing it up because it’s a program that has helped me through some of my artistic ruts and given new life to my creative spirit. One of the weekly assignments when doing The Artist’s Way is an “Artist’s Date”. It doesn’t really matter what you do on your artist’s date, but the criteria are as follows:

  • You must go on your artist’s date alone
  • Your artist’s date is something that you want to do for you
  • Your artist’s date will help inspire your artist child

Some examples of dates I’ve taken myself on include:

  • Going to the local botanic garden
  • Going to an art museum
  • Watching a new movie I’ve been wanting to see (by myself)
  • Buying a cheap bubble set and blowing bubbles in my front yard
  • Going for a long hike on a new trail I’ve never been to before
  • Taking photos at a local park or garden
  • Browsing the plants at a local garden center

Connecting With Nature

The possibilities for artist’s dates are endless. But, of all those possibilities, my favorite ones are the dates where I really get to connect with nature. Take the time to observe. Here are examples of things I’ve noticed while out in nature:

  • Feeling my feet on the trail and how the pine needles give it a soft springiness.
  • Stumbling upon a huge grove of ferns under a forest canopy. 
  • Discovering the variety of bees attracted to mountain mint flowers.
  • Feeling the warmth of sunshine on my face when I close my eyes and breath in fresh air.
  • Stopping to notice the number of species of oak trees in a particular area.
  • Being surprised and charmed by wildlife scurrying by while sitting quietly on a boulder.
  • Greeting a green frog in a pond while watching the red-winged black birds across the way.
On the left, a photo from the ground of a woman standing on a forest trail. On the right, a drawing inspired by the photo by artist Victoria K. Chapman.
At the top, a photo of a green frog in a mossy pond. On the bottom, a drawing inspired by the frog photo by artist Victoria K. Chapman.
On the left, a photo of a leaf from a red oak tree. On the right, a drawing of a red oak leaf by artist Victoria K. Chapman.

Similar experiences can be had for yourself when embarking on a solo trip into nature. It doesn’t even have to be a long adventure. Is there a local trail nearby? Go explore it for half an hour. Is there a lake or pond within walking or driving distance? Go there, sit, and observe. Bring a sketchbook or notebook to jot down ideas that might come up. Bring a camera if you wish to capture something that way. But mostly, focus on the moment of being present with nature, however that happens for you.

The important piece of going on your nature date is finding some way to connect with nature, be it big or small. And the most important part is just doing it. Don’t let limitations and excuses get in your way. Even exploring your own back yard can be a date. Put out some bird seed or a hummingbird feeder and see what happens. What’s under the rock over there? What does the lichen growing over on that tree really look like up close? Be curious. Be open. Be willing to take in whatever comes to you. And most of all, let your artist child explore the wonders and joy of nature. Nurture your artist’s soul.

A sketchbook with pen drawings of wood ferns held above a patch of actual wood ferns. By artist Victoria K. Chapman.
On the left, a photo of a feather from a red-bellied woodpecker. On the right, a pen drawing of the feather inspired by the photo by artist Victoria K. Chapman.

Newsletter Art Print Raffle

"Sun of Corvus" art by Victoria K. Chapman. A black crow perches on a branch in front of a blazing sun and red sky.
Sun of Corvus by Victoria K. Chapman

From now through February 10th, 2022, I’ll be adding everyone who signs up to receive my monthly newsletter to a special raffle. The winner (chosen at random) will receive a free SUN OF CORVUS art print! This is a full-color digital print, artwork 8×8″ in size on 8.5×11″ UV coated stock and signed by me. So, if you’re interested in a chance to win a FREE art print and get a monthly email about my art and projects, other people’s projects, the latest blog posts, art/illustration resource information, and more, please sign up before February 10th!

The winner will receive an email from me to get your address to mail the print to. So, keep your eyes peeled on your inbox!

Look for my very first newsletter coming out at the end of February! I’m so looking forward to you joining me.

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I will never sell your information. Mailings are once-a-month or special announcements from time-to-time. You can opt out any time.

The World Needs Your Light

Recently, I was in a monthly meeting with a solopreneur career coaching group I’m in with Val Nelson. Val is an amazing coach who helps introverts and heart-centered people find their way as business owners or in new careers. Our conversations are not only about business, but also about matters of the heart and mind. In our August meeting, during our grounding meditation, I heard my own inner voice speak to me through my feelings of despair over the state of the world. It said, “The world needs your light”. In fact, the world needs all of our light.

Here I was feeling like the horse Artax in The Never-ending Story, and my own voice was Atreyu saying, “you’re letting the sadness of the swamps get to you”! But, in this version, I did not sink into the swamps of sadness. That inner voice told me to shine my light. That we all need to shine our light, now more than ever. Because when the world feels its darkest, the way out is through becoming a beacon of light and hope for yourself and others. I was inspired to create this new piece from the uplifting conversation with my group members that followed.

"The World Needs Your Light" original mixed media illustration by Victoria K. Chapman. A whimsical night sky shines with stars over the earth as a large ghostly tree reaches to the sky. In the tree is a child reaching up to the brightest star.

I’ve been wanting to create a sped-up video to show the creation of an entire art piece. This felt like a great time to try that out. This mixed-media illustration titled, The World Needs Your Light was created using watercolors, gauche, India ink, chalk pastel pencils, and iridescent medium, with digital finishing touches. The video shows the process of creating the traditional portions and is sped up 1700%. If only I actually worked this fast! The music playing over the video is an original song I wrote and recorded under my music project Aqueance titled, “Stay Tonight”. 

I hope you enjoy and keep shining your light!

Creating a Growing Family Tree

Working with a local childcare center to create a painting of thanks.

In early March, 2020, Growing Room Child Development Center of Berlin, MA had to temporarily shut its doors for an unknown amount of time due to the COVID-19 pandemic as schools everywhere were forced to do. They were wondering how they would manage to keep their doors open, support their teachers and staff, and when they might ever open again. Through this time, some families stayed on board paying partial tuition to help keep the school from closing its door permanently. Early this year in 2021, they chose to honor those families by commissioning a painting to thank them for their support through the crisis.

"A Growing Family Tree", acrylic mixed media painting by Victoria K. Chapman. A tree, butterflies, and cone flowers in a field with a stream.

I feel so lucky that I had the opportunity to create this painting for this wonderful local learning center. When they mentioned a tree, butterflies, and flowers, it was almost an instant “yes”! Growing Room reached out to me because we have been one of the families to have a child as part of their school. They were excited to hire one of their parents to be the artist for the special piece for their parent room.

The key pieces to this painting were:

  • a large tree to be a center piece
  • colorful butterflies and flowers
  • large enough to take up a good amount of space on a wall, but not a mural
  • and it should include the 45 names of families who supported them

The painting ended up being 36”x48”, which is much larger than I typically work. Because of this, I chose to stray from my typical watercolor mixed media and go with something more suited to large canvases. I chose acrylic paint as the main medium, but used various pens to assist in small details and to add the names. Pens give a smoother look for typography, especially at smaller sizes.

The initial first steps included brainstorming ideas and then sharing of sketches. I presented my friends at Growing Room with three initial sketches, all similar in concept but with some key differences. They ultimately chose sketch #1, which featured a flowing stream and a fox peaking out from behind the tree. I love this phase of the process because I get to explore ideas and come up with creative solutions. The creative thinking piece of art is one of the parts that I enjoy most.

I also took some time to research local and native butterflies and flowers. I chose six species of butterflies native to New England to feature in the painting: monarch, black swallowtail, tiger swallowtail, meadow fritillary, clouded sulfur, and the eastern tailed blue. For the flowers, I chose a native pollinator favorite—cone flowers. Also known as echinacea, the cone flowers come in both purple and orange varieties. To continue the celebration of native pollinators, I added one more pollinator friend—the common bumblebee.

Initial concept sketch and pencil outlines on canvas.

Once the sketch was approved, I moved forward with the final work on canvas. After prepping the canvas and adding white gesso as a base layer, I started by creating pencil outlines on the canvas to block out where all of the elements would be. Going from a 6”x9” drawing to a 36”x48” drawing can be challenging and I wanted to make sure everything was proportional and flowed together on the larger surface. I also penciled in all the family names so I knew I had a spot for each of them that worked with the length of the name. Once the outlines were complete, I took photos to use a reference for when I’d have to add the names back in with pen over the final painting. The names would disappear beneath the paint and I didn’t want to forget where they would be placed.

When I started the paint, I worked from back to front. This means I started with the elements that would be perceived as being in the background and added the foreground elements later. With this in mind, I started first with the sky and the tree line in the back. I found this way of working worked best for acrylics, since they are opaque and can easily be painted over. I layered the finer details over the background colors. The nice thing about acrylics is that they dry relatively quickly. My technique is quite different when I use watercolors, which are transparent.

The final painting in various stages of progress.

The canvas I was working on had a gallery style profile, which means the thickness of the canvas off the wall is 1.5”. Because the piece wasn’t going to be framed, I made sure to paint all four of the canvas sides as well. Continuing the scenery around the sides, top, and bottom posed another interesting challenge that I don’t have to contend with when working in watercolors.

After I built up all the paint layers and completed the picture, it was time to add the names back in. I used a pencil to sketch in the names to make sure the lettering was even. Then, when all of the names were placed, the marker was added. I used fine tipped permanent felt markers in different colors to go with the piece of the background the name was on. If the names were in the grass or leaves, I used a dark green marker. If the names were in the water, I used a dark blue marker. To bring the names out just a little more from their backgrounds, I finished them off with a white gel pen to create a highlight around the lettering edges.

Once the names were placed and dry, I added some final touches. To bring a little bit more magic into the piece, I added iridescent medium to the water to give it a hint of shimmer. And to protect the whole piece, I coated the entire canvas in a layer of Gamvar matte varnish. Once completely dry, the hooks and hanging wire were added to the back and the entire piece was wrapped up in cardboard for safe delivery.

Images of the final painting.

It was so exciting to deliver the final piece and unveil it in front of the staff who were there. The excitement and joy on everyone’s faces made the experience completely worth it. I hope this painting continues to bring joy to all of the staff, children, and families at Growing Room. It was an honor to create something beautiful that celebrates families and the joy of nature. I’m so excited to share this with a caring part of the community and I hope for similar opportunities to celebrate art and nature in the future.