Finding space for creativity / April 7, 2016 by Esther Loopstra

So why is taking time off so good for our creative brain? Even if you don’t THINK that you are creative… you are. In whatever job you have, you think in a creative way, come up with solutions to problems, find patterns. Those are all creative ways of thinking. Our capacity for output is only as good as our input. We spend so much time working and thinking about work that our brains get overloaded with information. Everyone needs a different amount of free time for their brain to sort through all of that information, but everyone does need some time.

Adobe Capture CC and Illustrator pattern tutorial / January 12, 2016 by Esther Loopstra

I've been pretty blown away with Adobe's Capture CC app and how easily you can turn your sketches or drawings into vectors. These "shapes" as they call them go directly into your Adobe Library so you can open them in Photoshop or Illustrator. How fun is that?

Introducing Finding Your Creative Voice (and why I created it) / December 10, 2015 by Esther Loopstra

I am SUPER excited to announce my new in person course FINDING YOUR CREATIVE VOICE. This is going to start out in February as a 6 week in person course but eventually I would like to create an online version so everyone can have access.

This class is especially for those who are held back by fear and probably have said to other people "I can't even draw a straight line" or "I don't have a creative bone in my body". Or maybe you are struggling to get back into art or writing and you are feeling "stuck".

Drawing Fall, an Exercise in Play / November 3, 2015 by Esther Loopstra

Happy Fall! I hope you all are having a terrific Fall Season. Since the leaves have been changing, I've been enjoying my walks in the evening the beautiful colors and patterns. I get so busy working during the day that having a little break to reconnect with myself, my husband and nature have been essential.

I normally spend time in the morning drawing an inspirational phrase in my sketchbook that I feel I need to remember that day and some sort of freeform pattern. This helps get me out of my head and all of the things I need to do, and connect me with my creativity.

One day on a walk, I began picking up some of these leaves. I had an idea to draw on them instead on in my sketchbook. I wasn't sure how or if it would work. But I like to pay attention when I have the question "WHAT IF....?". This question is the beginning of play and is essential to inspiration.

I loved how that first leaf turned out, so I've been creating more and sharing them on my Instagram feed. This isn't some giant success story, my Instragram following didn't suddenly grow to 10,000 and I didn't get offered a book deal or anything. I just created something that was fun for me and people seemed to enjoy it too. And it fulfilled my need for play, fun and exploration.

So much of the time we are paying attention to deadlines and our to do list and we don't give ourselves time for fun. I find when I haven't made time for it I get grumpy. That's just a sign that I need to do whatever it takes to fulfill that need - soon! Play helps us learn and gets us out of our stuckness. Why don't we do it more?

What do you that helps you get out of your head and into the realm of creative flow? It could be cooking, dancing, playing with your kids. See if you can commit to 5 or 10 minutes of play/ exploration this week and see how it impacts your life and your imagination.

My Review of "How to get Illustration Clients" by Alex Mathers / September 3, 2015 by Esther Loopstra

Earlier this summer as I was beginning to get more focused on marketing and creating a brand for myself I came across Alex Mather's book on Amazon How to get Illustration Clients . Here is my review of the book which Alex also featured on his latest blog post. If you haven't signed up for his newsletter, do it...he always has a ton of great info for illustrators.