Something New Emerges

It’s no secret I’ve been MIA for a while. I haven’t been especially inspired to create. Nothing has been getting me very excited lately. Not taking photos, not altering photos. It feels like I’ve been there, done that.

So I’ve spent my time doing other things, taking a break from the feeling that I have to be photographing, writing, creating. That’s why it’s been quiet here on the blog. I wasn’t worried; I’ve been here before. It’s usually the calm before some new storm.

Sure enough, when I finally got quiet enough to listen, I heard a new whisper urging me along. It was a whisper to get back to painting. To play again with colors and shapes.

I resisted. Because painting is so much work. All the set up and clean up. All the waiting for paint to dry. All the disasters to get to something good.

And then I remembered… I can do this digitally. Maybe it’s time to learn how.

So I got out the iPad Pro and Pencil, opened the Procreate app, and found some tutorials on YouTube. And I started playing!! This is my favorite so far:

I’ve been having so much fun. I remember now… I get my creative energy from learning. From being challenged. I just needed something new to learn again.

Funny thing, I’ve had the iPad Pro and Pencil for months now, and had been sort of sad I spent the money on them, because it didn’t do anything new for me creatively.

I’ve had the Procreate app for at least three years, and never got beyond a few sketches when I first got the app.

But everything was right here waiting for inspiration to hit.

---

Watch me paint this piece! Procreate records a video of each piece as you create it:

 
Isn’t that fun?

If you’d like to learn more about using Procreate to draw and paint (even on a photo!), here are a couple of tutorials I found especially helpful:

Full app tutorial:

Watercolor painting effects:

There are lots more! Just search for Procreate on YouTube or visit the Procreate Community Forums.