​A great question came into my FB feed via a colleague and friend. She shared she was struggling with finding time to make her art. She was either too tired, or felt like she had no time. Have you ever felt this way? I know I have!

 

Hi my name is Carrie Brummer and I created Artist Strong to help people like you build your skill and develop your unique artist voice.

 

I want to share some different strategies with you today to help you make time when and where you can for your art practice.

 

 

1. Work small

For one project cut up a bunch of watercolor paper into 4 x 6 inches rectangles. For me, working on loose leaf paper is much freer feeling than working in a sketchbook, but if sketchbooks help you feel less pressure about what you create, choose that instead.

Knowing that each day I’m only adding a little to a piece of paper feels less intimidating and also helps me achieve more quickly. Quick wins when we feel we have no time, or hear our inner critic loudly, can really help.

Explore different ways you can find more time for yourself so you can make more art! Click here to read or watch 3 strategies to get you making more art.

2. Choose your medium carefully

Sometimes I get the impression we have this idea in our head,

“It will only count as art making today if I get my oil paints [or insert your medium here] out.”

This is a mindset limitation that prevents us from doing what we want to do, which is to make more art!

When I travel I have a small set of watercolors, a set of gouache paints, and my pencil and pens. They are easy to set up, use and clean up, so I’m not wasting the time I have to make art on set up or break down. This is especially important if you don’t have a full time studio space to just leave out your art supplies.

3. Find 15 minutes

We all say we are too busy, but everyone can find 15 minutes in their day. It could be waiting to pick up your kid from school in your car, or first thing in the morning while you eat breakfast.

I heard this advice from Samantha Bennett in an interview I had with her (you can read it below this video → https://www.artiststrong.com/creative-spirit-samantha-bennett/). Ever since finding results with it myself I’ve invited and encouraged people to use this strategy.

What happens is at first we struggle to find the 15 minutes and then, once the 15 become a habit, it’s amazing how much longer we actually spend on our art. And miraculously, we seem to have the time for it, too.

If you are reading this right now and thinking, Carrie, come on, what can I accomplish in 15 minutes? I have an artwork to show you:

I worked on this artwork while I spent a month traveling in France. I worked on little artworks like this one almost everyday. Some days it meant 2-5 minutes of drawing. Other days I squeezed in 30 minutes of art time. And I have this to show for it now.

If I hadn’t committed to those 15, I would have nothing to show you. Especially if I told myself I needed a proper chunk of time to achieve anything because with that travel, I didn’t have it.

Today’s conversation really serves all of the artist archetypes. From the Curious Creator to the Activated Artist everyone is always looking for more time to make art. Do you want to know your artist archetype? Take my free quiz below to uncover your archetype and get access to a bootload of free resources tailored just to you.

Now it’s your turn: do you have a favorite strategy for finding more time for yourself? Comment and tell me all about it!

Thanks for watching and I’ll see you next time on Artist Strong.

 

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