Where do you find inspiration?

spring into creativity with these sources of inspiration

Happy Spring!

This time of year always fills me with hope - hope for completed projects, renewed energy, and inspired creativity.

But where do you find inspiration? Sometimes getting started is the hardest part. I often find myself staring at the dreaded blank white piece of paper, wondering what to draw.

So I thought I’d share some of my tips to break out of a creative slump. They don’t always work instantly, but with consistency, they’ve helped me time and time again.

My Top Three Sources of Inspiration

1) Community

I recently rejoined our local Group of 77 Drawing Group, a life drawing group that meets three times a week, offering both nude and clothed sessions. I can just drop in when I can and it’s wonderful to be around people who love drawing people as much as I do.

I also started a small group of urban sketchers. We meet once a month at different locations to sketch together. I’m fairly new to drawing in public, and it’s nice to have a group for support. It’s a very informal—No Facebook page, no official structure—just a few people sketching together.

Here is a sketch from our last outing at the mall.

2) Learning Opportunities

I’m definitely a lifelong learner and I find that taking a course or workshop often kickstarts me when I’m stuck.

I first have to mention Good Ship Illustration. Just over two years ago, I broke my kneecap (among other injuries) in a hiking accident. It wasn’t as dramatic as it sounds—I wasn’t dangling from a cliff or anything. I simply tripped, badly, in the woods. With my leg in a full brace, I had plenty of time to listen to podcasts, which is how I discovered Good Ship. The rest is history.

They currently offer three courses: The Picture Book Course, Fly Your Freak Flag, and The Business Course. The illustrators behind the program—Helen Stephens, Katie Chappell, and Tania Willis—are all inspiring artists who have made careers out of illustration. Their courses are fantastic, and the best part? You can go at your own pace with lifetime access. I haven’t quite finished Fly Your Freak Flag or The Business Course yet, but I love that they keep adding new content.

They genuinely love helping illustrators find their path and their enthusiasm is infectious.

Here is my take on one of their fun exercises.

I also like to pick a topic and dive into learning on my own. Lately, I’ve been focusing on anatomy. There are tons of great online resources, and I recently discovered that the National Gallery of Canada sometimes offers free online workshops, which they announce in their newsletter. This past month, they just happened to have one on anatomy—perfect timing!

3) My Own Backyard

I came across an excellent piece on Substack by Amy Stewart called “Be the Artist-in-Residence of Your World.” It really resonated with me. It’s so easy to overlook the world right in front of us, but when I take the time to really observe my surroundings, I find endless inspiration.

To help with this, I set up a little drawing desk by a window overlooking the street. It lets me be both a nosy neighbor and an artistic observer of the world outside.

I’ve also made a commitment to draw everywhere I go. Just last Friday, I brought my sketchbook to a basketball game with a friend and her two boys. I have to admit, basketball is an incredibly hard sport to capture in a sketch—but having a pen in hand is what matters most.

That’s it for this week! I’d love to hear how you stay inspired—whether through art, music, sports, or something else entirely.

Thanks for reading and have a great April!