New Morning Warm-Ups

Lyrics from And It Spread by The Avett Brothers.

Morning warm-up sketches are important. In fact, most artists will tell you that it takes a couple hours of drawing time to mentally and physically fall into the groove of a work day. This is as true for me as it is for every other working artist.

Sometimes thinking up subject matter for a warm-up is a hurdle. The key is to not over-think it. You're essentially turning the taps of your creativity on, so let it flow and go with whatever spills out. I do, however, like to choose themes for my warm-ups and loosely follow them for as long as the mood lasts. In the past I've sketched my favourite villains and anti-heroes from film and literature. It's a well I enjoy returning to.

But another element that's a common part of my morning warm-ups is music. Songs will play at random and out of that mix a song or lyric will rise to the top of my awareness and trigger a thought or a memory or an image that quickly inspires. So recently I thought, why not try to capture those tiny moments?

Hence the images above and below. I recommend listening to the songs these pieces were inspired by. Enjoy!

Lyrics from Oh Patience by Shona Foster