Keeping the Door to Inspiration Open
Daily Drawing: In Conversation with Artist Genna Blackburn
A year ago, I introduced you to my dear friend, Genna Blackburn—an artist and illustrator who has kept her an ongoing daily drawing practice for the last few years. Genna and I get together often for creative excursions—art openings, sketchbook picnics, studio visits, and long walks. Inevitably, we almost always talk about our creative practice and making art, an ongoing conversation. Last year I joined in on her 75 Art program. The timing was perfect (mid-January which meant I was starting to feel the creative urge and the need for a daily rhythm, but not so early it felt like a chore) and it ended up being one of the best things I did all year.
I wanted to ask Genna a few more questions as I gear up for my second round of 75 Art. If you’re feeling ready to gift yourself with a more sustained daily practice, you can start by signing up for Genna’s free 3-day drawing workshop, in which Genna offers:
3 live draw-alongs with Genna — draw what I'm drawing or draw your own thing!
Mindset tips to unlock your creativity
A fun and relaxed vibe that will eliminate fear of the blank page
️ A jolt of inspiration — you'll want to keep drawing even after the event is over!
In Conversation with Genna Blackburn: One Year Later
My questions are in bold and Genna’s answers are beneath them.
You're now another year into your daily art practice. What has that year brought you? Has anything changed in how you approach it?
This past year I have drawn every single day. Even the day my daughter was born! I’ve had to let myself make some of the simplest drawings in order to keep my streak, and sometimes it’s just a part of a drawing that I work on over several days. But it’s still been very effective in helping me feel in touch with my creativity.
I know you often work digitally, and I've seen you recently use Procreate Pocket, which has more limited capabilities. Do you ever look at what you've created is not enough, or you just aren't happy with it, and how do you deal with that?
I do often feel like what I’ve created isn’t enough, and I don’t always love what I make. But I know that just the act of picking up a crayon or marker or Apple Pencil every day, no matter how long I draw for or what it results in, is going to keep the door to inspiration open. And that is so important. When I do have more time or I have an idea, I’m ready to go, and I don’t have the same self-doubt I might have if it’s been a long time since I made anything.
As a fellow journaller, I'd love to know how you use journaling as part of your art practice. Do you think they go hand in hand?
Journaling is very helpful to me when it comes to my art practice. So much of being an artist with a joyful creative practice is based on mindset and how we view creativity. And journaling helps me hone in on that, as well as what I want to create and what might be holding me back. Journaling helped me figure out that the fear of making something I don’t love was the root of all of my procrastination. Once I had that realization, everything changed for me in wonderful ways. I started creating more art than ever before and I started to develop my unique creative voice, and love more of the art I was making.
Genna inspires me regularly, and if you could use a little boost for your creativity, sign up for her free 3-day drawing workshop and then continue on to 75 Art (I’ll be there)—you won’t regret it!
I don’t always love what I make. But I know that just the act of picking up a crayon or marker or Apple Pencil every day, no matter how long I draw for or what it results in, is going to keep the door to inspiration open. And that is so important.
—Genna Blackburn
Read the full studio chat with Genna:
P.S. My plan is to write to you more regularly this year, around once a week. You’ll mostly hear from me on my slow Sundays with creative conversations, studio chats, prompts and resources, peeks into my own sketchbooks and creative process, and juicy excerpts from Slow Flow Studio, my monthly paid subscription to nurture your creative practice and call your back to the true art of what you (long to) do.