Lines & Flowers - A Springtime Creative Prompt
Creative Prompt: “Lines & Flowers”
Invitation.
Spring is here! This is an invitation to engage with art, nature and a little drawing.
Just holding a flower stem in your hand can be such a visual and tactile experience as you notice colours… forms…. shapes… scents… and textures.
Flowers are universal symbols of growth, nature and beauty. They can generate ideas for playful drawing, especially when exploring lines and patterns.
I invite you to create a piece of floral art. A strong outline can be the starting point. Is this going to be a close-up and zoom-in image like my photos below, or does the flower or flowers become part of a mini-scene or created still-life grouping? Use lines, patterns and marks to fill certain areas of your drawing. Play with repetition. Add colour or leave black and white. You decide!
Materials.
• Find your inspiration! Go out in nature or use the images offered below for your creative starting point. Source ideas in photos, books, magazines or online. There is such a bounty of fascinating floral forms to view and explore when creating your own line drawing.
• Doodle in a sketchbook or on any sized paper and colour of choice
• Create with drawing materials of your preference (graphite pencils, pigment pens, markers, pencil crayons, watercolour pencils, roll-up wax crayons… etc.)
“The beautiful spring came, and when nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.”
Bright Pink Gerbera Daisy.
“A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms.”
Pink & White Tulip.
“Spring flowers are nature’s most fragrant charms.”
Pink Peony.
“Where flowers bloom so does hope.”
White Daisy.
“Flowers are the music of the ground. From Earth’s lips spoken without sound.”
Yellow Spider Chrysanthemum.
Notes.
• Your inspiration for a line drawing prompt like this does not have to be flowers. However, this gentle invitation to engage with nature and outdoors supports another layer of connection to yourself and the world around you this spring, especially during these insular times when life and activities can be so limited.
• And that being said, I also want to be mindful for those of you who are limited to their indoor spaces, and the importance of bringing a little nature and springtime into your world for this creative prompt through the snapshots provided above.
Thank You.
• For those that notice and wonder, some (but not all) of the flowers I photographed have recently bloomed in my spring garden, and the others (which are later blooms), are from a lovely floral arrangement I received from my friend Meghan. Thank You Meg for the birthday flowers that became the source images used above for this spring creative-prompt!
In 2020 and these strange Pandemic times, Maggie Kat and I enjoyed exploring line drawing in our virtual art visits, sometimes focusing on flower designs.
Maggie Kat Anderson • 2020.
Once outlines of flowers were created, we would relax into the soothing repetition of lines and patterns. as we shared life updates, funny stories and Pandemic related concerns.
Maggie Kat Anderson • 2020.
This soothing and repetitive process of line and mark making allowed us to be so incredibly present in both the process of art-making and the thoughts we shared. We made some space for all of it!
Maggie Kat Anderson • 2020
In those caring and creative moments, we also bridged the vast physical distance between us by making art together in the virtual space.
A Recent Floral Sketch Created for this Post • 2021 • Maggie Kat Anderson
Maggie Kat recounts this time together and shares more of her art in an earlier post: “The Maggie Kat Connection”.
Floral Line Variation #1 • April.
I enjoyed capturing a simple floral outline and using that form as a basis for each drawing that followed. Then… exploring in the sequential doodles variations in lines, patterns and other playful picture elements.
Floral Line Variation #2 • April.
A floral shape became a fun creative starting point for line exploration where connection, creativity, and relaxing doodling could harmoniously exist within our virtual art bubble!
Floral Line Variation #3 • April.
And - most importantly, I wanted to be present with Maggie Kat and not distracted by, or too focused on details while sketching and visiting.
Try it! Draw. Create a simple outline of anything that catches your eye. Fill with lines and patterns. Engage in your own form of soothing mark making through sketching and repetition.
