September is the new January !
I always had that feeling… Must be linked to my school time, but also because my favorite season is coming in Belgium: Autumn, with fantastic Autumn colors…
September feels like a fresh start.
Summer’s over, and everyone’s getting back into their regular schedules. It’s a great time to pick up your sketchbook again. Maybe you want to try something new, finish up old drawings, or just draw for ten minutes every day. It’s the perfect chance to get back into the habit of creating art.
Here are 5 fun ways to reignite your sketching practice this September:
1. Start a “Daily Doodle September” Challenge Give yourself just 10 minutes each morning with your coffee. Draw whatever catches your eye first – your breakfast, the view from your window, or even your messy hair in the mirror. No pressure for masterpieces, just the joy of putting pencil to paper. By December, you’ll have plenty of small sketches that tell the story of your Daily Life.
2. Try the “Wrong Hand” Experiment Once a week, sketch with your non-dominant hand. It sounds crazy, but this simple switch forces you to slow down and really observe your subject. You’ll be amazed how this breaks you out of habits and brings back that playful, “anything goes” feeling to your art.
3. Create a “September Color Palette” Take a walk around your neighborhood and collect the colors you see – maybe it’s the warm yellows of changing leaves, the deep blue of September skies, or the rusty orange of seasonal flowers. Limit yourself to just these colors for the month. Working within constraints often sparks the most creative solutions.
4. Sketch in Unusual Places Break your routine by drawing somewhere completely different each week. Try sketching in a café, on a park bench, in a waiting room, or even while riding public transport. Each location will give you new subjects and lighting, plus you’ll capture the energy and atmosphere of different spaces.
5. Start a “Sketch and Story” Journal Don’t just draw – add a few words about what you were thinking, feeling, or hearing while you sketched. Was there interesting conversation happening nearby? What did the air smell like? These little notes will make your sketchbook come alive when you flip through it later, and they’ll remind you that sketching is about capturing moments, not just images.
Remember, September sketching is about rediscovering the joy in creating. Let your lines be loose, your colors be bold, and your inner critic take a well-deserved vacation. Your sketchbook is waiting for you – and so is your fresh start!