While not everybody changes their art content with the seasons, the seasons for sure affect our moods and therefore how often we create… at least that’s true in my case!
I also found that Van Gogh once said “I think that the arts have a very important role in expressing the seasons, and being affected by the seasons”. So, rather than letting ourselves be unknowingly controlled by changing weather, it might be a good idea to mindfully choose how to use the seasons to enhance our art practice. Before we get into it, the advice I’m giving is what works for me and my lifestyle, and I’m hoping it can help you, but if it doesn’t apply in a literal way, think about how your year looks in comparison, and what instead might work for you.
I like to think of Spring being the beginning of the year, because it’s when life starts reappearing. I always take a picture of the first blossom I see, and so over the years I have a collection of blossom trees in my camera roll. Spring reminds me that however cold and gloomy the winter was, there's always light, brightness and colour at the end of it. It's a great metaphor to think of when going through various life challenges.
Spring colours are so beautiful and full of hope, I am always inspired to use them. When you start to see flowers blossoming, try picking some to press, and then use in your collages or to decorate greetings cards, and you could try turning some into pigment to paint with. They often come out in soft, floral tones, and it’s nice to see art that you truly created from scratch.
It’s often not comfortable to be outside for long periods of time until the Summer in England, so that’s when it’s good to make the most of creating outdoors. The long rainy season that precedes it makes us appreciate the warmth of Summer. In my family we're always making the most of it. Setting up an outdoor theatre, building a den in the woodland, sketching the world around us during our trips bird watching, quiet nature sketching, picnics in the long grass, plain air painting sessions with the kids - the outside and the comfort of warmth inspires so many creative projects. Being around nature increases creativity because our environment is loose and ever changing, as well as putting us in a relaxed state of mind. Outdoor creating also helps with the busyness of summer, as I find hardly anytime to sit for a long time at home. So for me summer is a time for on-the-go sketching and doodling, rather than big projects.
The layers come out in Autumn, suddenly there's is depth in the green, we see into the trees and their complicated branch structures. If I can, just as in Summer I do my best to start my day with a little walk around the garden appreciating the beauty, but inevitably I also start to spend more time indoors. I am always drawn to paint with the colours of autumn, warm, cosy shades of red, green and orange that bring me comfort. In Autumn, more than in any other season I collect the gifts of nature - pinecones, leaves, twigs, feathers, pebbles. I create little collections around the house as well as enjoying little craft projects with my kids. Collecting leaf skeletons is great for printing, but painting with rain water can be a fun exercise. What I mean by this is if you put splodges of watercolour or gouache on your canvas and let the rain fall onto it, the rain will create an abstract background for you to work over!
I tend to hibernate in the Winter. I used to think it was bad to want to slow down so much, that maybe I'm just lazy, but as my journey of self-discovery deepened I learnt to see patterns in my life. Tuning into them turned out to be comforting. Now I know that my need for "hibernation" is healthy and neccesary to recover after the busy months of summer. So I use that as a time to look after my home. Some years I make a new picture to hang, or any other big projects I’ve been thinking of doing without having the time. I catch up on our family scrapbooks with pleasure. Come December, my life is taken up with seeing people and preparing for Christmas so there’s less time for big projects and instead I make sure I do a little page of art journalling every day. I also love to make my own Christmas cards for people using lino-printing, as it’s meditative, relaxing and deeply satisfying. And I get to express and capture exactly what I want to wish everyone this season. I’m often inspired by the beauty of snow, so creating snowy texture on cards with ink sprays and salt is always fun to do.
I hope this was useful to you in anyway, and I’d love to hear how other people, especially around the world, let the seasons influence their art practice!
Have a great day
Kasia