Hi Reader,

How many unfinished artworks or creative endeavours are lurking in your cupboards? I have quite the collection! And how do you feel about them? Does having unfinished projects feel like a failure somehow? Or do you look back on them fondly, knowing they were a moment that needed to happen but not necessarily continue?

My thought is that Unfinished is not Unpurposeful. We need to test out artistic pathways and see where they might go... and sometimes, the further we get along a pathway, we might tire of the view. Or we might get distracted by something along the way, that we cannot help but steer over towards, leaving our original path behind. Our creativity may not always have the focus to travel from A to B without checking out whether C or D might be better destinations.

All of this is OK. And not finishing something doesn't mean we can't ever return to it.

All of the "startings" are curious experiments and explorations. If we don't experiment and explore, how can we know what we want to do more of?

When you next look at your unfinished artworks, try to feel proud that they represent a moment of creative curiosity on the page. Maybe one day you'll return to spend a little more time with it, or it will spark a whole new idea to try. It is part of your own museum of ideas, and it deserves to be there.

Revisiting unfinished or old artworks you've fallen out of love with...

Returning to an old artwork (which may or may not be "finished") can often spark new thoughts. You might look at it and, actually, like it more than you did originally. You might look at it and realise what was holding you back then, and know exactly how you'd approach it now.

If you're looking at some half-made, unfinished pages in your sketchbook and they're making you feel a bit flat, why not revisit them? - but this time, take the ideas below with you. Pick out one of the Revitalise Ideas and use it on one of your old artworks - just to see what might happen!

Revitalise Ideas:

🎨 Scrunch your artwork into a ball. Squeeeeeeze! Then carefully (or not so carefully - it's up to your mood!) unfurl the ball and flatten the page back out. How do the crinkles interrupt your original artwork? If you were to draw over it now, how would the crinkles affect how you draw?

🎨 Rip your artwork up! I know, it's a thorough EEEEK moment! As you rip, notice how it feels to do so - you may be surprised at how liberating it can be. Then, once you have torn pieces in your hands, consider what you might do with them next. You could reassemble the artwork like a puzzle, letting it reform, noticing how the tears meet and change the art. Or you could use those pieces to create a new collage - arranging them differently and giving them a completely new focus.

🎨 Pattern your artwork - as in, wherever there is a gap in your old artwork, go fill it with a pattern. Gaps might be areas of white page, but they could also be areas of block colour, or perhaps the whole background of a piece. Wherever your eye is drawn, because it feels a little vacant there, choose a pattern and draw on the page. Maybe you'll use a paint marker, or perhaps some charcoal. Maybe you'll stick to one type of pattern or use a few different ones.

If you fancy exploring your old artworks a bit more, I have a Skillshare class all about Revisiting and Revitalising Old Artworks - check it out for more ideas! 👇

✨ 20-minute Sketching Session - Otter Edition! 🦦✨ If you need an excuse to sit down for a short pocket of time and zone out with your sketchbook, join me for this video where we share a jolly otter photo reference and see what we can sketch of it in 20 minutes. No need to finish it! ☺️ Draw along with me in this video... ✨Ready, steady...Sketch!✨

Thank you for reading, I'll meet you back here again soon 💛

Keep Making Happy!

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