Hello, and welcome to The Outdoor Sketchbook Collective substack. This is a blog run by me, Orla. I’m an artist & illustrator inspired by nature and the outdoors. I love using art as a way to connect to our natural spaces, through writing (here) teaching (patreon) and sharing process (youtube).
We all have different reasons for being drawn to make things. I arrived at painting nature and landscapes in my early twenties, amongst the messy process of self discovery that often happens in early adulthood. For me, this period of life felt uncomfortable, and I was in search of things that would make my mind go quiet, and ways I could express what I was feeling properly when words felt tricky.
Studying and living in Edinburgh for my undergrad during this period offered very easy access to nature and hills, and many days and weekends were spent bouncing up Arthurs seat, the Pentlands and Blackford hill, as well as bigger adventures further afield. I’m incredibly grateful for access to the spaces and vantage points, that really helped me navigate this period of my life.
I think both art and nature have been my go-to’s for understanding and processing all kinds of feelings. Because of this, emotions and sensory experiences have always held real importance and influence in my paintings. I’ve spent the best part of the past 5 years exploring ways to use painting, to try and better understand and express emotions, the importance of human-nature relationships, and my learnings from landscapes, through colours and marks. The processes have evolved and fluctuated over time, adapting to what I need in each moment - sometimes, from a very heavy or serious space, to a very light filled place with more room to play, and be silly. Because, as my good friend Anna says, we all need more silliness in our lives.
I’ve documented some of my reflections on bringing emotional intention into work in a recent studio vlog, which you can watch on youtube. I’ve also expanded on 3 of my take-away’s into writing, which I’ll share with you now:
1. Studying playfully
Connecting with materials, colour & processes, to be able to work intuitively
This one is all about understanding your tools, materials, colours and how they interact in many different combinations. It’s about making marks, just because. I love using or making sketchbooks to build libraries of these studies. In these, I try not to draw anything in particular - just sample in lots of different ways. I think this is the equivalent to having great vocabulary in a conversation, or an understanding of how a wide range of ingredients could interact in a pan. It’s not always that more = better (you can’t get much better than spaghetti aglio e olio after all🍝), but more so, knowing how to use the words / ingredients / materials, and when, (as well as when not) to create something emotive. In short, getting comfy with what you use.
2. Mind mapping
Logging words and vocabulary that is associated with a feeling, a place, an experience
I talk about this process quite a bit, so I’ll keep it short & sweet. I think writing has been such a great tool to understand my art practice. Often times, when I set out to paint, I’m looking to capture a specific mood, energy, feeling on the page. I spend lots of time journalling or mind mapping, so I can better understand my own experiences and feelings. Having word banks written and ready somehow helps me tune in and focus with direction for a painting. Lately, at the start of my sessions, awe, wonder and joy have been repeatedly written down. My own writing is never particularly poetic or great, but I’ve found it to be a really practical process in directing intention, and making decisions.
4. Relaxed Intensity
Working with focus and relaxation
Maybe somewhat contradictory, relaxed intensity? I think there’s something in it though. Personally, I love working really quickly - the fast speed and wider gestural movements of painting helps get from what’s in my head or body straight to the page, before I can overthink it. It’s when things flow naturally, and I make decisions based on gut instinct, thinking with my hands rather than my head. It’s why I enjoy walking up hills, and running down them. Although it’s fast, it isn’t stressful. There’s no tension. That’s the sweet spot, the happy place in my own work flow, in painting, and well, everything in my life.
I’m not saying that working fast should be a goal, not at all - at least, not with any intention towards modern-day productivity. More so, my goal for getting emotions out on the page with ease, is by working with little tension, or overthinking. It’s making marks with confidence, and fully accepting that they can be painted over, blended in, to make something else entirely. Maybe it’s about practicing failure? Getting good at failing as much as possible, and moving past the millions of creative failures I make, with practice, and the belief that the creative problems can be resolved. That way, I’m less worried and tense, and more able to work instinctively.
For me, finding some kind of space which balances a focused mind with a relaxed body has been key. Everyone’s got their own way of managing this, and there can be many very practical ways of getting to this space. Walking, stretching, meditating in whatever capacity our individual bodies are able, can go a long way to getting in the zone. I even use the painting process as a movement guide. For instance, very gestural marks come naturally, because it feels good to move that way physically. I think painting can be such an embodied process; and a movement based practice, as much as an artistic one. I think there’s lots of interesting things to be explored when creativity, movement and emotion are brought together. I don’t think many creative things have come naturally to me when my body is super tense and my head is cluttered with worries. (It’s still possible, but feels harder). So to summarise my ramble on this last point, fresh air and gentle movement in tandem with making, has gone a long way to helping me translate some of my feelings through paint. It is probably a little trite, but has been so true for me.
Just before I sign off, I wanted to share my latest tutorial with you. It’s available as a written guide or video, and shares one of my favourite painting processes. The class is called ‘Inventing Landscapes’ and is all about blending emotive responses to natural environments, with abstract mark making, and analytical and referential sketching processes. The written guide is a step by step break down, and the video shares the real time progression of a painting; demonstrating the steps and sharing insight to my decision making and intention with marks and colours. If you’d like to check it out, it’s available on my Patreon - also called the Outdoor Sketchbook Collective, here. With a month’s subscription, you get access to all of my previous tutorials as well 🌿
If you’ve sat through and made it all the way to the end of this, take a moment to have a wiggle, and as always,
I’ll see you outside,
Orla, you are actually right there with the mystic poets from the middle ages.
Here's a bit of Rumi - he was one of the whirling dervishes, doing with dance what you are doing with paint.
Do you think I know what I'm doing?
That for one breath or half-breath I belong to myself?
As much as a pen knows what it's writing,
or the ball can guess where it's going next.
I had my first exhibition last year with my artist collective, and although I'm new to visual art, writing has always been my preferred creative outlet. When working with sculpture, I quickly realized I needed to write a mind map before starting anything. Writing isn't separate from the creative process - it gives structure to my flood of thoughts and intense emotions. Once I have clarity through writing, I can move on to painting, sketching, or whatever my medium may be. After finishing my artwork, I felt a different intense emotion about the process, so I sat down and recorded what I had learned by writing. In short, writing and mind-mapping are excellent ways to get going with any creative endeavour and a great way to end. If there is ever an end haha :)