Creative explorations Vol #8: Literary
A sketchbook prompt to support your art and creative practice.
Creative Explorations are themed around a prompt that you can explore in your own art/creative practice over the coming weeks. Prompts will be sent out on the first Friday of every month. I hope this month’s prompt sparks your creativity!
Reading has been my first love ever since I was a child. Most of my birthday wish lists when I was a kid were just a long list of books, and I would tear eagerly into the wrapping paper to see which books my mom gifted me each year. My wish lists these days include art supplies and fancy stationery, but my love for books hasn’t dimmed!
I think this love for books and reading is something that artists and creatives of all stripes share. Reading, after all, broadens our worlds, expands our thinking, and gives us an escape into a different world when we need it.
So why not combine our love for books and art this month, and explore all things LITERARY in our sketchbooks?
Resources + ideas
Literary characters: Artists through the ages have used literary characters as inspiration for their paintings. From Sir John Everett Millais’ “Ophelia,” to Salvador Dali’s “Down the Rabbit Hole”, the style of paintings ranges from realistic to abstract and everything in between. Take a look at few examples here and then create a portrait of one of your favorite literary characters in your own style.
Book cover: A book cover is a thing of beauty, ranging from stunning illustrations to gorgeous paintings and striking typography. Use one of your favorite covers as a starting point in your sketchbook — take inspiration from the color palette or the typography, or use the cover as a reference image in your own practice. You could also try your hand at creating a book cover for one of your favorite books.
Bonus points: Create a book cover for your story! If you had to imagine the last few years of your life as a book, how would you illustrate the cover?
Illustrated book shelf: This prompt is based on the beautiful reading journals that many book tubers create. Create a bookshelf spread in your sketchbook to illustrate some of your favorite books from last year, or of all time.
Illustrated manuscript: Another idea you can play with in your sketchbook is an illustrated manuscript. Look for examples of illustrated manuscripts from medieval times and use it as inspiration to decorate a page boarder or create a stylized handwritten font. This is a good starting place to look for examples.
Favorite quote: Use a quote from a book that you’re currently reading as inspiration for an art journal page.
Book pages: This may be sacrilegious for some of you, but book pages make for excellent collage fodder. Think of different ways in which you can incorporate old book pages into your art.
Literary Witches: This beautifully illustrated book, a collaboration between Taisia Kitaiskaia and artist Katy Horan, reimagines 30 female authors as true witches — figures of radical creativity, originality, and empowerment. You can read an excerpt from the book, and check out this interview with the illustrator, Katy Horan.
I look forward to seeing your take on this prompt! You can email your finished pieces to me on shinjinim@substack.com or share them on Notes if you use the Substack app and tag me. If you share on Instagram, tag me @moderngypsy.in
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This is a fun prompt. I find a lot of inspiration in illuminated manuscripts.
What a wonderful celebration of the intersection between literature and art. The suggested prompts seamlessly blend the realms of literature and art, encouraging a creative exploration that goes beyond reading.