I don’t know about you but as I’m seriously entering autumn-mode I start to notice the beauties of nature more than during other seasons – even as a city girl. Nature is quite an obvious topic for a creative but during one of my afternoon walks I was thinking: a sunny park offers so much hidden wisdom. During the process of creating it is not always evident that we are actually ‘allowed’ make mistakes or that we don’t have to plan everything to the last bit. Beginners and advanced artists can all learn a something from nature! Here’s what walking in the parks taught me:

Repeat patterns are everywhere

One great way to meditate is to draw repeat patterns. If you run out of ideas, the perfect place to look for inspiration is nature. They are everywhere, from fish-scales to pine cones, from petals of flowers to the markings on a giraffe’s fur, but – in an abstract way – the changing of the seasons could also be considered a climatic repeat pattern. Draw them and relax a bit!

The balance between planned and random

When I look at my tabby-white cat I often think that nature has such a funny sense of humour: he’s got this really tiny white spot on a large patch of tabby on his backside, which looks so utterly out of place that it makes me laugh. On the other hand, the stripes on his tail come after the other in perfect order. But I could mention the leaves too: the main nervures follow a strict rule, but the smaller ones often come perfectly random. As an artist I often make the mistake of planning my artwork to the last bit, but I shouldn’t. There’s a time and place for spontaneity!

Symmetry isn’t everything!

Talking of spontaneity, a precise artist might get desperate when things that should be symmetric end up lopsided (or maybe corrects it secretly during digital post-production). But nature is proof that symmetry is only an appearance. One of my eyebrows goes higher than the other, and one cherry can be a little fatter than its twin. You should dare to break symmetry, even if it’s only by small things.

Colour palettes

It’s always important to decide on a colour palette before colouring your artwork and what could provide a better inspiration than nature? We can prepare beautiful colour schemes, especially during fall, but a spring bouquet provides excellent opportunity to mess with colours, while winter is the season for lovers of monochrome.

It doesn’t have to be perfect!

Do you recall seeing a curiously shaped tomato, then murmuring ‘I guess it’s genetically modified’? If you ever thought that, you’re actually wrong… It’s exactly those perfect tomatoes that are genetically modified, the funny shaped ones are those that come from gran’s garden. It’s precisely these little mistakes that cause diversity, and indeed, the difference between 2 tomatoes. If nature allows herself to make mistakes, who are you to deny yourself this luxury? Nothing happens if that painted line meant to be straight becomes a little crooked, does it?

What are the things that you notice about nature?