A Shade of Art

It’s heating up and there’s no better time to come up with art ideas than in the summer months. It’s also recommended that you travel, so you can see and experience different regions, terrains, and cultures to help broaden your artistic point of view.

Of course, these ideas aren’t just limited to colored pencils, but colored pencils are great for beginners and easy to use for sketching ideas down quickly.

So, let’s cover 24 ideas that are closely associated with summer for colored pencil artists.

Swimming pools

Nothing says ‘school out’ like summertime at the pool. A perfect landscape piece for beginners.

Fireworks

Who doesn’t like star flowers in the sky at night? If you don’t, stay inside and put on some noise-cancellation headphones while playing with your iPad.

Women’s fashion

Have you ever walked into Walmart and forgotten what you came in for? Women and their summer fashion outfits can do that! Just don’t get caught staring if you’re with your significant other!

Men’s fashion

Men’s fashion can be very basic during the summer months: a T-shirt and some basketball shorts. That’s all day, baby! But mix it up when you go out on a date.

Ice cream Truck

I can’t count how many times an ice cream truck saved me from heat exhaustion as a child. I wonder how much an ice cream sandwich cost now? It might be $11.

Football camp

It isn’t the fall season, but I respect the hard work and dedication of the young American football players grinding it out in pursuit of their passion and dreams of getting their first concussion.

Basketball playground

A true hooper knows the feeling of running up and down a hot asphalt court and shooting on a double rim in a game of 11 or 24.  And let’s add a 20-minute argument about a late foul call that could have ended the game. Fun memories!

Beach & Sand

This is an obvious one, but still a classic landscape piece for beginners. I would recommend adding a sunset to the horizon to add contrast.

Baseball

The music, the hot dogs, and the competitive spirit of the game are examples that make this American pastime great to watch. It is also a good portrait idea for beginners.

Park

Love is always in the air during the summer months. Just make sure to visit the park before the sun reaches its highest point. But hey, you can’t time love, so bring some bottled water and a battery-operated hand fan to cool yourself while you pitch woo to your date.

Road Trip

I love driving to a dimly lit gas station, eating generic fast-food combo meals, and waiting in a 2-lane traffic jam because of construction or an accident. This is a wonderful way to travel the American Southwest, where there’s a lot to see and feel inspired. Please do not leave your colored pencils and pad at home. Draw what you feel when you reach the next truck stop!

Sunbathing

Let’s return to the beach. Sunbathing is relaxing to do, and inspiring to create on a canvas. Make some time for yourself to do both.

Car auto show

Do you own a car worth showing off? If not, I’m pretty sure your ’05 Toyota Camry will turn heads along with your artwork.

Block Party

Bring cups, chairs, and some dollar store drinks. Now that everything is set, start drawing!

Biking Rides

Life used to be so simple. If you had a problem, go outside and ride a bike. It didn’t matter where you headed. But now, the world has become fascinated with inflation, vaccines, and government shutdowns. You should try to recreate this nostalgia under today’s current gas prices. Bike stock shares will be going up very soon—Stock tip!

Water fight

Children aren’t as tough as they used to be. Of course, they keep their faces glued to a computer or phone screen and miss out on all the fresh air and sunlight. So, finding children participating in a water fight is like finding a unicorn or Bigfoot. You might want to use most of your imagination on this idea.

Yard work

I know yard work is hard work, but it’s rewarding. It is also another perfect landscape idea for beginners.

Sunsets

You can sit and draw at a park, by a lake, on a rooftop, or in a bedroom. It all works well if you have a descending sun and a blue skyline within your view.

Camping

It’s easy to find inspiration when you are visiting nature. Nature and summer go together like strawberries on top of vanilla ice cream. Now, find a good spot and draw!

Summer school

Oh no, the children are stuck at home. We can fix that with either a day camp or some extracurricular activities at school. I mean—summer school.  Just make sure to capture the anger and despair in their eyes from dealing with multiplication and history trivia during the time of year they’re supposed to be on vacation.

Horseback riding

I need to contact my cousin because he has some horses out in the country in Tennessee. Horses are beautiful creatures, and they should be appreciated with your pencil and notebook.

B-B-Q

Ribs. Hot dogs. Liquor. Dominoes. A perfect reason to get together with people who owe you money and lack accountability for the wrongs they did to you over 20 years ago. It would be a good idea to capture this with a lovely portrait before a fight breaks out between your cousin and her sister’s baby daddy.

Outdoor dining

Outdoor dining is better at night, but this is just my opinion. You don’t have to deal with the heat and the pesky mosquitoes. I only prefer the mosquitoes.

Fishing

This is the last idea on this list, but far from being a bad one. A fish pole with a 6-pack of beer can make something so mundane as fishing seem like a very entertaining event. If this isn’t you, no problem, sit near a shore and find a disgruntled man who has been married for 20 years sitting in a fishing boat. Now, draw away on your notepad.

Summer seemed like the time of year when everything is at its peak. Food and gas prices. Airport lines. Car breakdowns. Marriages and divorces. 

The list can stretch a mile long, but you should be creating or working on an art project every day. Art festivals are popular from late spring to early fall, so if you can stay productive and participate in an art show, you might meet the right person who can push your artwork into the mainstream, or you can build yourself a nice little audience to make some passive income.

So create some artwork today!