Since starting The Artist’s Way, I’ve been having a once a week adventure called The Artist Date.

This is a solo date that is designed to feed your inner Artist and boost your creativity.

At the beginning of the program, I was a little lost as to what to do for my artist date. I looked around for lists online and got some inspiration, but nothing that I felt I could immediately do.

Once I got more into the program, I was able to see opportunities for artist dates all the time, and once I went on a few- wow! I was having so much fun with my inner artist.

Even if you aren’t doing The Artist’s Way, taking yourself on an artist date is a really fun and freeing moment of taking care of yourself. I highly recommend pausing the episode when you find a date idea that sounds attractive or thrilling, and scheduling it into this weeks agenda. The more impulsive you are with your artist date time, the better. Let’ me know which ones are your favorite!

The best Artist Dates are done by yourself.

I’ve broken down all the dates into categories that will better suit your lifestyle. Do what works for your time. Some of these might not seem related to being an artist, please keep in mind that everything you surround yourself with feeds your creativity!

All artist dates are meant as inspiration! Change the details to fit your creative flairs and if you are feeling repelled by any of these- then do that one specifically! Overcoming resistance breeds creativity.

75 Artist Date Ideas

Artist Dates you can do for Free:

Eye Spy: Take yourself on a walk around your neighborhood. Find 20 yellow things and take a picture of them.
Start a studio log: get a journal that is not your sketchbook and label it Studio Log. Every day you are in the studio, weather you make something or not, write the date and what happened that day. Keep it brief.
- For example: July 18th, 2023- Worked on the Cancer zodiac painting, updated the online shop, emailed my collector, took out the trash.
- July 19th, 2023 Sat on my phone for 20 min, swept
- July 20th, 2023 Got to the studio late, painted cancer zodiac piece for 2 hours, streamed on twitch, washed brushes. Tomorrow finish cancer painting.
Bookshelves: Look, artist’s love to read. It’s nearly universal. So today you are going to organize your book shelves for two hours. Take all the books off your shelves, dust everything, and put things back in a new system. Maybe it’s rainbow, maybe by subject, maybe by if you’ve read it yet or not. Make a pile of books that you no longer want to be sold/gifted/donated.
Vision board: Get your gluestick, scissors, tape, and a big pile of your old magazines. Or get on Pinterest. Pick a theme: dream house, dream studio, future romantic partner, dream garden, dream closet, etc. Then begin searching and compiling. Pick out some music that fits your theme and make a vision board! Put this board somewhere where you will see it often. It will help you focus towards getting this dream.
Art walk: If your town has an artwalk, go to it! Seattle’s is on First Thursday in Pioneer square and I LOVE to visit it. This is a great way to see what artist’s are making, get inspired, and meet other artsy people. If you have business cards, bring them with you to hand out to people you meet!
Cloud/star gazing: If you live in a place that has a great view of the stars, go there and gaze away. If you live in a city with a lot of light pollution, go cloud gazing. Let yourself daydream and enjoy the funny shapes the sky makes.
Write yourself a birthday card: Write a letter wishing yourself a happy birthday in the next few years. Write about what you are doing currently, the things you hope will happen for your future self, what your favorite music is at the moment, and a well wish for your older self. Put the card somewhere you will find it on the birthday you selected.
Visit your childhood home: If you live in the area of one of your childhood homes, go see it. See what’s changed, if the tree you planted has grown, if the color is the same on the siding, if there is a new building there. Sit with your memories and see what comes up when you visit the space.
Poetry reading: Visit your library and grab a book of poetry. Read out loud poems to yourself, playing with the way you say the words and emphasize different things each time.
Fanclub: Get on your favorite social media site and dm 5 artists that you are a big fan of. Tell them how much you admire their work and why you like it. Ask them questions and engage with a bunch of things on their profiles. Commenting on work, saving images, sharing their work with someone else. All these things help that favorite artist of your and is a great relationship builder.
Blind Contour drawings: Get a pen and a sketchbook and do blind contour drawings. This means you try to draw the thing you are looking at without lifting up your pen or looking at the page. Draw trees, buildings, people, yourself (in a mirror), animals, etc.
Borrowed music: Ask a friend to make you a music playlist (or go find their Spotify accounts) and go take a walk with it. Listening to music outside of your norm is an adventure in itself~
Write a poem: About a recent grievance, about your puppy, about your recent painting, about your last date.
Gardening: Even if you don’t have any tools, even if you live in an apartment building, go outside and pull some weeds. Rake up leaves, tidy the porch and walkways, prune off dead or decaying branches in the shrubs. Give that area some tlc.
How to relax guide: Do you have trouble relaxing? I’m guessing you do since you are reading this list. Pull out your journal and write out these 4 category titles.
- Nice Weather (Picnic at the park, gardening, cornhole, sunbathing)
- Bad weather (puzzles, face masks, video games)
- Active relaxing (reading, stretching, walking, cooking, knitting)
- Passive relaxing (naps, youtube binges, audiobooks, meditation)
- For each of the above write out 5 ideas of ways you can be chill without much planning involved. Then do one of them!
Foreign Movie: Watch a tv show or movie in a language you don’t understand, captions on. I’m partial to K-dramas and Italian comedy’s
Replay a game: Do you have a favorite video game? Start the game over from the beginning. See if you find anything new in the story.

Artist Dates you can do for under $20:

Movie: Go see a movie by yourself. Midday matinees tend to be super cheap and not crowded. Bring a snack or get some candy at the concessions stand. Enjoy the film!
Picnic lunch: Have you ever been to a grocery store that has a deli of delicious foods, but you’ve never tried them? Get yourself a picnic lunch that you don’t have do the cooking for. Then find a park or your own back yard for a picnic with iced tea. I like to bring a novel with me for this date.
Thrift shopping: Give yourself a budget and go to the thrift store. Pick out something that makes you happy, not that it needs to be useful or that you have a place for it. It doesn’t need to make sense that you have it, just that it brings you joy.
Send a postcard to a stranger: Join Postcrossing, a website that let’s you send postcards to a stranger and then get a card in return from someone else. Take time to pick out a card that person would like, use fun stickers or pens to decorate the card, and mail it off!
Make some smores: Get yourself some chocolate, gram crackers, and marshmallows, and a stick. Make a controlled fire of some sort and make yourself a smore.
Visit an estate sale: Or yard sale. See what your neighbors got that you could have for cheap. Maybe they have a weird collection of gnomes? You won’t know till you go.
Buy a coloring book: Spend an hour or so coloring someone else’s designs. Pull out your fancy markers for this~
Get a nightlight: Search around etsy or your local lighting store and see if you can find a nightlight or fairy lights to hang in your room. Make it even cozier

Artist Dates you can do for under $50:

Visit your local zoo or aquarium: Spend time noticing how the animals move or are still. Ask the keepers there questions about the animals!
Local shopper: Have you been to the local establishments around your neighborhood? I’m talking small business and tiny shops. Go into a few of them and say hi to the people working there. If you are feeling it, buy yourself something that makes you happy.
Buy a plant: Visit your local nursery and get yourself an oxygen machine! I mean a plant. Ask the people working there what would work for your living situation, pick out a pot, and take it home! Some nursery’s have potting stations where you can get your plant in it’s pot without making a big mess at home. I’m a fan of jade plants.
Send a care package: Is there someone in your life who might need a little extra appreciation? Let’s build them a care package. Find their favorite candy, get a candle, treats for their pet, a game of cards, or something else unique to them. Wrap the package up with care and write them a card telling them how much you love them.
Go to a new restaurant: Try a cuisine you’ve never tasted before. Use google to find well rated places and be open to new experiences. You might find a new favorite. I highly recommend telling the people working that you’ve never tried this food before and then any dietary restrictions you have. They will tell you what is best!
Get a new videogame: Have you been meaning to buy a new game, but haven’t done it for one reason or another? Go to a game store, check out Steam, or see what people are playing online and get yourself a new game!
Flowers: Go to your local florist and buy a bouquet of flowers that speak to you. Or better yet, go to your grocer and build your own bouquet. Get a hero flower, a medium flower, some tiny flowers, and a green to add in. When you get home, have fun with arranging them!
Buy a pleasure toy: Get yourself something saucy, to spice up your sensual life. You don’t even have to go into a physical store for this, if that makes you nervous, and items that are shipped to you will be in discrete packaging. Get something that is thrilling even just thinking of it.

Artist Dates you can do for over $50:

Art Store: This one is so dangerous. Not for the faint at heart. Go to the art store without a list and look at everything. If you get inspired to start a new project, get the materials for it! Then after you leave the store, plan in the next week when that project will happen.
See a play/musical: Depending on what or where the play is, this can be fairly inexpensive, but I’m putting it in the over $50 just in case. The best sound in a theater is in the high up top section. Get your nice clothes on and buy yourself a ticket! Look out for student, military, and 55+ discounts.
Afternoon tea: Put on your most beautiful outfit and make a reservation for afternoon tea. Tiny sandwiches, pretty tea cups, an atmosphere of delight… what more do you want? Do this one especially if you are thinking, “this isn’t for me.”
Opera: Same thing as a play/musical but more extravagant. Dress up for this event! I’m so serious don’t wear denim and sneakers. Opera’s are stunning to hear in person and there is something magical about the emotions that can occur within.
Spa treatment: Get a facial! Get a massage! Do something to take care of your body. Most services will run you about $130 and take 60-90 minutes, depending on where you go. I try to do these monthly or bi-monthly if it fits in the budget.
Palm reading: Or a psychic. Have you ever seen places that advertise palm reading or tarot readings, but you haven’t had the guts to do it? I think you should do it! Doing something that is so outside your norm will get your blood pumping.
Plane tickets: It’s time to plan your next vacation. Maybe it’s just for a weekend, maybe it’s for longer. Maybe it’s a solo trip? Maybe with your partner? Spend a few hours doing the front load of the planning work and then see if it fits in your budget to take a retreat.

20 minute Artist Dates:

Dancing Queen: Pull up a youtube tutorial for a type of dance that’s always seemed dazzling to you. Make some space around your screen and try it out for the duration of the video! I tried this with the moon walk and now I can sort of do it.
Get a library card: There’s this great App called Libby that let’s you download books, audiobooks, and more from many different libraries right onto your devise. It will also help you find your library system and apply for a card. I have two cards that I use from two different cities I’ve lived in and it’s endless entertainment.
Beautiful caffeine: If you are anything like me, you love a beautiful cup of caffeine in the morning. Today I want you to treat your morning brew like a ceremony. Take a little extra time picking out your cup, carefully measure out the leaves/beans, pay extra attention to how you are making the drink. Once it’s made, find a beautiful place to drink it. Look at the color, try and describe the smell, notice how you feel after the first sip.
Style your hair: Take 20 minutes to take extra good care of your hair for the day. Curl it, put in some nice smelling product, inspect it for spit ends, tidy up your edges, make an appointment for a cut?
Read a chapter of a book: That book that’s dusty on your desk? A new purchase from the store? An art tutorial? Read just one chapter.
Unfollow people: Go on your favorite social media page and unfollow anyone who’s content doesn’t make you feel good about yourself. Even if they are someone you know irl.
Affirmations: Take 20 minutes to write down creative affirmations. Then look in the mirror and say them to yourself. I have a whole episode on this on Brush Work
Revisit your yearly goals: If you made any on January 1st, revisit your goals and see if you’ve made any progress or want to change something. Sometimes just reading the goals can set you back on track.
Research art residencies: Even just typing ‘art residency’ into your search engine is enough to spark the idea of delight into your day. See what you can find in a city you’ve always wanted to go to.

1 hour Artist Dates:

Art Supply Inventory: Take inventory of your art studio. Is there anything you are running low on that you use all the time? Do you need anything for an upcoming project? Make a list on your phone and keep updating it as you work on projects. My list is actually a spreadsheet and when I buy new studio items, I like to mark down how much I paid for each thing and when I got it.
Dreaded appointments: Set a timer for 45 minutes then get out your notebook & calendars. Make a list of all the appointments that you’ve been meaning or dreading to do. Then for the next hour, make those appointments. Dentist, eye doctor, therapist, gutter cleaner, massage, etc. When the timer is up, wrap up the current one you are working on and be done! Congrats, that’s a lot more progress than you had an hour ago.
Movie musts: Make a list of 20+ movies you want to see that came out before you were born. Deep dive into IMBD or reddit and see what sparks your interest. We get advertised to new movies all the time, but these older ones might be unknown to us. I recommend Blues Brothers (1980), Laurence of Arabia (1962), and The Princess Bride (1986). Schedule your first movie session.
Closet clear out: Go through your closet and pull out 10 pieces that are low-self worth items. Sell or donate them.
The Wants List: Make yourself a list of all the things you want. Here are some categories to get you started: Clothing, tea, furniture, plants, house items, cosmetics, things to learn, places to visit, games to play, food to eat, perfume.
Skin care hour: Pull out your exfoliants, get your face mask, lotions, sunscreen, razors, etc. Spend the next hour taking care of your body.
Take yourself out for your favorite meal: Brunch for 1! Sushi dinner with your creative self! Lunch at the cafe down the street. Take photos of your food, plan out your day, or do nothing but chat with the servers.
Language learning: Download one of the many free language learning apps and spend an hour or so tasting new words in your mouth.
30 before 30, 40 before 40, 50 before 50, etc lists: Take note of the next decade age mark you are about to hit and make a list of all the things you want to accomplish. The sillier the better. Buying a house is fun but what about roller-skating????
Take a class: Drawing, boxing, painting, dancing, pottery, gardening, language learning, the options are endless. Find a tutor and take an hour long class in something that seems really exciting.
To-visit list: Make a google maps list of all the places in your town that you want to visit, but haven’t yet. Coffee shops, music houses, clubs, fancy grocery stores, the new Target down the street, the blueberry u-pick farm, a fresh art gallery, an old art gallery, etc. Each week make a point to visit one of them!

The Extended Artist Date (A full day):

Road trip: If you’ve got a car or can borrow one, take a road trip. Find a destination that’s 3 hours away from where you live and plan a trip there and back. This usually costs one tank of gas plus whatever you end up spending on attractions/food. Last week I went to the Washington Coast. I like to plan lots of fun stops along the way since I’m not a big fan of driving.
- My Ocean Road Trip:
  - Left at 9 am, drove an hour listening to Taylor Swift to get an acai bowl.
  - Drove an hour to the next big town while listening to an audio book (Nona the Ninth), stopped at a Starbucks for caffeine and a cake pop.
  - Drove another hour to an art gallery by the coast that had some of my prints showing. Chatted with the owner and toured the space.
  - Spent some time at the ocean beach. The sand was warm, the fog was rolling, and the salt water was freezing cold!
  - Got lunch per a recommendation of the gallery owner. Went to a few local shops. Got sour candy.
  - Listened to my audio book for an hour while driving towards a used book store on the way home. Picked up The Earthsea Trilogy.
  - Drove the remaining two hours home while sipping tea and enjoying a scenic drive.
Art Marathon: Plan an all day art marathon. A day where you spend the entire time drawing, painting, researching, crafting, MAKING. Here is an example:
- Day before: plan out a list of things to make/ ideas to try/ and materials you will need. Tell people you are doing an art marathon and that you wont be able to meet with them.
- 8am - wake up and have breakfast, make your tea, and get dressed
- 9am - Set up. Clear your desk, get your materials, pull out your easel, pick music or an audiobook, and do some jumping jacks.
- 9:30-noon - Set an alarm for noon and then put your phone away! Let’s make art! Pick your most attractive idea and start making. Make sure to take breaks here and there for more tea and snacks ;)
- noon-1pm lunch break! Leave your creative space and eat something delicious. Preferably outside.
- 1pm-3:30 pm Round 2 of art making. Put on a really different kind of music, set a new alarm for 3:30, chose a different kind of project, and start creating.
- 3:30-4 pm Clean up! put away all your materials, wash your brushes, and tidy your creative space for the next session.
- 4 pm onwards, enjoy your evening~
Silence: Have a day where you don’t communicate verbally or in written form. No chatting, no texting, no emails, no post-it notes. This is more challenging than it looks, so best to prepare the people you live with that you are doing this.
Naked: Spend the day without a stitch of clothing on. Without harassing anyone, obviously. Shut the curtains for privacy and see what it’s like to be a little bit chilly for more than 8 hours. :D
Movie marathon: Pick a theme and spend the day watching 3 different movies. Maybe it’s the LOTR trilogy, maybe it’s all rom-coms, perhaps it’s several car chase movies. Let’s que it up and binge on purpose!

Artist Dates you can do when you’re stuck at home:

Blanket Fort: Make a blanket fort in your living space. Move furniture around, get out the bedding, make some snacks, and doodle in your sketchbook in the cozy cave you’ve made.
Plant showers: Take all your indoor plants outside and rinse off all the dust with your hose. I like to find a spot that is partially shaded so they don’t burn. While they dry, clean and dust all the spaces they usually live in your house before putting them back.
Tarot Reading: Do you have a deck of tarot cards? I love looking up spreads to do that are specific to creativity. This one from emerald lotus is quite fun! When I do artist dates with the tarot, I love to journal about the meanings of each card, record what I got, and muse about my feelings. Occasionally I’ll do a few different spreads per reading.
Speed Cleaning: Clean your house in the time it takes to wash and dry your bedding. Whatever can be done from the moment the sheets come off the bed to when they come out of the dryer. Put on some fun music or a podcast and get going!
Artist Space: Do you have a place in your home where you create?
- If yes: go to the space and take an outsiders look at it. Is it inspiring? Is the light right? Is it clean? Is it organized? Is it beautiful? Does it make you happy? Change what isn’t working for you.
- If no: Get yourself on Pinterest and start looking at art studios. Make notes about what you like, what would work for your current creative endeavors, and what is affordable.
  After that, find that place in your home that would be a good ‘first draft’ of a work space, or if you can afford it, look up art studio rental spaces in your area. This might be a building dedicated to creatives, your neighbors empty spare room or garage, or something else. My first studio was half of a desk in my bedroom. Now it’s an external garage.
Try a new recipe: Using only the things you have in your home kitchen. There are many websites out there where if you list your ingredients, it will give you a recipe you could make. Like this one
Research the unknown: Make a list of 5 things that have always interested you, but you know little about. Pick the best one and do a deep dive into youtube to learn about it.
Organize your junk drawer: Pull out everything, wipe it clean, and only put back what actually needs to be in there. If you find any money, immediately go spend it on a treat.
Childhood toys: If you’ve got any trinkets or toys from when you were a kid, pull them out and give them some love. Maybe they want to be on a shelf in your office? Maybe they want to be given to a kid you know? Maybe they could be sold? Don’t simply put it back in the memorial box.
View from the window: Take out your sketchpad and draw the view from your window. Draw the window frame, the lattice work, the trees in the distance, the kid playing across the street, the traffic lights, the guy going through the trash- anything that is happening outside, draw it.
- Draw the view from your window from the outside. What does your kitchen look like from the street view? Can you see the curtains? Is your sister cooking something?

Find “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29876447-the-artist-s-way

Host and artist Stephanie Scott breaks down the practicality of the art career with topics including: sustainable creative practices, social media skills, and the mindsets that keep it all together. New episodes every Tuesday!

Next live recording will be on Twitch on August 13th, 3pm Pacific. We will discuss weeks 5-9 of The Artist’s Way https://www.twitch.tv/cheerssteph

Visual Nomad: https://www.instagram.com/visualnomad__/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephaniescott.art/

Website: http://www.stephaniescott.art/brushwork

Music by @winepot https://www.instagram.com/thewinepot/

Podcast Cover photo by Maryna Blumqvist https://instagram.com/picturemaryna