Wishing you a happy, healthy and creative 2026!
“Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.”
Alfred Lord Tennyson
10 Creative Ideas for 2026
Our tried and tested ideas for starting and staying creative:
- Start with quick sketches – so easy…any kind of squiggle drawing!
- Try new combinations – enjoy the change, and new energy.
- Keep ample supplies – so that you do not feel “precious” about anything.
- Use the largest practical format – so that you don’t get hemmed in.
- Have materials ready – searching for materials is a barrier to creativity!
- Reuse old materials – rather than always sourcing from new.
- Create a sprinkling of smaller works – a very nice vibe.
- Art is a numbers game – the more you do, the more work out.
- Try a little art ahead of those chores – art can so easily be swept aside.
- Do something every day – even if only for a few minutes!
A note on new year resolutions. Perchance you are resolving not to do something this coming year, as in “I’m going to spend less time….doom-scrolling, AI chats, chasing likes…” Unless the problem in question is replaced by something else, the old ways tend to creep back. Filling the void is key to making change stick. What an opportunity for some more creative time!
Winter Courses – it’s that time!
Ottawa School of Art courses start this coming month: https://registration.artottawa.ca/
Our courses start in February and we are looking forward to a range of shorter courses – online and downtown – as well as two weekend workshops at the Shenkman.
Details and direct links to each of the the Course Registration pages are on our website at: https://www.davidkearn.com/workshops/
a Break-a-Brush year in review
Here at Break-a-Brush, 2025 has been a whirlwind. We started and finished the year running memorable workshops, including corporate team-building sessions in the Gatineau Hills and downtown at the Ottawa School of Art. Summer plein-air sessions ran into a full slate of teaching and workshops in the fall with on-line and in-studio classes plus our signature weekend workshops at the Shenkman Centre in Orléans. Our 3rd book, “Creative Surge – Three Winters with Tom Thomson”, launched in November of 2024, has seen great success, selling out twice at the National Gallery of Canada Boutique. David’s first book, “Eighteen Pieces” is now on its second print run. A fourth book is the latest major work in progress (watch this space for upcoming announcements!). Following his regular appearances on Rogers Daytime Ottawa last year, David was back on the box recently, this time on the CTV Your Morning Ottawa show promoting the Ottawa School of Art and creative pursuits. Through all our activities, working with such a wonderful range of inspired and inspiring participants, creatives and colleagues has been a privilege. We are so ready for more in 2026!
…and in the wider world:
Pantone’s color for 2026 is a white-out: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/pantone-colour-of-the-year-2026-cloud-dancer-9.7002771
The Pantone Color Institute says the colour of 2026, which it calls Cloud Dancer, is “a billowy, balanced white imbued with a feeling of serenity.” Others are not quite so effusive. We could get technical and say well, white is not really a colour. For Canada, it might be a tad close to what we might call salt-stain white!
Previously unknown Renoir painting sells for 1.8m euros at Paris auction: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/nov/26/unknown-renoir-painting-son-sells-18m-euros-auction?CMP
Maths shows Jackson Pollock painted like a child: https://nautil.us/the-math-shows-jackson-pollock-painted-like-a-child-would-1249335/
“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” Pablo Picasso
Break-a-Brush!
David & France