One of my favorite things about being alive is the ability to create and enjoy art. My ideal vacation would include a trip to an art museum. The problem with this being I am married to a theme park loving man and we have a six year old who is equally thrilled by roller coasters and fuzzy mascots. Trips to art museums are very limited. I tell myself that they will happen one day. In the mean time I read art books and paint when I have time. But for several years I didn't touch my brushes. Strangely I was feeling myself limited in creativity. I couldn't quite figure out what to paint. And when I did get an idea I couldn't figure out how to execute it. I couldn't imagine what I want it to look like.
Freedom came a few months ago when I went to class designed to liberate the creatively blocked artist. I walked away feeling free. It was wonderful. Now instead of forcing myself to put paint on canvas because the nagging voice in my head was saying, "You have an art degree and you don't even paint." I am painting because original, creative images are flooding my imagination and begging to be given life. I want to paint. I am excited to find time in the day when I can put another layer on the canvas.
The shift in me was big. The cause was small. I learned some very basic principles in my class. They stuck.
#1 When you see a masterpiece you don't see the hundreds of other paintings that ranged from just awful to okay. It takes a lot of trial and error to get to the masterpiece. The odds of everything you create being wonderful are very slim. Take the stress off yourself and get over the duds.
#2 Look for inspiration everywhere. Buy books with beautiful pictures, read poetry, listen to moving music. Whatever moves you. Then use the creative energy to create. I had never torn pages out of a book and created art with them. the thought made me cringe. I love books. I don't want to tear them up. Why do I feel this way? If they are my books and I want to tear out the pages then why not? It's quite liberating.
#3 Use new materials. Trying something new can spark a brilliant new idea. I recently did a water color painting of water lilies and used some paper with images of antique rulers for the flower stems. The painting was a figurative depiction of a very difficult time in my life when I felt I didn't measure up and was making some bad choices. The painting has a unique look because of the paper. I couldn't have achieved it with paint alone. Another material swap came in my next painting. I used tissue paper for lily pads in my second attempt at the water lilies- this time on canvas with acrylic paint. It gave such a luminescent look. And it added texture which I love. I'm not sure what I'll try next.
#4 Study the great masters. It's okay to examine works by other artists and copy them. Make them your own. No a reproduction of the Mona Lisa is not art because it is not creative- it is copying. But if painting the Mona Lisa teaches you something and frees up your creativity, then it is a worth while endeavour. My goal right now is to create an original piece each month and also a piece that is inspired by an artist I admire. My July artist is Betsy Edwards. See her work here. www.betsyedwardsart.com I love her loose style and vivid colors. I have almost completed my painting, but I'm really struggling with the looseness. I may have to make a departure from her style and make my painting more my own.
#5 Do something creative every day. The teacher of my class recommended the book The Artist's Way. I plan to buy it- actually I think I'll order it today while I'm online. The idea of the book is that you write every morning in a stream of consciousness form that lets you get out what is clogged up and blocking the flow of creativity. She read some excerpts from the book and I felt it could help me.
Pictures of paintings coming soon!
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