You can become more creative in life and art.
1. The Mucky Mess
Embrace the messiness. Life gets messy and if you have a perfectionist mindset, you will make yourself unnecessarily miserable when messiness happens.
You are human. Stuff happens. Laugh or learn or hopefully both. Mistakes large and small and hurts minor and major will happen. This shit is fertile soil for growth.
In painting, messiness is also frequently a stage in developing a painting. Trying something new in subject or technique can be a lively back and forth — some moments so hopeful and some looking disastrous. Ugly ducklings on the way to someplace beautiful. Have fun with the process!
Messiness is the way of growth.
2. Reset Expectations
Resist expecting an instant outcome from what you learn. Even when the gray matter has lit up like a spotlight, it can take some time before the application of this insight becomes evident.
Be kind to yourself and set smaller goals based on your new understanding.
You may have just read an inspiring life-changing book. You will not be able to apply everything you learned the next day. Take baby steps.
Artists today have many opportunities to see wonderful and inspiring art from history and contemporary times. You may have several artists who inspire you. These masterpieces can influence your work as it evolves if you can consciously apply those colors or techniques to what you are attempting with paint. Break it down into specific small steps.
Discovering your signature expression means putting in the brush time. Be patient and reasonable with your expectations of mastery. If making fabulous paintings was easy, it would not be the satisfying challenge it is.
3. Failure is your friend
High-five every failure along the way. Failing, a lot, is the pathway to genius.
Edison, about inventing the lightbulb said, “I have not failed — I just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.”
The person who never failed never tried anything new. This is fine if you want a sedentary life. Myself, I prefer not to go out with a yawn.
To live a creative life, you need to embrace adventure. New adventures in any artistic discipline from painting to music mean failing at first.
No one is born with mastery skills. Even the greats were beginners once. This applies to both art skills and life skills.
In painting, as you practice to become a more adept communicator with this wonderful language of art, failure should be as familiar as a healthy breakfast and just as good for you.
4. About Talent
Talent is simply the ability to learn something faster. The learning and the work are still real and that includes failure.
Some people seem to be naturals at navigating the complexity of life. Here’s a secret. We are all the same inside — we are all vulnerable in our own unique ways. Work is required to become the best version of ourselves. Practicing humanity means a deliberate and thoughtful approach to life.
As an art instructor to adults for 25 years, I have seen that ‘talent’ is much overrated. Give me a student who wants to practice and learn every time — whether or not they are considered talented does not matter in visual arts.
Practicing painting means putting in the brush time. A deliberate and thoughtful approach to how you practice has benefits too. It will speed up the learning curve.
The talented person who does not practice is passed every time by the ‘untalented’ one who puts in the work.
– Cheryl O Art
5. Recognize your uniqueness
Others may have taken this adventurous journey before you, but no one else sees with your eyes, hears with your ears, and understands in the exact way your unique self does.
We stand on the shoulders of those who went before in life and art. Heroes and mentors are good! At the same time, there is freedom in recognizing that your life does not have to resemble anyone else’s and that’s okay.
So it is with artists. Artists benefit from understanding the distinctive voice they bring to their expression in paint. There is freedom in knowing that your art does not have to look like anyone else’s.
6. Anticipate joy
You can experience the joy that creativity brings.
In “Creative Confidence” by Tom & David Kelley the authors present a well-documented case for believing that everyone — yes, everyone — has a creative side that is waiting to be expressed in some form. Not just those considered ‘artsy’, but everyone.
Some folks need encouragement to get creative, but it’s there inside you. Fears of “I’m not the creative type” are unfounded.
The book “Creative Confidence” is written with businesses in mind, but I found loads that could be applied to being creative with art classes and painting. Recommended.
I love debunking long-standing myths about creative exclusivity — hurray! Creativity is for everyone- it’s not an exclusive club. The sweet spot, the place of delicious ‘flow’ associated with creativity, is available to all.
Yes, to be creative means messiness, patience, practice, failure, and perseverance. The point is, if you can put up with these, the potential rewards are great.
As any artist — painter, dancer, singer, writer, actor, etc. — will testify: creativity can bring joy! And this makes it all worthwhile.
My experience says these 6 points can help you achieve your joyful creative life.
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