As I work to grow my art, I am pondering what techniques really push the creativity button for me. One tip can be summarized in three small words: make a mess. Starting with a lot of mixed up or messy colour and then working with it gives me results that frequently turn out better than carefully planned painting. Especially when working with acrylic or oil, I can just keep layering to bring a mess into some sort of shape and form that is exciting and pleasing to the eye. Actually, now I’m thinking about it, I also like approaching watercolour this way, and if need be I can switch to layering with fluid acrylics later. It takes a bit of courage to do this, plus a certain amount of willingness to accept that the painting can look awful for quite awhile – you just keep layering until it works. Today’s creativity tip for you: make a mess!