Building Habits that make Painting Daily Automatic

If your paintings could talk, what would they say?  I think mine would want me to set them free!  They would want me to let loose instead of trying to control every move. We’ve all been taught to think carefully before we make a brush stroke and to know what we’re going to do before it happens. But that creates anxiety doesn’t it? If you’re like me my hand begins to shake and I stress over “getting it right.”

“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it,” said Jon Barrie, author of Peter Pan from Jan. 2015 Woman’s Day.

Those doubts tighten your muscles, the flow of paint, and the release of energy that makes your painting exciting. Having a well thought out plan is one thing. Allowing spontaneity to occur and to alter your initial composition is when the “magic” happens.

“A watched pot never boils.” When you keep too tight a reign on every stroke, every composition, and over analyze your progress, you may miss out on something enchanting and remarkable. Let it happen! Just do it.

If your paints could talk, what would they say? Mine would be angry with the disorganized mess, with the damaged caps from using a nut cracker to get them off, and the crimped twisted tubes, etc. A neat freak I’m not! I get so caught up in painting I sometimes forget that a neater pallet and a more organized paint box would actually make my job easier.

Recently I subscribed to Eric Maisel’s Sunday newsletter: "Emotional Healing”. With my free subscription, Eric gave me a free gift: “The 97 Best Creativity Tips Ever” by Eric Maisel, 2011 all rights reserved.

I’m going to share with you the first 10 tips  from Eric’s amazing list.

1.  Be consistent in showing up. Getting to your creative work only once in a while won’t keep it alive. Make “routine” and “regularity” sacred words!

2.  Who knows how many artists fail because the light that shines through them is refracted in a thousand directions and not concentrated in a single beam? Pick projects and complete them! It is not really possible to work on a thousand things at once.

3.  One of the best ways to help yourself create every day is to craft a starting ritual that you begin to use regularly and routinely. When your ritual becomes habitual you will find yourself moving effortlessly from not creating to creating.

4.  Make the following pledge: “I will do some creative work every day, if only for fifteen or twenty minutes.” Honor your pledge for the next two weeks and spend fourteen consecutive days creating.

5.  Looking for only the perfect time to create? Forget about it! You are always in the middle of something so it is right in the middle of things that your creating must also happen.

6.  Even small amounts of time can be used for creating. Do you make use of fifteen minutes here and twenty minutes there?

7.  Are you good at capturing your own creative thoughts? Or do you let them slip away by telling yourself that they weren’t really all that good or all that important? Stop that! Start right now doing a better job of capturing and recording your ideas.

8.  You must reckon with your own character. Creativity requires curiosity. Are you curious enough? Creativity requires risk-taking. Are you willing to risk? Creativity requires energy. Can you marshal and unleash your energy? Creativity requires patience. Have you cultivated that quality? Turn yourself into the artist you need to be!

9.  Telling our truth can bring us pain and get us into trouble, but worse pain and worse trouble await us if we keep silent. Tell your truth—carefully, artfully, and courageously!

10.  Say yes to your creative work! Avoid maybe like the plague. Maybe is a state that takes you right to the edge of meaninglessness. Maybe plays to your weaknesses, your anxieties, and your doubts. Maybe frustrates you and disappoints you. Avoid the maybe trap! 

If you want Eric’s free gift of “97 creative ways to keep working” sign up for his Sunday newsletter “Emotional Healing” or email him @ ericmaisel@hotmail.com

Nail it Down, Make it Clear, Let it Happen!

"Swamp Angel" oil on canvas 16x20

The title: “Nail it down, make it clear and let it happen” is good advice whether you’re a fine artist, a performing artist or a writer. If you don’t nail down those ideas, they may scamper away forever. A brief note, a sketch, a few notes on a blank staff or a melody that gets stuck in your brain are sure to bring your thoughts back for testing.

Good ideas need to be tested. Either they blossom or they don’t. If they seem to go nowhere, they are probably just wisps of imagination. If your idea sticks and mushrooms into viable substance, it may explode later in a magical way.

When you're ready, take that sketch, that idea and develop it on paper or canvas. Make your vision as clear as possible. What your inner eye sees must be understandable to others. Giving your idea clarity becomes your first draft or your “working model.” Once you have it nailed down and visibly clear, you’re ready for the next step.

"Reggae Night" acrylic on canvas

At this point, being fluid is the key. If you’re too rigid, your efforts will become stiff and unbending. When that happens, your idea may become trite or stagnant. Freedom to float around the edges and let your inspiration lead you is crucial. Gut instinct and the willingness to take a risk or a daring leap is what separates a good artist from a great artist.

Acting or creating in a daring way is scary. You’re thinking, “Am I on the right track?” “What if this turns out to be a bad idea?” What will other people think?”

Self doubt is your worst enemy. Fear can keep you from discovering what’s just under the surface and within your grasp. Don’t get “stuck on stupid!” Believe that you are just as good as the next person in bringing a conception to fruition. Obviously training and skill assist you in this journey and make it easier to bring your passion to life.

When I started my artist blog, I wanted it to be different. Sure I was interested in featuring my art and enticing people to go to my online galleries, but I was in hopes of more. I wanted to inspire other artists, especially beginners with high aspirations, to overcome their fears and succeed.

My initial purpose was to motivate people not only to be better human beings, but to trust in their own inner voice. 

It’s sad when people give up. Even those who have become a success often give in to self-induced doubts fearing that they’re not good enough to be “up there.” 

 If you can hold on until you get past those dark days, there is usually a light, a glimmer of hope at the end.

What a shame to give up just weeks, days, hours, minutes before the light dawns and you see your way clear to turn your dreams into reality. Plant your feet on a solid foundation, dear friend, and hold on for dear life!

(Joseph Campbell's quote inspired this painting) "Release -- My Trail of Tears" 30x24 mixed media