Every Journey Begins With A Single Step
Happy January and Happy New Year!
Most of last year was a wash in the creative department due to the move and I’m more than anxious to push the re-start button in my bright. new studio space! I'm anticipating a year filled with many home remodeling projects so I'm trying to think realistically about my art practice in 2024. The word BALANCE comes to mind!
Goal planning? I'm not so good at that. I do try to scribble out my thoughts occasionally, especially at the beginning of the year - at least enough to come up with a loose plan. Admittedly I’m all over the map. Fickle? Non-committal? Unfocused? Call it what you will, I'm at an age where I'm not only owning it but embracing it.
After such a long absence getting the creative mojo back is a bit daunting. Where to begin? I see many paths ahead of me with a world of possible outcomes. So many beautiful choices! It’s easy to become overwhelmed and end up doing nothing. I’m reminding myself that a single step is truly the beginning of every journey.
Perhaps you're struggling with pushing the restart button yourself or maybe you're looking for ideas on how to begin your own art practice, I've broken it down to a few basic steps below. Follow along if you wish and at the end of 2024 we can revisit our year together and see how we did!
DISCLAIMER: I’m no expert on any of this. I think it’s important stuff for me to do myself so I simply want to share. These are just little tidbits I’ve picked up along my personal creative journey. I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Please feel free to comment below.
• WISHES, DREAMS & DESIRES - What’s talking to you?
Notice the “G” word is missing. As I said, I don’t set those. I can’t stick to them and the mere mention of the word sets me up for failure. Let’s instead give some serious attention to those nagging thoughts about what you’d like to accomplish in the coming year. Are you with me? Those desires, wishes, dreams - whatever you want to call them. Those things. They are floating around in your brain for a reason. Pay attention. They may change as we move through the year, by the way, so give yourself permission for that. Make a list - not too big - not to lofty. A short list. There’s only so many days in the year, only so many hours in a day. Remind yourself you can’t do it all. But give some serious thought to those things that are really tugging at your heartstrings.
• ZERO IN
Once. you’ve spent some time with that list try to narrow down to the basic thing(s) that are most important to you. Is there a direction you would like to focus on? Can you identify your purpose for creating your art? Can you think of ways that will help you get there? For instance I am working towards creating a body of work that fits somewhere between realism and abstract and I enjoy exploring my subject matter in a variety of different mediums. So I’m looking to focus on exercises that will further lead me in that direction. Side note here: Don’t let anyone tell you that you should only work one way or that you have to have a “recognizable look”. I got hung up on this for many years until I decided to embrace the fact that it’s okay to be a little fickle in this department. I have many ways I like to work and several mediums I enjoy working in. Deal with it art galleries and critics! Believe me, your hand and your style will emerge no matter what process, substrate or painting implement you use. It will still be uniquely you. With that in mind, I’ve made a list of the processes and materials I most enjoy working with so that on any given day, whatever mood I’m in I can choose something off that list and devote whatever available time I have to actually doing it. This will automatically answer the “What do I want to do today?” question.
• RESEARCH
Create a list of artists you admire. My list of artists consists of both old masters and contemporaries that I admire. We know what we like so seeing an end result that you relate to is a huge help when trying to figure out what you want to paint and how you want to paint it. You can handwrite your list, take screenshots, or something that works for me is using my Trello program. (another post for another time) I continuously learn from those I admire by studying color palettes, brush strokes and processes. Between books and the web we have it all at our fingertips. Nothing is original so lose that idea and steal from the best! I learned one way to paint in art school many years ago - fashion and department store illustration for newspaper ads. In black and white. Yes, that was once a paying position. The education served me well until the world changed and that job ended. The rest of my successful art career can be attributed to self study and practice, I had to change with the times, learn new things, continuously re-invent myself in order to stay in the game. I’m still at it and will be until I take my last breath.
• DO IT!
Nike is right. Just Do it! It’s not going to happen sitting and scrolling with your morning coffee - do that too but not for too long! Looking at art, reading or watching videos of other people doing it is not going to get you too far. Use those things to ignite your fire but let’s be honest, getting off our butts and simply DOING IT is the only way we’re going to improve our art or help us to learn a process we might enjoy doing. As I suggested above, make that list. Then…
• COMMIT!
We’ve all heard it over and over again but it’s a proven fact that creating a habit is what leads to success. Sure you have a busy life - a job, active family, kids - everyone is busy. But try to commit to just a short period of time every day. Even 15 minutes of scribble will lead to something more. It will add up! I have tried using online prompts from other artists. Those don’t work for me. I’ve got to list my own prompts to keep excited about my own interests. But they may be just what you need. Try it. Try anything!
TIP: Even if you have just a small space where you work be sure to set yourself up with the tools you like to use that can stay out and are available for easy use when that window of time presents itself. If you have to drag things out every time you want to create you simply won’t do it so be sure you’re ready when the spirit strikes!
• FIND YOUR BEST TIME
What is the time of day you feel most creative? My creative start-up is definitely morning. I’m good anytime before lunch. If I’m deep into a painting or a process after lunch I can keep going well into the dinner hour. I will even continue to mix colors and paint in my sleep! But don’t ask me to start something new in the afternoon. I’m already thinking about wine, dinner and relaxation by the time 3:00 rolls around. If it’s too soon to quit in the studio but my creativity is spent - maybe I don’t want to risk overworking something or I’m tired - that little snippet of time is perfect for prep work. It’s a good time to apply gesso to surfaces for future paintings, clean my palette, organize paints - anything that helps prepare me for an easy start the next morning. Think ahead and use that leftover studio time productively so you don’t have to do that kind of stuff during the height of your creative time.
• EXERCISE
Ha! I’m one to talk about this subject. There was a time when I simply could not function without my morning walk. Boy do I need to get back into that routine! I know it’s important and I’ve fallen out of the habit. I love listening to art podcasts and picking up bits of nature along the way or taking photos for future paintings. You could also listen to music or a book - do whatever it takes to help you put one foot in front of the other every day. And drink lots of water. Setting a timer on my watch or phone to remind me every hour works for me. We need to get up regularly and sashay to the kitchen to down at least an 8 oz. glass of water continuously throughout the day.
• TAKE AN ARTIST DAY FOR YOURSELF
We can’t work in a vacuum so it’s important to take yourself out of the studio now and then. Grab an artist friend. Go to a museum or a garden. Take a workshop. If you love to plein air sketch, go for it. Find a way to refresh and rejeuvinate. These gifts to yourself are so important for your artist’s soul.
• SKETCH!!
This is a personal struggle of mine. I love jumping right in on a large painting. After all, the beginning is the most fun. That time when it’s exciting - when you don’t yet care -that time before the real work starts! For me there is so much joy in picking up a favorite mark-making tool and attacking a pristine canvas. Sometimes this works. It can go on to become something I love but more times than not, it will go unfinished. I become anxious for that beginning adrenalin rush, quit what I’m working on and jump right over to a new canvas, I know I’m not sticking with it long enough to see it to fruition. Can you relate? Going straight for the finish line in this way makes your painting immediately precious! It’s now something you have to finish - even if you don’t like it! It needs to be resolved. I personally have a garage full of those. AGGHHHH! Here’s where all the demons show up to tell you that you suck and you might as well quit. I’ll tell you what, this is such a self-destructive way to work. I know it and yet I continue to repeat this bad behavior. This year, I am committing to more experimenting by doing more sketching, playing, trying new materials and exploring new ways to work. In books, on scraps…whatever. I’m going to take the precious right out of it! Just fool around and turn the page. Let it go and move on!! There’s my morning habit!
Are you in? Let’s do it! I’m planning to share that stuff - good or bad- right HERE if you care to follow along. I am also hoping to add content to my YouTube page so I hope you stay tuned. It’s a new exciting year!!
There you have it. My thoughts about making good things happen in the studio. I hope in some small way I have inspired you to take some time for your creative self. Settle in and make your own wishes, dreams and desires happen for you in the coming year.
Thanks for following my creative journey.
Please feel free to contribute, suggest and share. I welcome your positive comments.
