Every Person Is Creative!!
Every Person is Creative
I have been teaching or as I would prefer to say inspiring people to create a painting for almost a decade. There are techniques that might help you to expand your creativity but the best tool I know is practice. Every person is creative and has the ability to create amazing paintings. I say this because I have heard from thousands of people
“I have no artistic ability, I can’t even draw a stick figure.”
Every time I hear this I find it amusing the mind set of most of us. I would compare it to the game of golf. If someone went out on a golf course for the first time and shot a terrible game would they say I’m a terrible golfer and must not be athletic at all. I can’t even hit the ball straight.
The fact is, if you golfed all the time with or without coaching you would eventually figure it out and become a pretty good golfer. Coaching might speed up the process and help to create good habits but either way you would improve dramatically. Painting is similar and with practice you will start to amaze yourself.
Here are a few things I have learned and why I am so passionate about painting and sharing it with others. First thing you can expect is to learn you have of a style. You will start to see your personality and it will begin to show up in your work. It’s kind of fun to learn this not knowing what your style will be ahead of time but you will and everyone will discover you have a style.
The second thing I want to share is what I find not only important but the true beauty of painting.
There is a special thing that will happen as you really get into your painting. It is extremely relaxing to your mind and almost gives your brain a much needed rest from the normal daily stress and thinking. I always say it gives your creative side of your brain a little massage.
The Zone
When you enter the zone your feelings and thoughts will show up on the canvas. It’s more than just a pretty picture but one can often look deeply into what you were feeling at the time. It’s hard for me to explain this but there is something special about being able to express emotions through color on a canvas.
Entering that Zone is the moment you are totally focused on what you are painting and your mind blocks everything else out completely. You enter this little concentrated time when bombs could be exploding around you and you wouldn’t even hear them. The human mind is a complex thing that never stops thinking. Yet when you are in the Zone and only your creative side is fully activated it gives the rest of your brain a break it almost never gets. I believe that is why so many find painting to be so relaxing.
See everything differently forever
As I became addicted to painting and fell in love being in the zone ,I noticed a change in how I saw everything going forward. I started to notice nature that I would have never really noticed before. Even walking by a little bush I would notice the colors, the light on darks. I would look deeply at it and sometimes saw brush strokes to the point it look like a living painting. Not to sound crazy or obsessed but painting opened up my eyes to see all the beauty around me every day. Nature became real to me and it was amazing to really see everything in a different perspective. It’s truly a beautiful world and you will start to see it better and actual enjoy it more.
Alcohol and Music
I often recommend having a drink , glass of wine or two or three while you paint. Now I know some of you frown on this as alcohol can be a big problem and has damaged many lives when out of control. I’m not a doctor and don’t want to be sued for encouraging drinking but will tell why I like it. I find myself relaxed and easily able to enter that zone. I admit I enjoy drinking while painting. I have seen those that want to jump in and make a masterpiece without ever painting before. Sometimes that creates stress which is the opposite of what the experience should be. They are so afraid to fail and misses the joy it’s intended to bring. A drink or two sometimes can make all the difference.
Failure
Failure can not happen when creating art. What Bob Ross would call happy accidents is truly and understatement. When you realize you can not fail and eliminate fear you will boost your creative juices. Even if your not happy with your final result always remember you just gained more experience and practice. At the end of the day it’s just paint! You can always paint over it another day. I would wait it out though, many paintings that you may not be happy with could be considered real priceless by others. Not everything should look like a photograph. Use of colors and shapes right or wrong can be amazing to look at. Did you ever look at Vicente Van Gough's work? They are not always the most realistic but you can feel his emotions in his painting.
Paintings Last forever
One of the amazing things about your painting is it is not mortal. It will be around long after you are. Your emotions and creativity could be in your family forever, long after you are gone. It’s like a musician that records a song that will last forever. To hear a voice from someone who is gone is a little miracle in my mind. It fascinates me to know I can listen to Elvis and hear his passion as he sings. It last forever just like your art. Imagine several generations later your grandchildren’s grandchildren looking deep inside what you created on canvas. They can feel what you might have been feeling at the time you painted it. I wish I had a painting to study today from my great great great grandfather. I don’t know if he painted or not but it would be kind of cool if he did and I could study it.
The more you paint the more you will want to!
As you paint and gain experience you will find yourselves craving to try new ideas and techniques. You will start to see more things around you and start thinking of things you could paint. The relaxing feeling you get will become a craving for more. The more you paint the more you will want to. I wake up every day and think what can I paint today and on a good day I do.
“see it the way it is
see it better than it is
paint it that way”
“WARD”