10" x 10" Traumatic Form I have read that you do not “DO Creativity”, you “Live Creativity.” So, what does that mean for us as artists? Well, it means that if we live creativity, then it is always all available all around us. Many times, I hear artist tell me they go to their art studios or their creative space to work and that inspiration is dead. They do not feel creative!!! I have looked at the way I personally as an artist approach Inspiration and Creativity and if I waited for it to “be there” when I sat in front of my canvas, or in front of my camera, I would feel a bit lonely!!!! It is almost like we are scheduling time in our art studios, or on our schedule to be creative, or “wait” for it to happen, right!!! So, what if we just looked at creativity differently, capture it when those nuggets that inspire us happen!! I now look at how I capture inspiration like this, and I find more windows of information that are actually creative thoughts, creative breakthroughs, creative starts, than I ever thought was possible. Have you heard that phrase, “I am a Creative?” Or one that is more often heard, “I am an Entrepreneur.” We are not a creative or an entrepreneur just during those schedule times in your studio, we are one ALL the time, right??!! We just need to learn to know how to capture those inspiring moments because they WILL happen. I have found that I can capture my creative inspiration if I set myself up for success by having a system to “inspiration dump” my thoughts into what I call my “Artist Toolbox” for those moments I am in my studio. I am not just relying on my current status to inspire me; I am ALWAYS in a state of looking and more importantly documenting what inspires me to be creative into my toolbox. Here are a couple ways I capture my inspiration for my “Artist Toolbox.” 1. Carry a notebook around me all the time. I have several notebooks I have created. I actually share a video on how I organized myself as an artist on my You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pa1QALCCyU&t=107s
I have them and carry them with me all the time.I have one in my car, my sachet, by my bedside, upstairs and downstairs so when random thoughts pop into my head when I am looking outside at nature, or taking a walk, in a hot bubble bath, or watching a good movie, I can write them down. My creative inspiration thoughts happen more often OUTSIDE of the studio than inside when I am trying to make them happen…..sorta forcing creativity!! My creative thoughts might be a fleeting thought or vision or sentence in a movie that I want to remember.I know that if I were sitting in my art studio waiting for one of these thoughts, trying to force them, well, they just do not happen there all the time.They happen during the day at the least scheduled times!!! So put notebooks around:
Where you sleep
In your purse or satchel when you wait for an appointment
With you when you are watching TV. Some of the best titles for my paintings come when I watch TV.
2. Have a “Record App” ready for long random thoughts. I have a record app on my cell phone, and I have a small tape recorder that is small enough to carry in my sachet.I am always ready to record my thoughts because there will be random times and places these happen. For me they are:
After a shower
People watching
Shopping
Watching TV
3. Mind Map your thoughts. A free Mind Map is FreeMind. Believe it or not, I capture so many ideas in a mind map when I am just having fun logging whatever thoughts pop into my mind.Here is an idea of some thoughts I had when I just used three words: Water, Flower, and Abstract.I could have kept going while my brain was working!!!
4. Pinterest and Boards. Create Boards for yourself and just start looking around Pinterest while you are watching TV, having your cup of coffee or tea. You can actually go down rabbit holes looking all over the place, but if you see something that you like or love, pin it and it WILL serve as an inspiration later down the road. If you get in the mind set then, you can capture so much information of what you love to use later!!!! If you love black and white designs, go look at my board on my Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/cherylwilsonartist/black-and-white-designs/ and see the incredible patterns I have for my inspiration!!! 5. Look through your clothes! One day I was looking for patterns for a black and white
series I was working on.While trying to come up with different shapes, I happened to notice a jacket I had recently worn!!It had incredible shapes on the fabric.So, I decided to look through my closet for black and white patterns and found a gold mine.I took pictures and saved them for reference.Black and white was in my clothes, my earrings, my purses!!! ALL OVER.
6. Go to an art gallery. If there are not any open, go to some online.I recommend the two below as they have a proven record for sales all over the world.I have sold several paintings with these galleries.While it is not ethical to copy someone else’s art, looking at art that is popular on the market or just art that you love to look at will be inspiration to pull from later on.Color combinations, or brush strokes you love are examples of things to notice.
The couple that I sell in are: Saatchi https://www.saatchiart.com/allurenceart and Singulart: https://www.singulart.com/en/artist/cheryl-wilson-15165?campaign_id=1044 I could just keep going…… But you get the idea. Inspiration is everywhere to help our creativity. But, waiting until we get in the studio to try and let it all out is so difficult. Being in the mindset to just “THINK” creative ALL THE TIME and be ready for those unconscious streams of inspiration and having a way to record them is so important. As artists, our inspiration is who we are!!! It is in us all the time. So when we do go to the art studio to paint, we are already warmed up!! I hope this helps your Art Journey. Let me know what is your favorite!!!