As I sit down to write this little post on finding your creative process, I realize how I have been slightly dreading to write this post. Not because it’s bad or that it’s a difficult process, but because I so often have trouble finding my own process myself. Some days it is so easy. It’s like I was born to paint. Then on some days it gets really hard, I get distracted, I end up doing other things rather than what I should be doing. Create.

Most artists in this day wear many hats. I am one of them. A husband, a pastor, a blogger and Channel Editor for b5media, and also an artist. The other things in my life can easily overwhelm actually staring at a blank canvas and filling it with color. For me I think I love writing as much as I love art and the two are fairly interchangeable. I can just as easily sit down to write a post like this as draw a landscape. I am happy doing both.

So what works for me may not work for you, but the elements can be tweaked to work (hopefully).

 

Personally, I like wide open places. In this I tend to enjoy minimalism though I rarely practice it myself. Go figure. Coffee shops are usually my writing spaces because they take care of getting me water and food when I need it. I can focus without having to worry about anything. That’s for my writing. For my art, well, I pretty much have to clean the living room and clear a large spot on the floor to work. We have a small apartment and that’s part of it. I look forward to buying a house once we are debt free and having a studio where I can work without the distractions. I could close the door and keep out the cats. What a day that will be!

Another element for me tends to be noise and music (and other things) around me. Headphones are a distraction because of the cord. I used to go down to the local library to work because it had wi-fi and big open places, but it was quite like a tomb. I also got funny looks when people could hear my headphones from across the library while I am jamming and pounding out words on my laptop, stopping to draw in a sketchbook every now and then. Coffee shops worked better but I always feel obligated to buy something and leave a decent tip. My guilty conscience gets me for the days I didn’t buy anything… Relating back to art, well, even the coffee shops don’t like me bringing more than a sketchbook. I haven’t tried to bring in a huge canvas and try to get away with doing some kind of abstract expressionist piece on their floor yet. Smack me if I try.

More than anything I am a doodler when I write and when I draw. I should probably start adding these to my posts. I usually use blank index cards for this, just to jot down ideas and thoughts, little drawings and ideas.

 

 

…that says “Inner Space” if you are having trouble reading my writing. This is probably where the organizer in me comes out the most. I have to make place for me to be creative, even on an internal level. Otherwise, I start thinking about what needs to be done or what else I need to be doing rather than sitting down to draw something. This really is more a part of your environment than I usually give credit to being. Music is a good way for me to drown out a lot of these thoughts and feelings giving me a place to work. It is in so many words “making your mind a blank canvas before you ever actually sit down at your blank canvas” Getting enough exercise and a healthy diet also helps.

 

 

There is a big misconception that creating something such as art requires no real knowledge at all, but rather just a drive to “do something”. This is just not true. While I have no formal art training myself, I’ve studied art on my own for years. M.C. Escher a great mathematician, also an artist incorporated many mathematical principals into his art. He used what he knew to achieve incredible results. Art in its most basic form delves into who we really are. It explores without boundaries our hearts and minds and captures it in a most tangible way. So, use what you know. If you are into music, use the elements of rhythm and harmony in your artwork. There are harmonious colors as well as those that simply are not. Both can be used to show emotion and movement among other things. In short, what are you passionate about? An artist who only lives their art is not an artist, he is a scribbler who has no life. So enjoy life and let your art capture who you are because of it, or in spite of it (depending on your mood).

 

 

Imagination is just one of those things that some people have more of than others. I wouldn’t classify myself as especially imaginative, but I wouldn’t classify anyone as completely devoid of it either. For me, reading fiction and allegory is a way to jump start my imagination prior to doing any kind of art. Also looking at other artists work and seeing what they have done is probably a good way too. Getting out into nature also helps me. I am a firm believer in God and believe that He is the author of all creation. This for me is an amazing source of inspiration for my art too. I think this is why I like landscape paintings so much and nature photography.

 

 

Well, if you’ve made it this far into the post, then you probably have the attitude needed for finding your creative process. There is a lot to be said for persistence. I don’t know how many times I’ve stared at a blank piece of paper thinking “what am I going to draw” and finally something comes to mind, and I draw it only to be completely frustrated with it. The round file has swallowed up a ton of these. For some reason I have better luck with canvases. Probably because they don’t fit in the trash can so easily. With good photographers, they always have a camera with them. Likewise with writers and artists. Have a sketchbook or a pad of paper with you all the time. When you feel the creative juices flowing, draw, paint, write…. It take a lot of carrying your sketchbook around. This in itself may serve as motivation. Draw people in restaurants. Sketch out directions for people. It all helps. If anything just sit and look at a blank page thinking of the beauty that you desire to see there and then work toward that goal.