Online Learning - Craftsy.com

Melissa at Craftsy.com recently introduced me to their website which has instructional classes for just about any art or craft. Have you wanted to branch out from painting and learn to crochet in the evenings? Maybe you'd like to learn more about container gardening. Or maybe you feel you need some more instruction in color mixing. This site has much to offer!

She has been kind enough to create a landing page for followers here to sign up to win a free online class! Deadline to enter is Sept. 30 and Melissa will randomly choose a winner from people who sign up through this link!

ENTER HERE

Wicki's Top Ten Ways to Put the Fun Back in Painting

Really great ideas to start the new year off from the wonderful Vicki Ross at MyArtTutor.com

10. Select a few books from your art library and then stack by your favorite relaxing chair. When TV drones through endless advertisements, pick one book to absorb. Try to read it all the way through and understand what the author is telling you...remember why you bought it in the first place. Use little post-it notes on pages you want to review later...or to actually PRACTICE :)

9. Avoid social media for a day...the world won't spin off its axis. Unless you are using your computer as photo reference for a painting, don't allow it in your studio area. Even turn off email. 'Oh, no, say it ain't so, Wicki'!

8. Try a new medium...even if you are 'known for your oils', nothing says you can't try soft pastel or watercolor. OR encaustics, acrylics, charcoal. You don't have to show anyone, and you will learn new skills that will help freshen your chosen medium. Mastering two mediums is very common for artists.

7. If you paint tight, paint ten small (8x10) with the largest brush you own. If you paint loose, paint ten pictures detailed. If you paint fast, execute a few paintings slowly and enjoy the process. Too slow? Set a timer for 30 minutes and do ten 8x10's, ten 11x14's, ten 16x20's (Lyn Diefenbach's suggestion). You'll learn how to capture the essence of your subject and your work will have a painterly quality.

6. Buy something totally out of the ordinary for YOU, the artist. A new pochade box, a few new tubes of pigment or brushes, or some new equipment...easel, roll of canvas, or an out-of-print coffee table art book!

5. Browse your art books for artwork you love. Copy it as closely as you can...pretend you are Anders Zorn or John Singer Sargent, duplicate the color, the brush strokes, the composition. Be sure to sign it 'after Zorn' so there will be no confusion in the future ... :)

4. Put together a mini-painting kit for 5x7, 3x4-ish. Make or buy a pochade box (my new fav is the 5x7 Pocket Box by Guerrilla Painter), with a lid that works as a support. A small jar can rest in the bottom of the box for turps or medium or water. Go all the way and get some short handled brushes that will live in your box. A small palette can rest on top of your mini-supplies (pigments, board, etc.). NOW, sit in your favorite chair and PAINT...PLAY. I have a small 7x8 Masterson Sta-Wet palette, cut a lightweight piece of acrylic for the bottom for easy cleanup...it had been in the freezer for months and the pigment was still usable! It fit perfectly in my box...in my chair!

3. Canvas by the Roll (or Wallis for pastel or watercolor paper roll) is an excellent investment. You can pre-cut your favorite sizes (leaving 3" border for stretching/framing). Now tape the canvas to a support board. If it turns out to be a 'keeper', you can stretch or mount on a panel. Gives you permission to 'play' because you are not using up expensive supports!

2. Electronic devices (smartphones, tablets) have drawing apps for a few dollars (or free)! Learn to fingerpaint again...if you don't like it, just erase it. If you do like it, forward it to your computer. Work out compositions, make quick sketches. Digital art is still ART!

AND THE NUMBER ONE WAY TO PUT THE FUN BACK IN PAINTING...

1. Treat yourself to one of MyArtTutor's workshops...select a new medium, style, or tutor. (Computer allowed in studio for this purpose :) Study in Scotland, France, Australia, or the US. Meet other students and participate...everyone is learning new techniques for the first time, so the playing field is even! Start NOW, and complete at your leisure...your class is always available on your schedule. (You can be anonymous if you are afraid your collectors will find out!)

15 Scientific Facts About Creativity

-- from Robin

A fan sent me this interesting article from the Online Universities blog.

Fact no. 1 - Stress Kills Creativity - is so very true for me. And I let the artwork itself become a stressor. That is the one thing I resolve this year to change. I can't let outside forces influence why or when I paint. And I can't let studio time become a chore.
The information is very sciencey... but its intriguing. Honest. ;-)

***

Although creativity keeps human society flourishing, science honestly offers few answers to how the intricate, infinitely complex concept actually works. No matter how much research pours into measuring and grasping the essential phenomenon, it seems as if more questions pop up than receive tangible answers. Theories and findings sometimes conflict with one another as well, meaning every "fact" presented here might very well end up discarded in due time. But that’s par for the course when exploring what seems almost entirely inexplicable.

1. Stress kills creativity
   Just like it kills mental health, the heart, and pretty much everything else. Stress negatively impacts creative expression, particularly when it involves rigid timeframes and criteria. According to psychologist Dr. Robert Epstein, no gene or any other factor predisposes some individuals toward creativity and others not (this perspective is, obviously, disputed). External factors such as stress play a much heavier role in determining innovation than anything intrinsic.
   
2. Those considered geniuses describe their creative processes as trancelike
   Dr. Nancy Andreasen, who wrote The Creating Brain: The Neuroscience of Genius, may not be able to scientifically explain how creativity and genius emerge, but she does know how they inspire and impact the great thinkers. All people experience moments of "ordinary creativity," which permeates daily tasks. But the artist, composers, scientists, writers, and others qualifying as geniuses typically talk of oneiric "flashes" setting off their most notable, iconic works.
   
3. A connection between dopamine production and creativity might exist
   Because dopamine increases along with positive reinforcement and other rewards, some neurobiologists (like Dr. David Sweatt) believe it easily correlates with creativity, too. Either receiving money or the simple satisfaction of a job well done might stimulate levels of innovation, and dopamine in kind. Such a link still exists as a theory, albeit one that does go a long way in explaining the sometimes inexplicable.
   
4. Perception is the first step to nurturing the creative spark
   All creative pursuits start when the thinker perceives an external stimulus and processes it in his and/or her mind. More complex than merely seeing, the "engines of our ingenuity" hook up imagery with imagination. Personal differences in this inevitable linkage lead to creative output and adroitly explain why some people end up with the particular results they do and keep society pushing forward.
   
5. Creativity might correlate with brain chemistry and structure
   Theories regarding creativity’s true origins abound, and some think one’s aptitude may be determined by his or her brain chemistry and structure. University of New Mexico’s Rex Jung believes that if you have less of certain neurological phenomena, you’re better off when it comes to creative pursuits. Specific chemicals froth about in smaller dosages, while white matter sits weaker and the frontal lobe’s cortical regions are thinner. Interestingly enough, brains testing higher on intelligence tests feature the exact opposite composition. Generally speaking, of course.
   

6. Creative thinkers have slower nerves
   During creative moments, the left frontal cortex experiences comparatively more sluggish activity, which also correlates with the aforementioned decreased white matter and connecting axons. Unlike intelligence, creativity tends to thrive when thinking slows down, although "flashes" of inspiration and insight occur with the speed of flashes. Emotions and some cognitive processes happen in this particular region as well, which scientists such as Dr. Jung believe encourage abstract and novelty thought processes.
   
7. "Psychological distance" facilitates creativity
   When hitting a creative snag, the best thing thinkers can do for themselves is step away and try to look at everything from a completely different point of view. Studies have shown that the most consistently creative individuals display a willingness to approach their challenges from a wide variety of angles beyond their initial inklings. Putting some space between original perspectives and newer ones encourages abstract thinking, a crucial component in the inventive process.
   
8. Early research into creativity divided it up into three separate subsections
   Mel Rhodes’ inquiries into the creative mind — which required him to research around 50 takes on the subject — eventually led him to break everything down into the person, process, and environment components. The person element, as you can probably guess, involves one’s unique set of characteristics needed to think and perceive things in an innovative, abstract fashion. Actually understanding and formulating ideas and results is known as process, and environment means the internal and external milieu in which the creative individual works.
   
9. Aerobic exercise increases one’s creative potential
   When brain fog starts rolling in, try a moderate amount of aerobic exercise to try and clear it up. Rhode Island College scientists noted that the two hours after engaging in such rigorous physical activity proved some of the most mentally fertile in a 2005 study. They used the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking to measure how well the participating thinkers performed with and without exercise.
   
10. Creativity might plummet if it becomes a means to a rewarding end
    Although from 1987, this study’s findings showcase just how largely unknowable creativity’s true face is these days, as it conflicts with some more contemporary theories despite making just as much sense. Tests conducted on Brandeis University creative writing students noted a dive in their motivation and thoughts regarding their work when receiving rewards for their efforts. They approached poetry with a lessened sense of intrinsic interest, a finding which ended up applying to situations beyond the creative.
    

11. Improvisation stimulates the brain’s language centers
    fMRIs and improvised jazz form the crux of surgeon Charles Limb’s pioneering maps of the creative process. His TEDxMidAtlantic lecture discussed his fascinating findings regarding the physiology behind musical improvisation, specifically, how it makes the Broca’s Area light up like the Fourth of July. Brain scientists think this part is responsible for language development and cognition, implying that one of the body’s most essential organs might recognize music (and maybe even other expressive pursuits) as akin to speech.
    
12. Bilingualism and multilingualism might improve one’s creative skills
    Researchers "may not have had [their] EUREKA moment" when it comes to proving a link between bi- and multilingualism, but compelling evidence certainly exists. Individuals capable of speaking more than one language generally display more competent multitasking skills and improved cognition, both usually labeled key ingredients to creative thinking. Most telling, however, is that they seem better able to analyze situations and stimuli from multiple angles, which nearly everyone attempting to define creativity considers essential.
    
13. Creative people are more likely to be dishonest
    That doesn’t mean all creative folks ought not be trusted, nor that their opposites are always the most honest sorts, of course. But individuals capable of more novel and abstract thoughts — and possessing more flexible moral fibers — "enjoy" a higher risk of less-than-trustworthy behaviors. Multiple studies show that the ability to concoct more solid, viable stories and view scenarios and stimuli from many angles dull the chances of getting caught.
    
14. High IQ and creativity might correlate with one another
    Harvard, like many other institutions of higher learning, hopes to try and unlock creativity’s beautiful and bizarre secrets. Dr. Shelley Carson, notable for developing a new standard to measure the mysterious phenomenon, wants to try and find a definitive relationship between intelligence and creative thinking. Some of her earlier studies note that both increase together at the 120, 130, and 150 IQ levels, but more research is needed to prove any sort of solid correlation.
    
15. So yeah. Creativity and mental illness might very well coincide
    Painting all creative types as insane — particularly the influential and genius — always has been and probably always will be a rather tired cliché, albeit a cliché that might actually hold some cachet. Their brains have been proven to open up more to external sources and possess greater memory capacity than others, but such a perk does come burdened with some unfortunate side effects. Overstimulation might very well result, which can pique (or worsen) anxiety and depressive disorders.

Shea Hembrey: How I became 100 artists

If you are out of ideas - try this!

* * * *

How do you stage an international art show with work from 100 different artists? If you're Shea Hembrey, you invent all of the artists and artwork yourself -- from large-scale outdoor installations to tiny paintings drawn with a single-haired brush. Watch this funny, mind-bending talk to see the explosion of creativity and diversity of skills a single artist is capable of.

Do you admire another artist - to distraction?

from Robin Cheers

There is so much eye candy out there that you could easily spend hours poring over other artist's work every day. From magazines and books to online galleries, websites and blogs, the access to art is amazing. And overwhelming.

This can be too much of a good thing. Its quite natural for artists to admire and want to learn from others, but if you spend too much time allowing all those images clutter your mind, you will not be able to express your own vision. I think its great to look to others to see how a problem was solved, or to inspire a unique approach in your own work, but only as a springboard. Sometimes copying a master's work is a great lesson in color mixing and design. And if you are very careful, you might distinguish how the paint was applied, which layers were first, how the paint varies from transparent to opaque. But trying to paint like someone else in all your paintings will only lead to disappointment. You will inevitably see your work as a failure, because you aren't giving voice to your own creativity.

Learning to express ourselves is a bit like a treasure hunt. Through honest expression and the belief that we have something important to share in our work, we create work that not only pleases us, but inspires others.

Working Through It

Reader Leslie recently sent the following - Thanks Leslie!

When I was first learning to paint, my biggest block was finding something inspiring that wasn't too overwhelming a challenge to face. Boy! That was a small universe to choose from! One day I scoured the net for the secret key to finding the perfect inspiring subject... knowing it was out there somewhere, because so many other artists were finding endless inspiration. When I hit on this, the search ended. The truth of what this person says just resonated and stuck in my bones.

Unfortunately, it was an anonymous post in response to an anonymous question on some message board I could never find again, so I don't know to whom it could be attributed. But truth is truth, and I can't help but believe the original poster wouldn't mind it being passed along. -- Leslie

***

How do you find your artistic inspiration?
anonymous

What a wonderful question. I know this is true because I drift in and out of disillusionment and inspiration on nearly a daily basis. I think after all these years I have discovered what works for me. And apparently from reading about the struggles of people with similar difficulties, what works for others as well.

Ready?

Wait for it….

It’s the WORK! Yes that’s right, it’s the work. It is not some muse which guides me here and there within my artistic self and then abandons me. It is the understanding that if I do the work within my own heart and soul, and head, and actually produce a product based upon that effort, then whatever I am artistically is seen by me and others. Thereby my art is produced. And often when I am so blocked by all those named and unnamed things which I consider to be in my way (and they number in the thousands) which can stop me writing, or photographing or painting, or doing whatever it is I can do artistically at that moment, I know that if I just DO IT – write word upon word (nonsensically if necessary), or photograph a bug, or sketch a subject, or whatever, anything, my ability will all of a sudden reemerge. I know HOW to take pictures. I KNOW how to write. When I feel blocked and unable to create I have a thousand excuses why I cannot create. I can set a thousand barriers in front of me to disallow progress. And I have gone years using those impediments as excuse.

But the truth is that no one cares if I write or take pictures or draw or paint. I mean they say they do, but in the scheme of things, in comparison to world hunger, war, illness, poverty my artistic output is of little import. It is only in the RESULT of whatever art I can actually produce that people can find something to feel about my work. I can talk about my art. I can boast about it and promise it and lament its incompleteness. But only if I actually produce something can it be called art. And even then it may be bad art and I may find eventually, and sooner rather than later, that I suck as an artist. But if I don’t produce something, anything, if I only remain one of those who TALKS art, well then I am just another sap who let the barriers and blockage get in the way of that which I must do to be an artist. Actually make art.

So with all that said, my suggestion to you is just do the work. Put word to paper, pen to ink, brush to canvas. Eventually the blocks will fall and the breaks will unsieze. If you are really an artist, your art will get you going again.

***

Wow - powerful stuff indeed. A good dose of plain speaking too. And I have to agree - in my own experiences I fight it, blame outside events, claim my muse is MIA, but when I just get the brush wet and start pushing the paint around, I find that I can paint still. And the more I work, the more easily it comes. Like a river being undammed. -- Robin

Online Gesture Drawing Sessions

Reader Matthew shared a blog post he wrote about a great concept for in-studio gesture drawing sessions. Work from the comfort of your monitor if you can't get out to do this from life, or if you need to bust through some blocks!

Here is his post copied from his blog:

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Gesture Session
I recently discovered a site with a figure drawing script. You can choose from a short list of subjects and set a timer on how long the 'pose' lasts. Other nice features are keeping all the photos in grayscale and scaling the image to fill the entire browser window. It's not the same as doing these types of exercises from a live model, but when it comes to subjects like big cats and horses, this may be more convenient.

Discretion is advised on the site with this notice: Every single picture in every category is potentially NSFW due to costumed and uncostumed models. The horses and big cats are uncostumed which is my guess as to how every picture in every category is potentially NSFW

Here's the link: http://lovecastle.org/draw/

I am definitely going to make use of this - I just wish I knew what NSFW means. :-)

-- Robin

Rose Frantzen video on her creative process

From Kate Merriman

I am a devoted reader of the "Making a Mark" blog by Katherine Tyrrell, who is not only a talented artist but a wise and eclectic writer on the world of artists.

So it is through her that I discovered this very inspirational video of painter Rose Frantzen who describes her creative process and most recent project.  It is absolutely worth the 57 minutes if you are an artist.

http://makingamark.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-do-you-share-what-you-do-as-painter.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MakingAMark+%28Making+a+Mark%29

It made me ask myself all kinds of good questions.  Also reminded me that life is short and that I want to spend more hours of each day (week, month) creating art than watching television or strolling around a mall.
Enjoy!

The blessing of constraints

by Kate Merriman

So, you can hear me spouting off to friends about how God/ the universe /higher power always knows better than we do ourselves about what's best for us. But I don't always act as if that's true. So when this theory seems to come blazing to life, I am surprised and happy. And sort of embarrassed for myself.

If you'd have asked me, in order to create a group of 8 to 10 paintings that I really love all on the same theme, I'd need a nice month-long Artist-in-Residence program with meals a la Tassajara and foot massages each evening. If you'd have asked me to create a nice logical project plan for "Kate puts on her first solo show", it would have have a Gantt chart with a fat red critical path line extending to sometime in June 2011.

But, instead, just 15 days before I was to move house from Bolinas to San Anselmo, a very trusting and generous new artist friend invited me to be the solo artist at a popular coffee house for the month of February. Which was also in just 15 days. I looked around my little Bolinas house. Hmm, no paintings. All sold or given away. But I had to say yes, so suddenly the universe conspired with me to meet the limitation and soon I was creating new works that I'm totally stoked about. (See link via image above.)

A former painting teacher gave me some great encouragement that might also help you sometime:

"Working fast is an honest and integral part of your process," he said.

Wow! Permisssion to just go ahead and be me. No reason to put my work down just because it happens quickly. Revelation!

And just arbitrarily, I set the constraint of a theme of "wet dogs at the beach" which, strangely, further fueled the creative fires rather than the opposite.

With just a week left before I hang the show, I'm nearly ready.  Ha!  Life certainly is full of surprises.  Good ones.

I'm very encouraged to set more challenges and limits and see what comes of that.

"Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." -- Mary Oliver

What have your experiences been with creation and constraints?

Perfectionism versus Impatience

From Kate Merriman

I subscribe to the email newsletter of a very talented sculptor named Steve Worthington.  On his blog, he recently shared some great insight about his creative process, particularly about the wrestling match between impatience and perfectionism.  I thought you'd enjoy it!

http://steveworthingtonart.blogspot.com/2010/11/impatience-vs-perfectionism.html

Back to my pet portrait commissions now!  Cheerio!

Where Good Ideas Come From

Pretty cool promotion for a new book by Steven Johnson -



Enjoy your weekend and may your ideas flow and connect.