Everything Art, for Everyone

Many people think that they can’t become an artist because they feel that they are not naturally talented. Ask anyone, and they will tell you exactly what they think of themselves in terms of drawing or painting and general creativity. And I find their answers more often than not are a reflection of what someone has told them about themselves or their abilities in the past—which is kind of heartbreaking. Anyone who wants to explore their creative side should feel no inhibitions about doing so. You want to do it, so something inside is compelling you to create! And you need to put that old baggage down before you can create. Here are seven tips to help you start your creative journey.

TIP ONE—Take a sheet of paper and write down all the things others have said to you about your creative abilities, both good and bad. Think about how those statements made you feel, and write all that down, too. Underneath each entry, write down all the things about yourself that you know to be true that counter anything negative, and those that support anything positive. For example, maybe a teacher told you when you were very young that you were a good artist. How did that make you feel? Did you believe them? If so, what made you believe them? If not, why did you doubt that statement? Are you living in the past and have beliefs that you need to release? Contemplate these things, and know that you can change your thoughts. Know that you can be an artist, because only you can express those internal gifts and help them to blossom and flow. You are you and no one else has your special set of gifts and experiences. You have value and you have something to say! The next tips will help you to find your unique creative voice.

TIP TWO—Create an inspiration board. You can do this by either the old-school method or create a board on Pinterest. (I have an extensive Art Inspiration board over on Pinterest if you’d like to check it out to see what kinds of things I pin there.) If you don’t use Pinterest, just grab a poster board, or large piece of Bristol paper, and make an inspiration board the old school way. You can use anything as inspiration—a color, a painting, a picture of a forest, words cut out of old magazines—just go with the flow and go off your initial gut response. Does it speak to you? Does it inspire you to want to grab some paint and get to work? Then you’re on the right path!

TIP THREE—Once you’ve done these two exercises (and take your time—it’s not a race, and you’re not being graded—this is strictly for YOU), now it’s time to start playing with some art supplies. You don’t need to spend a lot of money. Bristol paper is very versatile, and can be used with pencil, pens, crayons, gouache, and acrylic. If money is an issue, scrounge around and find whatever works—even a cut up cereal box can become a surface to play on. Grab whatever surface you have and start drawing or painting. Cheap paints work just fine when you’re starting out—check your local art supply store for their student level paints, or hit your local craft store or dollar store. We’re playing now, so we want to feel free to “waste” materials without feeling bad about it. Don’t be judgmental. This is supposed to be fun! Just play and explore the different marks you can make with your chosen materials. Make thick lines, thin lines, straight lines and curvy ones. Solid things and hollow things. Challenge yourself to turn off the internal critic. We all have one—some are meaner than others—tell them to zip it when they start to judge. This is play. No one gets to judge play! Smear stuff around. Pretend you are a child and just play for the shear freedom and joy of playing. Put your favorite music on and let play flow. We’re trying to get you out of the logical, rigid “adult” mind. Be free to waste paper and mark things out. This is pure freedom, no perfection and no judgment. If your goal is to become a realist, then start by drawing something in your environment—an apple, a stack of books, a pet—whatever you feel you want to tackle. Again, don’t judge—we learn by doing in art. All the observation in the world can inform your practice, but it is your repeated practice, movement and control of the tools and materials that will help you to get better.

TIP FOUR—Challenge yourself to challenge your particular style. Do you like loose and free movement? Try being very controlled and see what you can learn from that. Do you have very tight control over your tools? Challenge yourself to loosen up. Tape your pencil or brush to the end of a long stick and play with that for awhile—you won’t get tight control, and that is what will make your marks loose and expressive. Do you like to paint with bright colors? Challenge yourself to work only with muted colors. What can you learn from this? Challenging our preferences can teach us the beauty of letting go.

TIP FIVE—Journaling your discoveries about yourself will help you to keep track of your growth as an artist. Every time you take the time to do art, after your session, just write a brief summary of your session and what you learned. This can help you to remember or relearn something you may forget in the future. It’s surprising the things we can forget if we stop our practice for even a short period of time. Regular sessions will help you to move forward. Try to dedicate time to do art at least a few times a week. The more you do, the faster you will progress!

TIP SIX—Learn from other artists whenever you can. Many artists offer very inexpensive (or even free) short seminars and tutorials. YouTube is a wonderful source for free art lessons. And you may find instructors there who inspire you to take their paid courses because you’ve gained a lot of knowledge from them and you enjoy their teaching style. A few I can personally recommend on YouTube: Nicholas Wilton and his Art2Life program, Michael Orwick, Pamela Caughey Art & Success, Jesse Reno, Stan Prokopenko and his Proko channel, and Struthless, just to name a few that I’ve watched and liked. Whatever style or method you choose to pursue, there’s a YouTube channel for that! Find someone you can relate to that speaks your language.

TIP SEVEN—Learning a new skill can be difficult and frustrating. Don’t let your mindset talk you into quitting. Changing your mindset isn’t much different than learning any other skill—it takes persistence. Fill your time with positive input. A few YouTube channels I follow because of their infinite positivity: Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu, Struthless (I love him particularly because he’s been through some things and is very relatable), and Nathaniel Drew (an amazing guy who tries to challenge the ways in which we live today to create a life of meaning). Go find your cheerleaders and let them help you to find your way to a more positive mindset!