Sometimes I get so caught up in trying to finish paintings, or the business aspect of my art, that I can lose track of what I actually am doing in my art. What is this art all about? Where is all this headed?
I know that I am dead set on improving, and I am always looking for signs of this in my art, but forgetting to ask this larger, more salient question about overall direction can often postpone one’s creative progress.
Just because the work looks better might not necessarily mean we are headed in a direction that is truly ours. Just like travelling down a road in order to arrive at a destination, there are circuitous routes and there are direct routes. From time to time I like to take both of these.
However, what I don’t particularly enjoy is repeatedly going into cul-de-sacs. Those give you the feeling of moving, but since you actually are just going in circles you always arrive at the same place over and over again. Ultimately this leads to boredom and although your work is repeating quite nicely, it is, in the end, remaining the same. The whole concept of going somewhere, the evolution, at least for now, has quietly come to a standstill.
And sometimes this is fine of course. It isn’t always about getting somewhere. It is ok to have a resting place. But eventually the innate desire for one’s work to become more aligned with oneself begins to grow.
So how do you find your way back onto a road that is actually going somewhere you are pretty sure you want to go?
It is a challenging question. It is also one, I have come to realize, that needs to be asked frequently. The answer, at least in part, can be found, not by trying to imagine unmade work in the future but by simply turning around from time to time and looking at the arc of your art behind you.
This is just such a simple idea but it is one that I so often forget. The trail of work, the evidence of my past efforts, some good, some not so good, that is building up behind me holds significant parts of the answer to this very relevant question.
Make it a habit to review what you have been making. Look for aspects of the work that still resonate with you. In other words, what is a Yes! And more importantly, what is a No? It might be color, it might be some kind of spontaneity or mark making but whatever it is, if it still is relevant, if it still sparking for you then re-affirm this in the future work. Keep it.
Conversely, if there are aspects that no longer feel like you, be proactive and let them go. This actually is the harder action to take. It is the same kind of nagging difficulty with letting go of all those clothes that, although are perfectly fine, are no longer like you. It is hard but important to shed them.
If you can move forward with your thinking more focused upon what you actually do love, what aspects of your art making that have in the past brought you more alive and unceremoniously leave behind those that no longer do, then your art will shift. It will improve.
It might feel a bit foreign initially to be setting off in a new direction, especially in a car that most of your baggage has been removed from. However it is this partial emptiness, the spaciousness that you have created that enables the new, more relevant aspects of your future art to be ushered in.
It is exciting and entirely possible, now that you are moving again, that just up ahead or around that next bend, you just might find even more of the answer you have been looking for…
In gratitude, Nicholas
16 Comments
Hi! I’m
Nicholas Wilton
the founder of Art2Life.
With over 20 years experience as a working artist and educator, I’ve developed a systematic approach that brings authenticity, spontaneity and joy back into the creative process.
Join me and artists from all over the world in our Free Art2Life Artists Facebook Group or learn more here about Art2Life.
Your post really struck a chord with me. Thank you for always writing with such insight and wisdom.
I’ve been a professional gallery artist for 20 years with a recognizable body of work. After most of my galleries closed, I chose to view it as an opportunity to hit the Refresh Button. I’ve been reviewing my photo archives and sketchbooks to see what resonated for me now. I’m in that exact stage of discomfort where the experimental work required to move me forward, feels foreign and daunting. Thanks for helping me feel I’m at least making progress 🙂
On another note, I’ll be in your December workshop in Saulita, Mexico. Looking forward to it ! – Shirley
http://www.ShirleyWilliamsArt.com
Fantastic–I LOVE Sayulita…so will you–we have an awesome group all going this year…sounds like a perfect timing for where you are in your practice to get even more refreshed…Mexico will totally do this for you–see you soon!
Your post really struck a chord with me. Thank you for always writing with such insight and wisdom.
I’ve been a professional gallery artist for 20 years with a recognizable body of work. After most of my galleries closed, I chose to view it as an opportunity to hit the Refresh Button. I’ve been reviewing my photo archives and sketchbooks to see what resonated for me now. I’m in that exact stage of discomfort where the experimental work required to move me forward, feels foreign and daunting. Thanks for helping me feel I’m at least making progress 🙂
On another note, I’ll be in your December workshop in Saulita, Mexico. Looking forward to it ! – Shirley
http://www.ShirleyWilliamsArt.com
Fantastic–I LOVE Sayulita…so will you–we have an awesome group all going this year…sounds like a perfect timing for where you are in your practice to get even more refreshed…Mexico will totally do this for you–see you soon!
Nicholas,
Thank you for your always wonderful insight, and for another thought provoking post. This one really resonates with me, being that I am finally back to my practice, after a long hiatus due to illness. I have recently done exactly what you have written about, though I did not know it until you just explained the process.
About 2 months ago, I took time to reevaluate my past work, process and accomplishments, because I was painfully stuck in a creative block. What I found was encouraging, but did not push me to overcome my fear of, “can I still do this, am I any good?” syndrome 🙂
So I just decided to try to “paint my way out” so to speak. With the fear of failure in the back of my mind, I said to myself, “just paint a small piece…no one has to see it…you’ll be successful”. Well, to make a long story short, it took me a whole month to finish a piece that I would normally finish in 2 days at most; but I love it!
Conceptually, and formally it “spoke the same language” as the other works in the series, but was technically better somehow. Now if I can just work at a larger scale? 🙂
Hey I am curious to see it! and I bet others are too…can you post it here? And yes the answer to almost ALL stuckness is relieved by dropping back into making your Art…works for me every time–welcome back…
Thank you Nicholas, I am so glad to be back 🙂
Here is a photo of that piece it’s titled: Woman of Magdala.
Nicholas,
Thank you for your always wonderful insight, and for another thought provoking post. This one really resonates with me, being that I am finally back to my practice, after a long hiatus due to illness. I have recently done exactly what you have written about, though I did not know it until you just explained the process.
About 2 months ago, I took time to reevaluate my past work, process and accomplishments, because I was painfully stuck in a creative block. What I found was encouraging, but did not push me to overcome my fear of, “can I still do this, am I any good?” syndrome 🙂
So I just decided to try to “paint my way out” so to speak. With the fear of failure in the back of my mind, I said to myself, “just paint a small piece…no one has to see it…you’ll be successful”. Well, to make a long story short, it took me a whole month to finish a piece that I would normally finish in 2 days at most; but I love it!
Conceptually, and formally it “spoke the same language” as the other works in the series, but was technically better somehow. Now if I can just work at a larger scale? 🙂
Hey I am curious to see it! and I bet others are too…can you post it here? And yes the answer to almost ALL stuckness is relieved by dropping back into making your Art…works for me every time–welcome back…
Thank you Nicholas, I am so glad to be back 🙂
Here is a photo of that piece it’s titled: Woman of Magdala.
Your advice is always so pertinent to my practice that it’s uncanny. It seems artists all are on the same path, but at differing stages. It’s always a revelation when I review my past work and see how far I’ve come, and in what direction. Sometimes the destination is not clear, and a detour can be a learning experience, but the connection between what went before and now is relatively obvious.
Your advice is always so pertinent to my practice that it’s uncanny. It seems artists all are on the same path, but at differing stages. It’s always a revelation when I review my past work and see how far I’ve come, and in what direction. Sometimes the destination is not clear, and a detour can be a learning experience, but the connection between what went before and now is relatively obvious.
I really appreciate this advice Nick. My work lately has been feeling very difficult. Its fun for a minute and then it gets really hard. Looking back at work I have done that is more whimsical feels like relief, where i am wandering instead of strategizing, if that makes sense. its less strict, has a few wobbles, and is more fun. I like that I can go back to some of that, or bring it forward. There is something grand about the strict, when it works, but I think I need that in measured doses. Its like I have been in Germany too long and need to go hang out in Italy for awhile 🙂 Looking at past work helped me to see this. Thank you.
Hey there –I super liked those collages recently posted on instagram..I think they were bigger than normal? I think you really need to go bigger now–when I saw those recent ones they felt more spacious–you dont have to have collage materials from books that limit your scale–just start grabbing anything and using it–your sensibilities are so good u will make it work…I will meet you in Italy!
I really appreciate this advice Nick. My work lately has been feeling very difficult. Its fun for a minute and then it gets really hard. Looking back at work I have done that is more whimsical feels like relief, where i am wandering instead of strategizing, if that makes sense. its less strict, has a few wobbles, and is more fun. I like that I can go back to some of that, or bring it forward. There is something grand about the strict, when it works, but I think I need that in measured doses. Its like I have been in Germany too long and need to go hang out in Italy for awhile 🙂 Looking at past work helped me to see this. Thank you.
Hey there –I super liked those collages recently posted on instagram..I think they were bigger than normal? I think you really need to go bigger now–when I saw those recent ones they felt more spacious–you dont have to have collage materials from books that limit your scale–just start grabbing anything and using it–your sensibilities are so good u will make it work…I will meet you in Italy!