Sometimes being an artist can feel hard, while other times it can feel inspiring and joyful. In trying to keep things more the latter, I try to keep the following five points in mind. All of them are available at anytime and there is no cost involved. I believe they all contribute significantly to building buoyancy, productivity and joy in one’s art practice.
1 Show Yourself
Show yourself. Let people see what you have made. Show your enthusiasm generated by your art. In return you will receive additional energy and illuminating feedback that will help sustain your momentum from those around you.
2 Be Generous
Be useful and helpful to other artists. Do not be concerned with being secretive about your art. No one can make work like yours if you are being authentic.
3 Stay Connected
Your success, energetically, financially and even spiritually is directly connected to those that support and follow your artistic journey. Never lose connection with those that express interest and resonate with what you are doing. Cherish them.
4 Be Discerning
It takes a tremendous amount of life energy and optimism to sustain your creativity. Do not spill any of it on people or situations that you already know are not in alignment with your art or you. Conserve all your energy for situations and people who support what you are doing.
5 Remain Exceptional
Your artwork is a visual expression of your authenticity. To have the courage to listen and show what is within you to the outside world is rare and tremendously brave. Making your art makes you feel more alive but also has the same effect on others. This is why people will desire and, even sometimes, buy your Art. Your art, if it is authentic reminds them of their aliveness. Your art is your gift to the world and you are the only one who will ever be able to create it. It is simply an opportunity of a lifetime.
Keeping these 5 points in mind will help keep your art and you steadily on course. In the end it might not be about arriving at any particular place with your work but more importantly how it felt as you journeyed towards it.
What guides you in your work? How do you keep yourself inspired?
In gratitude, Nicholas
8 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.
OMG – this is beautiful and so on point; thank you so much!
Five exceptional points!
All of these thoughts/ideas/points are so deeply true… I have been embracing each of them more and more as I progress and mature in my art practice. Thank you for your wisdom, generosity and authenticity!!
Nicholas thank you… I am so grateful I you found online. I have absorbed every word you have ever sent out in your emails. You are eloquent with your words and they have helped me become a better artist. I loved your 5 part video introduction and look forward to joining you in your online class sometime in the future. I continue to use your principles and wisdom. Have a wonderful ARTful day
Thank you Nicholas for summarizing this so well! May I share it on my blog with a link to your site? Thanks!
Wow, how beautifully said! It does take bravery and courage to remain rooted in our true self. I see myself as a tree, my roots and trunk seemingly still, while my branches move about in the breezes and storms of life. My consciousness is like the sky, open and vast, and both aware, and unaware of my connection with the consciousness of my ancestors, and all others who have gone before me, and who exist in present time. My paintings surprise me. I still wonder, “Where do they come from?”
Thank you for these valuable reminders, Nicholas, and for inviting us to share what guides us in our work and how we keep ourselves inspired. I am guided in my work by each time I’ve actually created something which I visualized – very powerful to be able to physically manifest something which was previously a thought. Very addicting! And I keep myself inspired by the supportiveness of friends and others, and by the example of other art makers’ dedication to their respective crafts. Keeping in touch with what other creatives are doing is very energizing, as is getting out of the studio and experiencing new things. Even when life’s events pull us temporarily away from our practice, it’s vital to stay “in the zone” in some way – making it easier to re-ignite that energy!
Never a truer word!