In this feature, each month artists share one thing that excites them creatively.

One key piece to support healthy, productive creativity is stimulating inputs. What kinds of things stimulate the creative centers of the brain? What kind of inputs stimulate us visually? Emotionally? Spiritually? Mentally? Physically?

I’d really like to know, what’s one thing that fills your creative cup? Share with us in the comment section below.

Matthew Johnson

Hello M.A. bloggers, my name is Matthew Johnson and my creative stimulation dwells within the realm of the creation we call “Life.” From the tiniest insects that stroll around among the vast plains, and rolling hills of this planet, to the human machines that occupy this world, and discover the ins and outs about our existences through experiences. There are so many outlets that my artistic view drives upon, and my mind travels alongside imagination avenue with my solar-battery operated automobile packed full of music, paint, pens, and a broken navigational device (to ensure that I am in no way shape or form ‘set’ within any boundaries of expression). As you stroll through the corridors of the imagination, it is only you that can entail what you see and then begin to proceed to create the pieces you’re driven to produce. Continue all the great work, and may peace be your imagination’s significant other.

Matthew Johnson

Toni Murgas

Things that inspire me may be a picture of nature, a book I’m reading, a dream or a song. I was reading a book on Edward Manet and how he used to cut paper as he got older to create his art. This inspired me to cut and paste colored paper.

Toni Murgas

The post What Inspires You? appeared first on The Mindful Artist.

Whether it be opening a door for a stranger, picking up a dropped glove for the person walking in front of us, giving directions, extending advice to a friend, offering a hug or donating money or time to a cause we believe in. It seems natural that these small acts of service give us a lift and bring an inner smile to our hearts.

I am sure there are studies on all this neurological, sociological, psychological or even anthropological studies on the effects of giving and helping. Perhaps they would say the reason humans like to help is because it strengthens our ties to each, releases endorphins, ensures the survival of our species, it makes us feel important.

And all those I am sure would be true.

But I’d offer a simple explanation to consider:

Our true nature is love. 

Who we are at our very essence is love. And when we give to others, we can experience fully that true nature. We experience the joy of helping and the oneness that results when we unite as giver and receiver in an act of kindness.

Then when it comes to our art, it feels selfish. It may feel self-indulgent.
We may shrink away from providing ourselves with the time to create. We may feel guilty and undeserving of a space to create in.

This past weekend, I attended a memorial service for my high school friend, John, who died suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack.

Friends from across the country and the globe gathered to commemorate and mourn together. Some of us had not seen each other in 20 or 30 years. We all came together to comfort one another and to come to grips with the shock and sadness of losing someone so young and so unexpectedly.

That evening, one of John’s closest friends hosted a gathering in his home for the mourners. As people filled the house, convivial groups clustered about chatting and and making small talk. It was joyful to see all the people who loved this man gathered together to honor his life and mark his passing. Yet, as much as I enjoyed reconnecting and making small talk, I felt a deep need in some way to acknowledge as a group our joint purpose.

Our host gathered everyone together to offer a toast to our deceased friend. And then he did something I had not expected – he and another friend pulled out their guitars and led us all in a Beatles sing-along.
As we joined together in “Hey, You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” we became united in our sense of loss, and in some way were able to transcend that loss together through music.

Here I stand, head in hand,
Turn my face to the wall.
If she’s gone I can’t go on
Feeling two-foot small.

Joining together in song helped create a container for both our grief and hope.

These men provided a service for all in attendance to  jointly experience our feelings and our love for our friend in a special way that I’m certain will help us carry on during this time of mourning.

All of us can point to a time when movie, a poem, song or painting, touched us at particular time in a significant way.

It’s easy for creative people working in isolation to forget that our work has meaning and value to others. We overlook that our art can be of service to others in ways that we can scarcely imagine.

We think of nurses, firefighters, paramedics, law enforcement officers, military personnel and doctors as the people who truly serve.

We may fail to acknowledge the less tangible benefits of our own creative output, not only for ourselves but for others.

Service to others needn’t be grand or glamorous. We may never even know that our work has lifted the spirits of a passerby, or touched someone in a difficult period, or enabled someone to tap into deep emotions.

Do you have a  story to share about how any art form has touched you on any given day?

How might your art be of service to another? What ways big or small can you lift, support or touch another life with your creative gifts and skills?

The post You art is your service appeared first on The Mindful Artist.

Food for thought is where I share a quote I’ve come across for your reflection and discussion among the other artists in the mindful artist community.

If you’ve been following me for a while you may have gathered that I’m a keen student of the creative process. I’m always interested in other artists’ experience of their art practice and how it can help us better understand and navigate our own. 

My loving husband gave me this book this book on Alice Neel for Christmas that I’ve just begun reading so I thought a quote from Alice Neel might be in order.

You should keep on painting no matter how difficult it is, because this is all part of experience, and the more experience you have, the better it is… unless it kills you, and then you know you have gone too far.

– Alice Neel

What about you? Do you feel you ought to keep making your work even though it is difficult?

Can you give an example of a “difficult” time in your work?

What does it mean to you to have gone too far?

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

The post Food for Thought: Alice Neel appeared first on The Mindful Artist.

In this feature, each month artists share one thing that excites them creatively.

One key piece to support healthy, productive creativity is stimulating inputs. What kinds of things stimulate the creative centers of the brain? What kind of inputs stimulate us visually? Emotionally? Spiritually? Mentally? Physically?

I’d really like to know, what’s one thing that fills your creative cup? Share with us in the comment section below.

Kellyann Lyman

The continued practice of an academic rubric that instills a love of learning is what inspires me. I continue to explore the complexities of abstract painting by continually readdressing the medium with reinvented concepts and methods from conceptual and minimal art: the use of repetition, color palettes, materials, the appropriation of photographic images, ink, silkscreen, digital reproduction and the transmedia discourse.

Kellyann Lyman

kellyannart.com

Carol Steinberg

I’m inspired by flowers, sunlight, and bright colors!

Carol Steinberg

www.carolsteinberg.com

The post What Inspires You? appeared first on The Mindful Artist.

Sometimes an overly dark or blurry photograph of a painting or sculpture is projected on the screen and you wonder “How could someone put such exquisite care into their art and not have noticed how poor these digital images are?”

It can happen to the best of us. Unless you are a photographer already, you may not have the skills or the eye yet to even know when your images are representing your work well.

Here’s something I’ve noticed: I spend so many hours, days, months with each piece of art I make that I often can’t “see” what my digital images really look like. Because I have such a deep relationship with the work, I see it as I visualize it in my head not as it’s appearing on the screen.

I’ve had to really train my eye over the years to be discerning as to whether my pictures are really representing the work. And, yes, it’s taken years.

Some suggestions:

1. If possible, sit down at your computer with your original art piece in your line of vision. Glance back and forth at both and pay attention to details, light, texture, etc. Really scrutinize every aspect of your work. Do those digital pictures really look like your work?

2. Find a discerning friend (or two) to do the same exercise. First show them the images on your computer, then show them the actual artwork. Ask them to be very specific as to the differences they see.
3. Invest in (or borrow) a good quality digital camera (a digital SLR with a detachable lens) to document your work. If you don’t have the funds yet, start putting away a little money each month. This will give you time to do your research.

4. Research your camera options fully before buying. Use the internet, consumer reports, your camera geek friends, youtube reviews, etc. Some camera buffs LOVE to talk about cameras and will be happy to share their knowledge with you. They’ll also throw around a lot of technical jargon that may confuse you. Take notes. Give yourself time to learn and study. Don’t rush into your purchase.

5. Make a list of all the features you need your camera to have. If you make jewelry, you’ll need a different type of lens from an artist who does large scale public artworks.

6. Save money. When you are sure of what you want or need and have the choices narrowed to a few models, keep an eye out for sales or scan craigslist.

7. Learn a photo editing program such as Adobe Photoshop. If you take your own photographs, you must learn to use Photoshop®. There are some easy-to-learn tricks for making your work look better on the computer screen which is where most people will see it first. Even if you aren’t a great photographer, don’t have the best camera or have less-than-ideal lighting there are tons of things you can easily correct if you know Photoshop®. I recommend Photoshop because it’s the industry standard, and once you learn the basics, you can take it further if you like.

8. If you do small scale, 2-D work, try scanning it. I’ve saved a lot of money on professional photography by scanning my small works on paper. Important because when you do a lot of drawing, you can be quite prolific.

9. Hire a professional! If all this sounds totally daunting, and you are in a position financially to hire a professional art documenter to photograph your work, please DO! It is one of the BEST investments you can make in your work. Keep in mind that not any professional photographer can do good art documentation. Just as not every painter knows how to do monotype. Different skill sets, different equipment. Do your research. Ask artist friends for recommendations or call local museums and galleries and find out who they use. Be prepared to spend at least $125 an hour or a per artwork fee, plus processing. You may be able to save money here if you know Photoshop and can do your own image processing.

The post Nine Tips For Making Great Digital Images of Your Art appeared first on The Mindful Artist.

My heart went out to her. I’ve made more technical mistakes with my art over the years than I care to recount. That’s why I’m so passionate about sharing with artists how to build a sound and stable paint film.

I don’t want to hinder anyone’s creative process. That’s the last thing I want! That’s why I offer some sound alternatives here to get the same look without harming the paint film.

Please, please share this info with all your painter friends, artists groups, classes, professors, etc. I’ve found in the 15 years I’ve been teaching this to artists of all levels from those with 40 years experience and paintings in museums to the absolute beginner, only about 5% have ever heard of underbinding. Let’s make sure no more artists have their paintings fall apart by something that could easily be avoided.

The post Worst Mistake Acrylic Painters Make appeared first on The Mindful Artist.

In this feature, each month artists share one thing that excites them creatively.

One key piece to support healthy, productive creativity is stimulating inputs. What kinds of things stimulate the creative centers of the brain? What kind of inputs stimulate us visually? Emotionally? Spiritually? Mentally? Physically?

I’d really like to know, what’s one thing that fills your creative cup? Share with us in the comment section below.

What Inspires You?
Danila Rumold

Trekking through the mountains, amongst the shaded forests, alongside the babbling rivers, and looking down into the crystal clear glacier lakes, I can experience moments of quiet and mental stillness. In this space, connected to Nature, my creativity flows, speaking my unshakable truth.

Danila Rumold

danilarumold.com

What Inspires You?
Cecilia Power

So many things inspire me, breathing, flowers, blue skies, a blade of grass, the list could go on ad infinitum! In my work, I see elements of nature, often obscure to anyone but myself. When I can, I give homage to nature in as clear a manner as possible for my chosen muse. It is  not often easy to make pretty like I would like, it is complicated! One brush stroke with my knots takes hours, it is like I am painting in slow-mo! When I get something just the way I want it, ooh how satisfying to the spirit!

Cecilia Power

The post What Inspires You? appeared first on The Mindful Artist.

That said, I have no desire to lug any 3 foot (1 metre) canvases or 32 ounce (1 litre) bottles of pouring medium with me on vacation so I do pare it down quite a bit for travel. I usually work on paper with paint or gouache when I travel so I have the satisfaction of working with a brush and wet media which I adore but in a far more portable format.

I made a video for you showing how I have edited down my travel art supplies and how I pack them so they fit neatly on the top of my 22″ rolling suitcase.

What about you? Do you like to take art supplies with you when you travel? Do you keep it to a sketchbook? Or something more involved?

The post How to Pack Light for Travel – Art Supplies appeared first on The Mindful Artist.

David Hockney painting a car in 1995.

“Any artist will tell you he’s really only interested in the stuff he’s doing now. He will, always. It’s true, and it should be like that” 

– David Hockney

What about you? Are you only interested in the work you are currently involved with? Or do you tend to look back on older work? Do you ever feel the work you created in the past is stronger or better work than the work you are presently engaged in?

Do you cherish your older work in such a way that you  have a hard time selling it because of your attachment to it?

How does this impact your getting your work out into the world? Do you ever delay sending out work because the next body of work will be even better?

Let’s get the conversation started! Please leave your comments below.

The post Food for Thought: David Hockney appeared first on The Mindful Artist.

In this feature, each month artists share one thing that excites them creatively.

One key piece to support healthy, productive creativity is stimulating inputs. What kinds of things stimulate the creative centers of the brain? What kind of inputs stimulate us visually? Emotionally? Spiritually? Mentally? Physically?

I’d really like to know, what’s one thing that fills your creative cup? Share with us in the comment section below.

What Inspires You?
Dave Reid

I’m inspired by science (nanotechnology, for example), colour, other cultures, history (West coast native art is great), form and sky. Often one thing will lead to another; I’m working on some pictures for an upcoming show – one picture took an abrupt turn, which I followed and am now learning new aspects from this.

Dave Reid

What Inspires You?
Sean Glenn

Life is what inspires me: the authenticity of each emotional experience lends validity to each brush stroke. What inspires is sometimes the pain that comes with living, it’s joys, it’s sorrows, it’s triumphs and  it’s losses. What inspires me is love.

Sean Glenn

http://www.wix.com/blacincworks/blacin-art

The post What Inspires You? appeared first on The Mindful Artist.