How to create more freely
|
Reader, Have you ever looked back at the art you made as a child and thought, “What happened?” Maybe you used to draw without thinking too much about whether something was good. You could put a bunch of different objects together into a scene without worrying about whether they belonged there, you just made things. Somewhere along the way, expectations crept in. The sky should be blue. People should look a certain way. Your drawing should make sense. Your composition should be good. Your artwork should be finished. And suddenly creating doesn’t feel quite so free. I recently received a question from an artist who described exactly this. She loves making art and can draw realistically, but she struggles with drawing from imagination and bringing different ideas together into a scene that feels like her own. She asked: How can I rekindle that creativity? It’s such a good question because I don’t think the answer is simply, “Practice drawing from imagination.” That is one skill you can practice, absolutely. But there are lots of ways to create an artwork that feels like your own without having to invent every single element from your head. In my newest post, I’m talking about how I use collage to build compositions, why planning doesn’t have to kill creativity, and some simple ways you can create a lower-stakes environment where you can experiment again. I also talk about something I struggled with for years: feeling like every page in my sketchbook had to be pretty. Spoiler alert: it doesn't. You get to make the rules. And maybe that’s part of getting some of that childhood creativity back. Read/watch the post: How to Rekindle Your Creativity as an Artist Remember: you’re already an artist. Together, we are Artist Strong. Carrie P.S. You don’t need to become the artist you think you’re supposed to be. You need to make the next artwork, the next paintbrush, the next canvas. <3
|