Creative Innovation Blossoms When We Stay the Course

Nothing important in this world ever took shape without a little risk involved. Searching deep within and exploring the heights of our personal visions, the conviction to believe in our unique inspirations challenges our focus and resolve. However risky or crazy these visions may be to the outside world, no worthwhile or innovative break through has taken place without someone taking a complete nose dive off the cliff of social expectations. What is considered normal may be contrary to our creative urge to plunge head first into a deep ocean of unknown ground and darkness. If we survive, there will be a great story to tell and the inspiration and courage gained from it could be priceless.

When I sit down to create a work of art, the thought of an outside influence guiding my beliefs rather than my own unique vision never crosses my mind. I have never compromised my artistic integrity for the sake of what could be more popular or what could be considered the "trend" of the day. I believe if you stick to your style and remain true to yourself, the rewards will far outweigh the risks! In fact, the more we stay on course, the more personal moments of creative inspiration will enlighten our attempts at achieving something new or different in a quest to stay true to our creative individuality. If we look at past artist's who have struggled to make a distinct impact on culture and ultimately having their art survive the test of time, they never swayed from their style and visions even in the face of critical adversity. Some examples that pop into my mind are Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, when at the time, his approach was considered radical to a degree and the immense complexity of color and forms dancing around the ceiling made way for one of the most influential works of art ever created. In the face of never ending obstacles, he forged ahead with the torch of his passion guiding his sight and made way for an extraordinary breakthrough in art history. His work slowly blossomed amidst a storm of distraction and criticism, eventually reaching an innovative climax of beauty and transcendence.

The moral of this story, in my opinion, is that the norms of society will gravitate their opinions toward that center nucleus based on what they have perceived through mass marketing channels and through their own sense of understanding. We all are inevitably challenged by external trends and societal gravitation towards the center of thought and this can eventually lure many into this circle of what is expected.  A good example of how we react to creative art is our minds acceptance of reality over abstraction. Looking at life differently and turning it upside down and inside out can make many feeling uncomfortable based on external influence and acceptance. Our instincts have been socially and biologically constructed over the course of evolution to gravitate towards these recognized forms and it pleases our senses more comfortably. Abstract forms that are broken down into dynamic reflections of the underlying scientific properties challenges people on much deeper levels and for those who aren't the cerebral types, this could be the end of a new beginning in their search for the truth.

The common denominator for all artists is the emotion and intuitive feeling we all put into our creations, regardless if it's recognizable or not. But in the end, are we challenging ourselves enough to break free of the limitations and demands of society to create work that speaks to our unique vision that meets halfway between what is expected and what we want to achieve. When we make a decision to wash away the constraints of what everyone thinks we should be doing from how we could perceive the world, we open our eyes to the unique possibilities of what we offer as creative beings. So ask yourself this question: Why not explore your own independent way of thinking and seeing the world without worrying about what others will think or say? Set yourself free of those limitations and you will find a world inside you screaming to swim around in the darkest confines of your imagination. Let your mind, spirit, and soul take that plunge from the cliff of expectations and plunge into the unknown. Go to the deepest levels of your ability until there is no more room to swim around. Just remember, the ocean is vast and exploring even the darkest areas of your imagination could take a lifetime. Have fun on your journey and I hope you find the heights of inspiration.

7 Reasons To Get Creative and Make Art

Regardless of what path in life you have chosen, whether you are in finances, law, or even chose a career in art, we all have a basic need to express ourselves. There are many forms of expression such as writing, singing, or cooking, to name a few, that can be mediums for our emotions and passions. With all the constraints of everyday chores and things we need to do in order to survive, sometimes our need to set ourselves free becomes lost in this busy landscape of habitual routines. We all have an inner soul that craves external comfort on some level. This zone is a creative urge to communicate our needs and turning to avenues of expression that can release these thoughts, ideas, and emotions, are not only beneficial for our well being, but can become life rafts of healing in a sea of choppy, sometimes turbulent emotional waters that run deep. Calming these inner tides becomes a natural response to putting closure on things or healing from wounds. In some cases, it can be to release positive feelings that need to be expressed in order to balance our equilibriums. Whatever medium you choose to latch onto for an emotional release, creating art can be a rewarding experience on many emotional and mental levels and provide a feeling of satisfaction regardless of the outcome intended. As an artist for over 30 years, my personal experience has led me to believe that creating art is a cathartic process that can benefit many individuals. Here are my 10 reasons why you should create art or get creative.

1. The Freedom to be the Pilot of your Creation and World.

In many ways, we all want the freedom to be in control of our world. In a world where we sometimes find ourselves at the receiving end of rules, orders, and limitations, at the end of the day we feel as though we our prisoners of a systematic hierarchy. Not everyone feels this way, of course, but with less control over what we want to manifest, it becomes more apparent to some of us that we are being held back by the constraints of necessity rather than the freedom of choice. Turning to creative endeavors can unleash this inner need to be free and leave us more in control of the outcome of the worlds or ideas we envision. The act of painting or drawing can be so empowering and relaxing that we feel an unbridled passion that carries over into the need to be free and feel more empowered. Creating a work of art can leave us feeling satisfied, proud, and liberated.

2. The Healing Powers of Expression.

Being able to communicate your inner emotions onto a canvas or paper can leave you feeling relieved. This release can be therapeutic for many reasons. Letting out powerful emotions such as happiness, sadness, despair, excitement, etc., can leave our equilibrium more balanced without too much residue or build up of emotions. This can be very satisfying in keeping us grounded and less likely to reach a climactic explosion of emotions. Creating imaginary or real worlds in black or white or in color can also engage our mind, spirit, and soul in one cathartic process that aids in keeping us healthy in all these areas.

3. Color can Lift our Spirits.

If you suffer from depression, anxiety, or despair from trauma, painting and drawing in color can help lift your emotions and thoughts. Even if you are naturally more positively inclined as a person, using color has known beneficial effects on the human psyche, and can remediate any powers of thinking or emotions by resonating certain moods and memories triggered by the specific color choice. Although no extensive conclusions have been drawn to what color actually does to our moods, etc., color choice is a bit more of a personal subconscious feeling that enables us to face these deep seeded memories and emotions through our expression of color. This enables us to heal faster by being able to communicate through visual art.

4. The Process of Creating takes us back to Childhood.

When we sit down to think of an idea and try our best to draw and paint what we desire it to turn out like, we are actually going back to our playful worlds we would create as children. As children, we are naturally inquisitive and curious, and this naïve almost innocent drive to get into everything always led us to become more playful within ourselves and act out our inner imaginings. As we create when we are older, this playfulness stays rooted in this memory and the inner child becomes prominent again. This leaves us feeling more vibrant, free, and our imaginations respond by rewarding us with another unique journey through manifested creation.

5. The Courage to Face the Unknown.

Creating art presents unique challenges to all of us and rewards us for seeing our inner visions through. Completing a work of art that is unique to our experiences, truths, worlds, and visionary ideas, leaves us feeling empowered, satisfied, and gives us a sense of pride in having the creative courage to forge ahead into the unknown and reach the other shore in a sea of turbulent emotions throughout the experience. Our personal inspirations and passion guides us and is our compass throughout the process. Once we finish this personal vision, we feel as if we not only had the courage to see it through, but the work is infinitely connected to our soul regardless of where it ends up.

6. Challenge Yourself and Build Confidence.

Facing your emotions head on and dealing with your doubts and ability to make your work turn out the way you perceive it can become a detrimental burden on your way to achieving your creation and, in some cases, prevents you from even starting. Being able to sit down or stand in front of an easel and plunge into all these doubts and fears while overcoming them can lead to renewed self-confidence and faith in yourself as a person.  Just completing a work of art, regardless of how you perceive it against that wall of judgment we all stack ourselves up to, can really be the difference maker when it comes time to tackle another inner vision onto the canvas or paper.

7. Your Imagination can Awaken Fresh Eyes upon the World.

We all have imagination and it can be less or more developed depending on how much you tap into it. Practicing seeing the world through a new set of eyes can unleash powerful ideas and leave you in awe of the possibilities around you. The process of creating seeks to naturally tap into the reservoir of untapped worlds that can turn the world upside down or inside out and give us a brand new perspective on life. This can drive us to the heights of unique freedoms that can steer us down unchartered roads and end up on the highest plateaus of hidden treasures that await our understanding. Art can open these doors.

Conclusion....

Art is a wonderful medium and outlet for channeling your inner emotions, ideas, and inspirations. As a professional artist and someone who started created a very young age, art has helped guide me into worlds that came from my own ideas and invention. This has given me confidence in my ability to create solutions and ideas from just simple objects or thoughts and turn them into seeds that can grow into bigger manifestations. I believe that the arts are extremely critical to a well rounded evolution throughout life and it should start at a young age. There are countless benefits to creating and among them lie the ability to heal and balance our emotions. Being able to step out of the world as we know and be able to create our own visionary ideas from existing experiences and memories is priceless in our growth as human beings and becomes an important foundation for tapping into ourselves and helping guide us on our own unique journey through life.

The Dance of the Spirit: My Exploration into Color

"The Eternal Discord of Entwined Temptations" from my

Spiritual Art Drawing Collection.

Every artist has their own deep seeded need to express themselves through the inspiration of various musings. Harnessing and latching onto our inner child and through a sheer act of courageous expression, we lay our souls on the line to convey what we feel is our vision of the world, whether this reverberates our inner need for healing and personal understanding. As we evolve as artists and our understanding of ourselves translates even deeper into our imagery or medium, we tend to gravitate towards subconsciously achieving a feeling that resonates from the shapes, objects, lines, and colors. Like a spirit caged and awaiting flight into the unknown, we set out to create an enlightened trail of liberation using light and color in many ways to achieve the psychology behind our imagery. Light and color are the natural essence of what makes life beautiful, and the grandness of this pivotal source of inspiration gives our souls a feeling of comfort and hope against the darkness that can sometimes overwhelm this natural grace in our lives.

When I set out on my own personal journey to define who I was an artist, I began with black and white pencil and focused on making the objectivity speak for itself . I soon began finding my inner spirit slowly gravitating towards the beauty and majesty of color as a way of not only expressing the jubilation of life on its highest planes of beauty, but also as a way of using color as a psychological component to the symbolisms that inherently took shape in my vision of the world. For me, color was like finding a magical bridge that connected me from the grounded world to a higher place of transcendence. It spoke to me on some universal level. Although I found monochrome experiments to be very resourceful in teaching me to focus on objectivity and detail, the addition of color was like taking a one note song and turning it into a fury of sound that created an epic dance. Once the dance started, I felt as if I was the composer of a song that could lead to anywhere and guide my visions of the world to new heights of splendor. The colors could dance with each other and create patterns of movement weaving in nd out of the objects, shapes, and line. This became the heartbeat for my compositions and gave the objects a pulse that reverberated around the work leading the viewer into multiple levels of feeling.

"The Orchestration of Metaphysical Motion" from my

Anatomy Art Drawing Collection.

One of my fascinations with the effects color has on our senses is the way a color can exude a sensation of warmth or coolness and also tickle our emotions in a way that elevates the work beyond the actual imagery conveyed. It adds a delightfully poignant reminder that beneath all the beautiful substance of the worlds we inhabit there is a grand spirit or pulse that creates the vibration of all existing things. It unifies us all and liberates us from a mundane world of monotonous tones by setting our emotions free and feeding our senses. The colors that paint our world are symbolic of the unique personalities that shape who we are, yet when blended together they create new colors that unify them. Although we are all unique, we all share a common bond and like this union of the spirit, color becomes the champion unifier. Each object dances in unison with each other as the grand sound of the song echo's my vision  into the senses of the viewer.