Most of the society, when you mention art, their immediate association is creativity. Even though it’s not used just in the art field, it’s the number one necessity. This article is not just for artists, keep that in mind.
Everyone had at least one moment in their lives when they couldn’t figure out the reason for not having any useful or extraordinary ideas, didn’t they? We’ve all been there before. Let’s start from the beginning.
Why does it happen?
It’s mostly because of overwhelming thoughts in your mind, having too many unfinished things or small distractions such as problems or worries in your life. Also, in order to become more creative, you have to start believing in yourself. It’ll be hard at first to shift your mindset, but at the end creativity is a thing that needs to come to the light.
You might be too scared to try. No worries, I’ve been there too. But why being stressed out about something that you want to do?
One more thing – do not compare yourself to others if you can’t think of their artwork as a motivation for yourself (or in any other optimistic or inspirational way). Who knows, maybe after some practice you’ll find out more about your hidden talents?
Long story short: Just try and free yourself from unnecessary thinking. Enjoy.
What to do?
If you want to start thinking in a more creative way, you need to search for opportunities to practice. Is that so hard? Not at all. First, since art is such a big load of creative ideas, let’s try it out. Grab a piece of paper and a pen/pencil (whatever you prefer) and without wondering what to draw, let your hand have the control. Stop thinking. I know, it sounds amusing. That’s the truth, though (only to boost your imagination).
A tip: If you can’t stop yourself from thinking, close your eyes and speed up even to 15 seconds.
Search. To become more creative, you need to have some knowledge too. Find out what type of art you find inspirational and what doesn’t convince you at all. Knowing what you like will help you with setting up your goals in the future. Find some ideas of what you’d like to create (books, videos, movies, pictures, galleries filled with art, even social media) and try to recreate them on your own. Later on, use the knowledge you gained of how to create in a specific way (in order to learn, follow the rules) and then do whatever and however you like. Mix styles, paints, techniques, maybe even create your own.
But when we say “art” it’s not just for paintings, right? A work of art can be anything that is astonishing in some ways. It can be music, drawings, sculptures, photography but also some projects, baking, business ideas or anything that makes you impressed.
Make it a habit. When it comes to putting art into your lifestyle, it becomes a huge part of your day. As an artist, it’s important to be consistent, even before you start thinking more seriously about it. Train yourself to not give up and push your brain to get more and more ideas regardless of what your passion is (just don’t start a real roller-coaster right away, it’ll lead to a lack of motivation quicker than you could notice).
Rest. Sometimes the easiest solutions work the best. I remember how I was trying to get something done and couldn’t figure out a brand-new idea. And then the other day, after getting some rest, all of a sudden I got not just one plan in my head.
Think of a way of how you’ve already done certain things from your everyday routine. In which style did you already paint, where did you already go for a walk, what type of music did you listen to. What happens if you change something? You might find exactly what you’ve been looking for. Try doing at least one of the things differently, the opposite way than usually. In other words: get out of your comfort zone.
Talk with others. Even people who aren’t included in the thing you’re trying to get new ideas for might turn out as a big inspiration. No matter if they’re related to the topic or not, it’s always another point of view. Your role there would be judging if what they said is useful for you or not. A change of a perspective is already a sign of creativity.
Summing up:
As you can see, not only in art, creativity is needed. Depends on if you want to start from a zero point, or you’re just lacking it at the moment. Either way however you choose to boost it, it’s important not to give up, look at the bigger picture. If you continue everyday working on something that is connected to creative thinking, you’ll see in a few months how much you’re capable of achieving.