Creative Blocks: Comparing Yourself to Others - Finding Inspiration in Yourself


Do you sometimes find yourself wishing you could draw, paint or create like someone you admire - so much so, that you feel that your work will never be as good? Or worse yet, you concluded that you have no talent, so why bother?

Finding inspiration in the work of fellow creatives can further develop your creativity and personal style, but it can also stifle or create blocks if you place another's skills and talents above your own.

While it may be true that someone else may have highly developed skills and talent with years and years of experience, placing yourself in comparison with them puts you at an unfair disadvantage.  And the inner critic will seize on this opportunity to start planting those pesky seeds of doubt.

The thing is, if you had that person's life experience and talents and followed their same path, you might even be better - or - you might still have the same doubts.

I believe that everyone is or has the ability to become more creative.  It is part of your being that has been with you from the beginning.  Sometimes though, creativity may not have been valued and was discouraged at an early age, or wasn't recognized and given the opportunity to flourish or there may not have been any exposure to the creative arts.  But I tell you, there is creativity in every soul - it just needs to be cultivated and allowed to follow its own path whether it be in a studio, kitchen, lab or wherever!

Seeing your creativity develop and blossom as a long, exciting journey taking you to unexpected places and meeting interesting people is the key to disconnecting from those unfair comparisons.

Remember this:  Everyone is at a different point on their journey with different skills and talents.  They also have unique backgrounds and stories to tell with destinations that are unknown to you.  Their art tells their story.  It is their perspective, and it is authentic to who they are.  It is the expression of their soul.

Finding how to express your voice - what is distinctly you, is what will truly bring joy into your life.  That is what the creative journey is all about - finding how to express what is within you and following the voice that will take you further on the journey.

If you try to work in the style of someone you admire, do it for the experience of exploration and experimentation, but add your own twist to it.  If you try to make it your style, you'll never be truly satisfied.  It will always look like that person who is dressed up in a style that is totally out of character for them. 

If, what you create, is a reflection of who you are, you will better appreciate and become inspired by the work of others rather than compare your work to theirs.

Find ways to inspire yourself.  Be willing to experiment with different materials and techniques.  Find the tools and materials that feel the most comfortable and expressive to you.  Sometimes, switching to a different medium or tool is the key to unleashing your creativity.

Approach your experimentation and journey with a sense of adventure and fun.  Find the joy in the process, not the end product.  The more you are willing to explore, the further along you will be in your journey.  And the more you do, the more you will see your personal style evolve.  It's like learning a new language.  With practice, you will become fluent.

Flattened - Journal entry done when energy was very low


The Daily Doodle Journal is an easy way to document your progress.  The Daily Doodle Journal is different in its approach to visual journaling in that the focus is on a mind-body connection to bring out what is within.  Simple doodles and quick drawings like the one on the right, emerge from what one if feeling at the moment.  Intuition guides your hand.  Creative impulses are given total freedom.  The emphasis is not on a completed work of art, but the emerging personal symbols and style.  It is an outlet for releasing negative energy and seeing what it looks like on paper. 


In short, it is a visual documentary on the evolution of your creative spirit!

Use the Daily Doodle Journal as a separate journal if you already have or prefer an art journal.  It will give you the space to do "creative warm ups" and clear out any negative energy that might be holding you back.

Keep the Daily Doodle Journal for doodles or scribbles when trying to come up with a new idea or trying to get through some creative block or problem. 

Words can be added, but I think you will find that the images will reveal far more and will speak to you at a much deeper level.  Referencing back to them at another time can reveal even more.

Another way to help develop your style and discover your personal symbols, is the exercise I described in Drawing to Music.  If you play music you absolutely love, that actually makes you want to move to the music, you will find that your style will be much easier to access.  Interestingly, you may also find that your creative style probably has some type of visual connection to the type of music you enjoy.

Click here - Daily Doodle Journal - for more info on how to set up yours.

How do you inspire yourself and develop your creativity?  Please feel free to leave a comment about what works for you.  I'd also love to know if you started a Doodle Journal.

Happy Doodling!

Visual Journaling - Transforming Negative Energy With Reframing


The highly expressive art of visual journaling is one of the most effective practices/therapies for personal growth and self-reflection.  The power of art and doodling to inspire healing and transformation has been a well known secret that has finally gone mainstream with the now readily available products, books, blogs and magazines. 

Just the recording and capturing of your feelings and personal journey in a journal is therapeutic.  But if you are using your visual journal to work through issues or to relieve stress, the process can be transformational.

One technique that you may want to incorporate into your visual journaling practice is reframing.  Reframing is the ability to take a thought, idea or emotion and flip it to see it from a different or opposite perspective.  Adding reframing to your journaling adds the element of resolution, which may be appropriate for your journal.  If it doesn't fit with the style of your journaling, but you like the idea of reframing, you may want to consider a separate journal for problem solving.

To use reframing in your journaling, you would use it as a 3-step process.
  • First, create your page or an image expressing something that is causing stress, negative energy or pain.
  • After taking some time to take in and reflect on what you created and the feelings it brings up, try to envision the image in another light.
  • Allow your feelings and energy to guide you.  Don't think it; feel it!  If you feel the urge to draw or paint something totally foreign in style to you, fight the urge to ignore it - put it on paper!
  • If what you are feeling is very intense, you may need to do a few additional pages, allowing the intensity to dissipate naturally in stages.
  • Many techniques can be used to reframe or replace an image, but most importantly, it will work best if it is a natural progression, rather than forced. 
  • Sometimes, just a change in color selection can transform the look and feel.  If you used bold or dark colors, try using something softer or brighter for your reframed image.  If the colors were intense and warm, try cooling off the look with soothing cool tones.
  • You can use the same elements and shapes in a different setting or background or use something that is a similar shape for reframing.
For example, I did a drawing of a mushroom cloud and scorched earth, which in itself, deflated much of the toxic energy that I was feeling.  When some of that energy dissipated, the image that came to me was a tree, which I drew in a similar shape to the mushroom cloud.  That image and the process of drawing it helped shift my energy to a more positive state. 

Doodle Therapy - Criticism - Patricia Kay

In the example above, I was dealing with my "old friend", criticism.  I say old friend, because it has been in my life so long and doesn't seem to be ready to leave any time soon.  So, I decided to reframe it and just consider it an annoying friend that takes aim at me, but can't penetrate my new protective force field show below.


Doodle Therapy - Energy Force Field - Patricia Kay

Use the style of visual journaling that you prefer.  Reframing works well whether you use a raw style, simple doodles or a mixed media layered technique.  For myself, I like to use quick doodles done in pencil that resemble my energy state at the moment and continue drawing additional pages until I feel a shift in energy to a more positive state.

If I am feeling or experiencing something more disruptive that I need to work through, I will do something more detailed and in color.  I also make these images more simplistic or child-like to better express the emotion.

While I love the bold, more complex, layered techniques and using journaling in the image, I prefer to write on the opposite page of my journal - it's just my personal preference.  I find that for me, the more involved and detailed the image, the more involved I become in the completed project instead of the process of dealing with the feeling.  Simple, quick drawings help me maintain my focus.  I also like to refer back to my pages and would rather "feel" what the image has to convey to me in my current state of mind without the influence of the words.

I recommend though, that whatever approach to take, that you follow your heart and do these exercises in a style that is in your own voice.  Only then will it ring true and put you on the path to personal growth and transformation.

If you're like me and love to immerse yourself in the inspiration of beautiful art from kindred spirits, the following books will take you on a journey to explore and further develop your technique and creativity.  And for more information on starting your Daily Doodle Journal, click this link.

Happy Doodling! 

Scrapbookers: Take Your Creativity to A New Level

  
Doodle Therapy - Pink Sorbet - Patricia Kay

There are thousands of beautiful background pages for scrapbooking.  But, if you're a seasoned pro or looking for a new approach, why not create your own?

Sometimes you have a special page that needs a unique and special background that you just can't find.  If you follow some of the techniques that I outlined in Meditative Painting and Recycled Art, you will end up with a collection of your own original art to use for your backgrounds and embellishments.

I love to paint layered background-type paintings as a stress reliever and meditative practice.  Some I leave untouched and others I use for paper mosaics or other art projects.

For this post, I'll focus on three ways to use your meditative paintings to create your own original art.

The example above was created by using a simple painting technique with acrylic paint on smooth Bristol paper.  See Meditative Painting for more information on what you will need, the how-to's and painting style choices. 

Doodle Therapy - Blue Energy - Patricia Kay

The paints were thinned with water to create a transparent watercolor-like glaze.  A basic horizontal brushstroke from edge to edge was used, letting it fade and intensify sporadically.  Alternating orange and raspberry, layer after layer, blended the colors.  Multiple layers can be used until the desired effect is achieved.

Or you can try something like the example to the right, using a fan brush with a swirling brushstroke.

Don't worry if it doesn't come out exactly as you expected.  To me, imperfections are perfect as they are.  But, if you are not satisfied with the results, you can use the mosaic method, which gives you the option of cutting away the offending flaw.

If you are satisfied, you now have a page that is ready to use without cutting it into paper mosaic tiles.  If you used a paper smaller than 12x12, you can mount it on a coordinating, solid color sheet of your choice. 

For the paper mosaic technique, cut the painted paper into various strips, squares or punched shapes.  In the example at the top of the page, the painting was cut into 1 inch squares, along with 1 inch and 3/4 inch circles, glued onto Bristol vellum.  It was then mounted on a coordinating color.  You can use it as is, but if you want to cut down on the thickness and weight of the page, photograph it and have it printed.

To make this design more ideal for a scrapbook page, I would add squares to cover a larger area or use the squares for smaller design areas to create different sections or elements on the page.  This example is just to give you an idea of how to create a mosaic pattern from your painting.

You can also cut larger sections to create panels, borders or accent elements. 

In the example below, the same design used at the top, was photographed and cropped to create yet another version of the original painting.  Using the camera's software, it was given a cool tint and the contrast was then softened to to give it a lighter quality. 

Once you have finished altering your photograph of your painting, you may want to have this printed at a copy store to ensure that the ink doesn't fade or smudge.  Just ask for acid free paper.


Doodle Therapy - Pink Sorbet Tic Tac Toe - Patricia Kay

For the page further below, have fun dabbing paint with various sized fluffy, round brushes to create a page full of circles and dots.  By using thinned paints as glazes, a more luminous look can be achieved.  You can create bold and bright or light and airy designs that reflect your mood and personality - all in a simplified technique.

Try your hand at creating your own background papers for photos that need something unique or customized.


When you're ready to start, take yourself back to the time and place where you were when the shot was taken.  Bring back those memories and feelings and then select your colors that express those memories.

Recreate those feelings in your brushstrokes - just follow your creative impulses.  Dab, streak or swirl the paint in whatever feels right.  If it doesn't come out exactly as expected, keep it for another day.  You'll find that anything you create in this way will be just the perfect choice for what you will need somewhere down the road.

On the other hand, if you can envision it potential and beauty cut and designed into a beautiful mosaic piece, you will see that it is exactly as you intened it to be.  
  
Doodle Therapy - Puffs - Patricia Kay

Continue creating your own original art for your scrapbook pages so you have a collection to choose from.  Your pages will truly stand out as uniquely and distinctly you.

Looking for more inspiration?  Try painting your pages to music.  See my post on Drawing to Music.  And don't forget to keep up or start your Daily Doodle Journal to keep those creative ideas flowing.

Happy Doodling!