“Work joyfully and peacefully, knowing that right thoughts and right efforts inevitably bring about right results.”
~ James Allen ~
I’m currently developing a new body of work, which is always an exciting experience. While some people might find it stressful, I don’t, because I never know what it might wake up inside of me. Over the past few decades, I’ve learned that rushing through this process isn’t possible. It’s important to take your time refining your ideas, conducting research, and creating sketches at a steady pace.
Like many artists, I used to believe I could bypass the image development process and begin painting directly on the canvas. Disregard any advice to the contrary. It just doesn’t work. I attribute my earlier mistakes to my youthful stubbornness, naivety, and rebellious spirit.
For me as an artist, working joyfully and peacefully is a crucial component, and I believe this applies to all artists. Lucian Freud mentioned that the greatest challenge he faced was managing his emotional fluctuations, which led him to work constantly to maintain his emotional stability. Reading this made me realize how much effort I also invest in preserving my emotional continuity. As I grow older, I prefer to spend less time on daily life activities and focus more on my work. Like Freud, I tend to surround myself with interesting models and individuals who genuinely care for and respect my work.
Creating new work presents many challenges. As an artist, you’ll quickly notice external distractions or “noise” from life, if you haven’t already. If you’re like me and have fewer productive years ahead than behind, it becomes even more essential to concentrate on your craft. The work brings such joy that it’s difficult to divert my attention from it.
If you want to create change in your creativity, start by seeking change in your life. While routine and stable work help maintain your emotional balance, they don’t foster new ideas. To grow creatively, you must pursue the new—whether it’s new experiences, ideas, or people—that all help propel us forward.
A major challenge in creating new work is the difficulty of escaping the established routines of previous projects. This partly explains why many artists do not fully realize their creative potential. Older artists tend to become more fixed in their habits and often stop evolving after reaching a certain age. However, we should look to artists like Picasso and Matisse as examples of continuous innovation. Both artists kept pushing boundaries and creating new work until their passing.
Starting fresh is incredibly exhilarating, and breaking free from our chains to explore the unknown and uncharted territory is just as thrilling!
