the best time of day to create

I recently read an article about the time of day people are most creative. This was intriguing to me since it wasn’t at all what I had expected. I’m a night person who for years painted late into the evening. I always thought these hours were my optimal time for best results. It caught me off guard when I read the early afternoon hours were the best time for me to be in the studio. The opposite is true for morning people…their most creative time is in the evening.

It seems we are most able to produce original ideas when our minds are more open and unfocused. We’re less likely to let inhibiting thoughts stop us when our minds tend to wander more and have less resistance. I find this information useful knowing my own work schedule has me up all night.

One of my biggest complaints is how slowly I work. Now I understand why. I see how painting late at night has actually inhibited me. In the late hours my brain tends to be more alert and analytical, which I realize has me more likely to overwork or overthink what I’ve painted.

So as an experiment, I decided to work in the earlier part of the day. The first thing I noticed was how much brighter my colors were when I painted in natural daylight. I also found my work went faster. I still work in two hour intervals, but changing my work schedule did indeed increased my production. I only go into my studio at night to evaluate what I painted earlier.

As it turns out, I’m able to get more work done when I’m not overthinking my process. I’m actually enjoying the painting more and find my work is fresher and less labored because of it. 

art obsession

I recently went to the Chelsea galleries and was surprised by how many new galleries have opened this year. The construction of yet more art spaces is going on throughout the area. The art scene seems to be exploding here in New York with the most famous galleries opening large expensive spaces. With the world’s artists right here at my doorstep, I can’t help but get excited.

So having said this, how does an artist stand out from the crowd? With so much work to look at, what does an artist’s work need to distinguish itself from the pack? For me, it’s easy. I want to see work that has an obsessive quality about it. This means the work should have an unconscious compulsiveness, a preoccupation with a persistent idea that takes it beyond the ordinary into something more personal and unique.

I recently read an article by Eric Meisel Ph.D, in Professional Artist Magazine, about how turning an interest into an obsession creates passion and is an important key to self-motivation. In other words, obsessing over an idea gives it energy and power. This was certainly true in the work I recently saw in a gallery of ink drawings, however, on closer glance I realized these were delicate works done with human hair. What appeared to be a simple rendering turned out to be this incredibly obsessive work, which I still haven’t been able to get out of my mind. The same goes for the thin threads of color glued with immaculate precision to create large landscape paintings on canvas.   

It’s the persistence of the human spirit that surprises me most. For me, this is what distinguishes one artist’s work from another and why I search the galleries for new artists whose art has a contagious effect on me and my work.

intuitive intelligence and creativity

Just what exactly is an intuitive intelligence and how does it work? The interesting thing I found when researching this subject is how 80% of our minds are dedicated to unconscious thinking, which incidentally, is where creative thinking forms. This is different from book-learned intelligence, which knows only what it knows. When you think about it, this is huge. If so much of the mind is engaged in unconscious thought, then how do I access it to enhance my creativity.

One way to access the unconscious is through play, which makes a lot of sense when you think about it. It’s in the letting go and having fun where ideas have a way of coming through. The trick is not to allow the analytic part of the mind to limit creative thinking.  I can only comment on my own experience when a painting has failed. Instead of destroying it on the spot, I have a rule of letting it sit for a while, then go back into it with a sense of fun. I can’t ruin it anymore since I’ve already done that. This allows me to take risks I wouldn’t normally take. I’m going to play with it now without expectation. If I’m going to have a breakthrough, it’s going to happen when I’m not trying so hard.

If I push myself beyond my own limitations with an inspired energy, I’m more likely to have a creative breakthrough. To be intuitive means I have an enhanced ability to notice things. It means I have a way of making sense of a world that doesn’t always make sense. Survival itself depends on it. So while the analytical side of my brain wants to stop me from producing something it’s not sure I can accomplish, it’s the intuitive side of me that will take the risk and discover a creative way to solve the problem.

So my conclusion is to be observant when taking in information and try to be in touch with my feelings. I know when something is right when I get this tickle in my gut…we all get it. The trick is to recognize what you have, then act on it.

psychology of cliques

This subject is close to my heart since so much of life is dictated by who’s in and who’s out. By definition a clique is the coming together of several people with like interests interacting exclusively with one another to the exclusion of others. So why should this interest me if artists are supposed to be loners?

I learned early in life it’s easier to belong than not. When I first became an artist I joined a local art group. In the beginning I found this group helpful. Through them I found the best prices for art supplies and where to find the fastest place to get a painting framed. They were even helpful in finding a local gallery. I was part of an art community with all its openings and get-togethers. The problem for me was how this clique mentality held me to a kind of group standard that was intolerant of individuality.

I know from experience, great art does not come from this kind of thinking. When I find myself trying too hard to fit in, it shows in my work. I see this as a problem for all of the arts. While ideas become contagious, they can also bring a kind of sameness to a group who limits themselves to similar opinions. The way I see it, the minute an idea catches on it’s time to move on from it.

In my own critiquing group, I find it essential to keep bringing in new artists. This brings a heightened energy to what might become stale or repetitive. It also brings in people with new eyes and different experiences. So I say, keep your mind open, become the best at what you do and keep working.

become your best artist

My ten-year-old granddaughter, an aspiring soccer star, told me recently, “If you want people to like you, you have to get good at what you do.” Oddly enough, this simple comment resonated with me. I couldn’t get it out of my head, repeating it to those who would listen. Instead of focusing on what’s going on in the art world, I pretty much needed to concentrate on my own development. I needed to find a new level of excitement to inject into my work to give it that extra something that makes it totally mine.

As a young artist I had full intentions of making a living from my work. I did everything I could to come to the attention of the public by exhibiting in outdoor art shows, mall exhibits and national juried exhibitions. Since selling art was my ultimate goal, my work lost much of its originality. You might say, I played it safe producing what I knew would appeal to the buyers. I realize now, no aspiring artist should ever put themselves into a mold if they want to stay original.

With age comes different priorities. I have fewer distractions now with a new fearlessness about taking risks. I know the rules, but I’m not ruled by them. This was actually the hardest part for me. It means giving myself the permission to fail, if that’s what it takes to have a breakthrough.

So when I think of my granddaughter’s comment about becoming the best at what I do, I won’t fool myself in thinking this will be easy. It requires a fearlessness, an ability to take risks at the cost of sometimes not getting it right. And most of all, I need to continue pushing past my comfort zone and allow myself to expand my vision.