I didn’t sleep well last night and that left me feeling very unfocused today. I had a hard time doing much of anything, let alone writing or making art . So how to solve that one?
When I tell someone that I’m an artist, or a writer ( depending on the day because I do both) they often reply with some version of ‘you can’t be expected to work if you’re not feeling inspired’ and then I have to hold back.
Anyone who wants to get anywhere as a creative – artist, writer, musician , designer or what have you has to throw that one out the window. Do it early and do it fast. In order to achieve anything in your creative field of choice let that one go. Into the trash. Shut the lid and leave it behind forever.
Then do something. It might involve a creative task or a short walk or spending an hour catching up on tasks you would prefer to avoid. Whatever works. Everyone is different. For me, I enjoy making digital art. It can be quick and fun. I didn’t need to buy expensive software because there are plenty of good free open source programs out there for which, I will say it again, I am eternally grateful.
Today I used Gimp, a free and open source image editor to change a photograph of an abstract mixed media painting that I created some years ago. I had fun doing it and ended up with three very different images from what I started with. It got the creative juices going. So back to work now. And tonight an early bedtime.
(The image that started it all!)