Getting Reconnected

It will come as no surprise to most of you that a good walk in the countryside is relaxing.

How about we took that one step further and actually treated a five minute meditation outside in a park or even your back garden as a way of reconnecting with our creative roots? Getting reconnected can bring us back to our inner creator and remind us of our inspirations. It is the natural world that first teaches us about colour, texture and pleasing views. We will use words like, “stunning”, “beautiful”, “calming”, and “serene,” when we sum up a fantastic view in the natural world. How easy we forget that there lies the fundamental answer to all our creative blocks and weariness. A five minute retreat into the right outside environment can really revive and re-inspire us. Once we find the right place for us we can use it to “top up” our inner creator’s reserves on a regular basis.

I am lucky to have my studio situated in a remote back garden that has trees and shrubs and most of the time all I can hear is birdsong and see greenery. (Apart from when the neighbours are strimming!) While this little haven is wonderful on a daily basis, I still crave for the open countryside or coastline and big skies. I tend to get re-connected in these places and then keep topped up in my garden. I can assure you it really works and it makes a difference to my painting.

So, find your spot today and use it wisely. Once you have frequented the place enough it will be possible to take it even further and just find a quiet spot at home and close your eyes to visualise it. This can be just as effective!

I hope you have a place near you that you can find your creative self in the open air, and I wish you all the best with this technique of getting reconnected. :)
above painting: Suffolk Summer Dusk © 2008 Deborah Eileen Burrow

Following the Visual Voice

What speaks to you when you see another piece of art / sculpture / craft?

For me it’s colour and texture. Obviously it’s a huge influence on my own painting. However, it doesn’t come naturally that just because I see something that takes my breath away that I can reproduce something of the same ilk!

What tends to happen is that artists, through experimenting and understanding of themselves and their work, develop a recognisable style – the visual voice. The conveyance of the artist’s meaning through inspiration, subject matter, art elements, composition and the process.

“[The visual voice] is the piece of magic inside ourselves - the amazing actuality within us.” – Cristina Acosta

Luckily for me as an intermediate discoverer, there were artists who are willing to share their experiences and advice, and since taking note of them, I am making a more focussed route to my desired approach to creating. (A quick mention is deserved here of Megan Chapman – she has been amazingly helpful through her blogspot and review.)

The resulting understanding of what was within and how to express it was the catalyst to beginning to find my visual voice. Then came the sifting out of what was working and what wasn’t. Before that I had spent most of my life looking at art and experimenting with different media and had already built up an inner connection with certain styles. I admit I'm not there yet, but I'm well on my way :)

It’s never too late get in touch with yourself again, and I suggest that a reminding of your original source of inspiration is very important to your creative path.

How to do this?

Well, keep visiting galleries / workshops / museums / art shops and the like. Make a date to visit events when they pop up. It’s too easy to get bogged down in your studio. Even a walk along the coast or nearest nature reserve can do it. I own a dog and it’s a great way to get outside and see things as they change with the seasons and light. Even if I’m not painting what I see, what I do get is a refreshing of my connection with my creative self. Stepping out for a few hours blows away cobwebs and allows new inspirations in.

So you see it’s vitally important to keep the passion alive for your art. Without it our works won’t be inspiring to others or have any authenticity to them. The spirit in your work will be evident through the response of the viewer.

Good luck with your journey – there’s always something to chase away the blues and get in touch with your visual voice.

painting above: Summer Evening at Shingle Street (c) 2008 Deborah Eileen Burrow