I’ve realised lately that creativity isn’t really about talent. Or output. Or even whether you can draw something that actually resembles what you intended. Helpful, yes. Essential, not really!
It’s mostly about attention.
It’s about what you notice. Or what catches your eye when you’re supposed to be doing something entirely different. That’s usually how a painting starts for me. Not with a dramatic artistic epiphany. More with a gentle, persistent “oh… that’s kind of interesting,” followed by me thinking about it far longer than is probably reasonable!
Quite often it’s colour. Like a yellow that feels unusually joyful. Or a shadow that doesn’t want to behave like a sensible grey and keep tending toward violet (or “menopausal mauve” as my friend used to say!).
One of my recent pieces began exactly like that. It wasn’t a cinematic lightning bolt. It wa just a persistent idea that wouldn’t leave me alone. And somewhere along the way, I realised the painting wasn’t really about the subject at all. It was about that feeling of leaning into creativity simply because life feels better when you do!\
That’s why I paint. Not just to make something decorative, although I do love seeing my work out in the world living its best life on someone’s wall. For me, it’s more about capturing a way of experiencing life. And letting creativity be part of everyday living rather than something reserved for people who own intimidating amounts of art supplies!
And when someone collects one of my pieces, I always hope it does more than match the cushions. Ideally it becomes a little reminder to stay curious. To allow beauty in without feeling you need a practical reason for it.
If you’d like to see the piece that sparked these thoughts, you can take a look here.
And whether you’re collecting art right now or simply collecting moments that make you stop to take a breath, I hope you notice something unexpectedly lovely this week.