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Morning Art Journaling
When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love. Marcus Aurelius Before we will start discovering what Morning Art Journaling is and why it’s important, let’s find out what is just normal morning journaling and why is it trend nowadays? Morning Pages are one of these things that sound so simple that you don’t think they could ever work for you. One of the things that I have realized in life is that many of the best things are really simple but our complicated minds want to tell us they won’t work for us. What is Morning Journaling? Morning Journaling is a process of creating three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, ideally done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do Morning Journaling– they are not high art. They aren’t even “writing.” They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind– and they are for your eyes only. Morning Journaling ...
Start New Career in Art | Alexandra Novik-Khamis
I am very often hear that people don’t feel like to start something new at pretty old age; especially if all their life they have been doing totally different activities. Same with art, people don’t want to start painting after 40-50 as they are convinced that if they did not do it before they don’t really have talent then why even try. I believe that everyone can start something new at any age. A lot of painters and musicians are started their careers at very late 40s. And there is nothing wrong with it. As long as you feel inspiration and need for it then go on. Years ago, people graduated from school, got a job and worked at the same company until they retired. Today, it's unusual for a young worker to stay at the same job for more than a few years in the first decade of their career. It's also becoming more common for workers to make a midlife career change, and completely switch gears after spending half of their adult life in the same industry. People want to b...
Creativity as a Spiritual Process | Alexandra Novik - Khamis
It wasn’t that long ago that having a son or daughter who expressed interest in becoming an artist was considered a parent’s worst nightmare. But today, many parents are encouraging of their children’s interest in art. And I am as an art mentor should guide them into art world and bring inspiration for young future artists. There are many options available to help nurture budding talent, but sending a young artist to expensive private lessons isn’t necessarily at the top of the list. Yet, when I see the new undergraduates show up at my art studio, there are some who have gotten an undeniable head start above their peers. For me art education is not only teaching process but rather creative process which inspires students. One of the main goal for me as an art mentor is to bring knowledge together with joy of creative process. First of all students understand the basics of art techniques in chosen field. And then when they know the rules they can smartly break it. Art process fo...
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| Alexandra Novik-Khamis's ART Bahrain |
If You Want to Make Art into a Career- You Can’t Wait to be Inspired to Create.
Art is work. I’ve heard so many times over the years that “If you do what you are passionate about, you’ll never work a day in your life,” well that’s a true, but it may give false expectations.
Having passion doesn’t mean what you do won’t feel like work. Passion means you are able to work harder, longer, for less pay and still wake up with energy and desire to do it all over again.
So if you have a passion for art–are you the type of artist that wants to make it a career?
The difference between a professional artist and a hobby artist has little to do with skill and everything to do with perspective. As a hobby artist, you are likely to create for fun. You enjoy the activity, play around, and maybe even sell something here and there, but you don’t need to sell your work to pay your bills. As opposed to professional artists who often torture themselves to create constantly and stick to a schedule no matter what they are feeling because a girl’s got to eat!
I used to be a hobby artist. I would create only when inspiration struck or when I had a deadline looming over my head.
But I’ve learned you must make it a habit to create, no matter what state of mind you are in. You cannot stop when it’s no longer fun or therapeutic.
You have to show up, do the work, and realize fear of failure or lack of inspiration is no excuse for inaction.
Create a Schedule
If you want to make a career out of art, you need to make a schedule. Create a schedule that is realistic for you.
Do you work best in small bursts? Do you prefer working for long periods of time?
Stick to it, and create as often as you can.
Give yourself goals to accomplish
Example goals: Sketch every day for 10 minutes. Paint every Sunday for 4 hours. Draw hands every Tuesday. Do a group gallery show 6 months from now. Grow your Instagram following to 1000 by posting new work twice a day, etc..
Make sure they are SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely).
Learn how to shut off your internal critic
“It’s likely that you will fail.” “Do you really think you can do this?” “There are a lot of artists that are better than you, so what’s the point in trying?”
When you aren’t inspired, your critic is probably going to be loudly telling you that everything you touch well is not very good and it’d be better to just stare at your phone for a while and wait for inspiration. Ignore the critic. The less you pay attention to that voice, the quieter it will become. Power through the frustration and keep creating.
It’s also helpful to ask yourself what the harm of dreaming big is. I call it stubborn optimism. Believing I can’t do something just prevents me from trying. Believing I can do something, even if I ultimately can’t or don’t means I spent a lot of time having fun, enjoying the process, and maybe in the end I feel sad for a bit, but then I adjust my goals and go back to enjoying life. Be a stubborn optimist with me! Believe in yourself.
Stockpile Inspiration Catalysts
Write everything down. Sketch your ideas. When you ARE inspired, take advantage of those moments and capture every little idea you have.
When I am inspired, I often start multiple pieces of art so that when I come into the studio another day, I have a starting point. It’s easier to build off of previous ideas than to come up with entirely new ones when inspiration is lacking.
I also keep a journal or sketchbook near me at all times to be ready to write and doodle when I have ideas.
Make time to practice
You don’t need the inspiration to practice. Practice is like lifting weights. Go through the motions. It hurts at times. You’ll feel your weaknesses, but the more you do it, the easier it will be to start creating.
Improving your skills and constantly growing as an artist will help you reach different levels of success.
The best part is that ideas can develop from practice. Just showing up and doing the work opens the door to new areas to explore.
Find an art buddy for accountability
Is it hard for you to stay motivated when you are the only one paying attention to your habits? You may benefit from having someone there that checks in on your progress and keeps you motivated to stick to your schedule. A fellow artist or creative person would be best.
Making art a habit is the first step to making a career out of it. I have made art a habit, but I am still working on new goals to push myself even further. Passion keeps us from plateauing and seeing how much you’ve grown keeps you motivated to push harder.
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