An artist’s style never remains static. It’s a living breathing thing that – if you feed it enough – it grows and evolves continually.

We all know the proverbial creative block – that big old wall that you hit after a while. When inspiration is fleeting and you’re left with what seems like only tired ideas. This is the place that every artist dreads. And you wish to avoid at all costs – always. I’ve been there many, many times. But I’ve learnt a little trick that helps me get unstuck. All you need to do is change gears, take the next exit and go down a completely different road. Once you change the scenery, the ideas start sparking all over the place. Sometimes so much so that you struggle to sget anything else done before you scribble those ideas down.

Artists are allowed to pivot in their style and technique. Whatever they are creating this year, might not necessarily be the same thing they create the next year, or next day. There needs to be some room for growth. Don’t expect a plant to flourish if you keep it cooped up in the same small pot for most of its life. And while I’m conveniently on this plant metaphor – let me elaborate. A plant has roots (yes) and leaves/branches (yes and yes). If the roots have room to grow and get fed by the different nutrients in the ground, the leaves and branches can grow and expand. An artist draws inspiration from life – the older you get, the more life you’ve lived and the more inspiration you gather. It comes from literally everywhere and everything, even the most surprising and insignificant things/events/moments can trigger an idea. As time goes by, those life experiences slowly feed into your root system which leads to growth in your leaves and branches. Once those leaves and branches are mature enough, they start bearing fruit or flowers. Things that happen to an artist – and makes them feel anything – all eventually shows up in their work. In some way or another.

And we need to act on it as we don’t really have a way to completely control the inspiration or supress it properly. If it wants out, it wants out, so best we give it a stage and let it sing. But not all songs are sung the same, not all plants grow the same – so life happens, things change, times change, minds change, ideas change. An artist’s style can – and will – change.

But with all said and written – plant metaphors and all – it really only comes down to one basic principle. The creative process should always excite the artist first and foremost. You must love the process and the idea, it must be meaningful and valuable to you as a creative (isn’t that why we do it in the first place?) If you create art for any other reason than self-expression, sheer escapism and enjoyment, you are missing the point. And it’s the change in direction and ideas that keeps fuelling the creative fire. It’s that excitement and the thrill of exploring the unknown that keeps us going. Because – as cliché as it sounds – artists are indeed temperamental beings. We’re volatile, erratic and we change our minds a lot. This is not our fault, that’s just how we’re built. Our moods shift with the wind, and so do our ideas.

With experience I know that many of the things I paint, draw or carve will not appeal to every person out there, but that’s the beauty of it. Somewhere along the line, a curious collector will come along unexpectedly and love what you’ve done – and that remains the single most thrilling experience for an artist. When a random other human being appreciates and values your creative output. When a deeply personal and fragile self-expression can wake something in another’s eyes. That’s where the magic lives.

So yes, today I will paint portraits, tomorrow I will paint flower… or dots or patterns. I can do this (without feeling like a crazy person) because I’ve learned to appreciate that artistic style never remains static and not one piece exists independently from the next, they are all connected by a lifetime of growth and experiences.

Art regards,
M