If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, congrats: summer is finally here! Hopefully, you’re getting more sunlight and feeling more energetic by the day. On our end, we’ve prepared some tips to transform all of this newfound vim and vigour into artistic productivity. (Best of all, they come with exercises to make it extra-easy for you to apply them to your work.)
1. Embrace genre and style.
It’s a well-known fact that limitations are a boon, not a detriment, to creative expression. In particular, the limits imposed by genre and style often breathe new life into the basic ingredients of an artwork. For example, would Shaun of the Dead be as effective of a coming-of-age film if it didn’t also operate within the confines of a zombie film? Would Stephen King’s Carrie pack the same punch if it wasn’t made up of (fake) newspaper clippings and interview transcripts? Doubtful!
Creative exercise: Make a drawing, painting or poster of anything you like. (Try to keep it simple — you will thank yourself later!) Then remake that starter drawing in strong, easily recognizable styles — think Greek urns, Keith Haring, Adventure Time, Saul Bass, Roy Lichtenstein, Pablo Picasso. Start with a bare minimum of three remakes and go up from there — the more, the merrier!
2. Embrace cringe.
Own your guilty pleasures instead of being embarrassed by them. Your tastes are what make you you, even if they aren’t always as high-falutin as you want them to be. Kitsch, excess and sentimentality often bring something extra to a work of art — just ask Susan Sontag and her iconic 1964 essay Notes on “Camp.” The darker sides of your taste can, and should, drive your art as much as more socially lauded preferences.
Creative exercise: Pick one guilty pleasure and make a tribute to it! (No other stipulations here except to own your tastes, even if they are considered lowbrow by others.)
3. Embrace the idea of “less.”
Most humans believe that more is better, when in fact the opposite is often true. Trimming the metaphorical fat from your artistic practice may improve it — analyse your process to see if you can cut down on any of the steps you’ve previously thought essential.
Creative exercise: With this one, we’re going metaphorical. In the spirit of “less,” make a drawing using only erasure. Cover a surface with charcoal or pencil (or, if you’re working digitally, go ahead and use the fill tool on a layer). Using an eraser, remove parts of this outer layer to let a new image come into being.
4. Embrace the flow.
There are two sides to any creative endeavour: pure creation (which is self-explanatory), and editing, which is the critical, analytical part of the process. You need both of these steps to truly improve as an artist. Unfortunately, they often get mixed up into one messy, unfocused stage. How often have you started on a piece of work only to abandon it midway because you were ruminating on its imperfections while you were chugging along? We are often our harshest critics, which is okay at the polishing stage, but absolutely not okay at the creation stage.
Creative exercise: Make something in a single sitting, where said “single sitting” is a period of uninterrupted artistic work from half an hour to three hours in length. Turn the analytical part of your brain off and just go at it!
5. Embrace your own story.
You — your life experiences, your stylistic preferences, your strength and weaknesses — are what makes your art unique. Learn to take pride in yourself and your work, and zero in on what makes both you and your art tick!
Creative exercise: Pretend you’ve been accepted into an art show or an art compendium, and write a simple word statement about your work. (Keep it under a hundred words, and try to write it in third person.) Now you have what is known as an “elevator pitch” — a way to introduce yourself to potential clients and fans.
