Can Anyone Be Creative?

When people ask what I do, I say I’m an artist, and I also teach painting & creativity. To which they often respond by asking if I think anyone can be creative.

And, while I could make you wait for my answer to this question, I don’t want to use fancy curiosity ploys to keep you reading. Because YES! I do believe anyone can be creative.

I’ve noticed there’s a common idea in our culture, that if you’re good at sciences, maths or technology, you’re probably not going to also be good at art and creativity. But this idea is a modern phenomena (and, I strongly believe, it’s a misconception).

Being creative isn’t something that’s mysterious, or available only to a special few.

I’ve found being creative is about making something that wasn’t there before.

Which usually comes down to knowing how to use specific tools, and developing your skills in using those tools.

Plus, it’s about developing the mindsets to deal with the fears, doubts and confusion that often arises during the process of making things.

Now, we have a culture that expects people to be able to learn to drive a car, but it doesn’t expect everyone to be creative.

We know from experience, that with some instruction, basically everyone can learn to drive.

It’s the same with painting and creating. They’re skills everyone can learn.

Painting is about using tools, and developing your skills to use those tools.

So, just like with driving, you come to know when and how to merge in traffic, you can learn to blend colours and develop your sense of composition.

They’re abilities we can develop through trial and error. And, thankfully, we don’t have to hit a bus to learn from our mistakes when we’re learning to paint.

Plus, creativity is in your blood.

If you were to look back through your lineage, you’d most likely find ancestors who were adept at sewing, quilting, arranging a household and even complex woodwork.

Our ancestors developed these skills because their parents probably taught them how to do such practical things to survive. After all, they didn’t just have a department store up the road to buy everything they needed. Ingenuity and creativity were the order of the day. As the old adage goes, necessity is the mother of invention.

Where I think we slip up in our modern world, is we can tend to have a skewed view of what it takes to be creative.

We’re lead to believe it’s either a special gift only some people have, or it’s something we expect to be able to turn on, and be delighted with, at the snap of a finger.

“Never mind if I haven’t painted since primary school, if I can’t do it in one afternoon, I just mustn’t be any good at it”, that little voice in our mind says, and we put down our brushes and go back to our daily routine, disappointed with our feeble creative attempts.

Perhaps you were trying to drive 100klm/hr on the freeway, without learning how to reverse out of your drive-way first. Unknowingly, you expected too much from your first attempts.

It takes time and attention to develop your skills to be a good, safe driver, just as it takes time to develop your skills to be adept in your chosen creative field.

But I assure you, everyone is creative.

Everyone can paint.

And everyone can surprise themselves with they can make.

One way to fast-track the process, so you feel more satisfaction and joy through the process, is with a driving instructor.

Just like jumping into a car by yourself and having to figure out how to change gears, indicate, merge and basically not die was made so much easier with a driving instructor (or a very brave guardian), it’s so much easier to learn how to paint, sculpt, draw, do carpentry or whatever your heart is calling for, if you find a patient and competent teacher.

Someone who can show you the ropes of how to use the materials, gives you feedback, and most importantly, encouragement.

You can find that mentoring and encouragement through my online program and supportive community in Flourish with Painting & Creativity, or you can find a local workshop and teacher in your area who can seriously fast-track your creative development. And they’ll save you hitting a proverbial bus and mistakenly believing you’ll never be able to paint something you’re proud of.

Remember, just because you’re good at numbers or ‘logical’ thinking, doesn’t mean you can’t be creative too.

It’s simply a set of skills you can learn and develop.

Just as you learnt to drive a car, you can learn to paint.

And after time, because you develop your skills, both driving and painting will become a highly intuitive process.

You’ll stop having to remember to put your foot on the clutch and change gears all the time. You’ll know exactly how much white to add to your colour to get the tint of blue you’re looking for.

If you’re still sitting on the fence, thinking “But some people are naturally more creative than others,” let me leave you with this thought.

I know when I was growing up, I had friends who were allowed to drive old cars on their parents’ farms.

Which meant they had a good grasp of how to drive when it came time to get their license. They knew how to use a gear box. They weren’t afraid of the clutch. They knew how to avoid bunny hopping the car.

And just so, some of us were drawn to exploring and developing our creativity from a young age.

Which means we’ve spent more hours practicing “behind the wheel”, so to speak, and can seemingly draw or paint effortlessly.

But for each and every friend of mine who knew to drive better than me, they still had been through those learnings that every beginner has to go through, where they’d stalled the car or forgotten to put their indicator on.

I had to learn how to blend colours.

I had to learn how to clean my brushes with ease.

I had to learn how to achieve balance or interesting compositions.

Those skills developed as I spent time with my tools and my mediums.

Every creative person was also a beginner in their field and went through the process of trial and error to master their craft.

It’s never too late to give yourself permission to learn.

I’m not saying it will be easy. But I do promise you, the expression you’ll give yourself, the freedom you’ll experience, will be well worth the patience it took to have “driving lessons” in your creative life.

Want some help with your creativity?

I’ve got a free painting & creativity course that will help you get your creative juices flowing. You’ll find out what paints to buy, and be guided on how to paint a gorgeous abstract painting – no matter how much experience you have. It comes with fun, free cheat sheets to help you too.

Grab it here: www.nicolanewman.com/flourishwithpainting

Nurture your creativity and be gentle with yourself.

Have a beautiful week!

With love,

Nicola xx

Did you miss last week’s post? Check it out here: 4 Simple Steps to Let Go & Paint

PS. Would you love to join me for a day of painting?

We have 2 places available in the Intuitive Painting Workshop this Saturday, 16th July.

Click here for all the Intuitive Painting Workshop details.

I’d love to paint with you! xx