3 Things that Don't Need to be Perfect in your Creative Life
Today, we’re looking at 3 things that really don’t need to be perfect in your creative life. Thank goodness for that! So instead of feeling blocked or as though you have to wait until the future before you’re able to express your creativity, you can get started today!
Video Transcript: 3 Things that Don’t Need to be Perfect in your Creative Life
#1. Studio Space
The first thing that doesn’t have to be perfect in your creative life is you don’t have to have the perfect studio space, or creative space.
When I first started as a painter, I actually dug out about a foot of dirt underneath my house. It was a semi-raised Queenslander house, but it didn’t have a very high ceiling and I couldn’t stand up under it, so I actually dug out the dirt.
Then, I bought a table from St. Vinnies for $15, shoved it into my newly dug out space, and set up. I was in business! That’s where I made most of the paintings, I’d say 85% of the paintings, for my first solo exhibition.
When you’re starting on your creative journey, you certainly don’t need to let having the perfect space be a block.
We talk about ways that you can transform even a spare room or a garage, or even a corner of a room, into your sacred creative space. In my online program, Flourish with Painting and Creativity.
I give you some tips about how you can protect your walls and floors and furniture and all those sorts of things, so it doesn’t matter if you’re in a large home or a little unit, you can actually carve out a place to be creative.
Even if that means simply making a box that you can put your supplies in and put into a shelf on your bookshelf, so you can easily pull it out and work on the kitchen table, that’s perfect too.
#2. Art Materials
The second thing that doesn’t have to be perfect in your creative life, you don’t have to have the perfect materials. You don’t actually have to go out and spend loads and loads of money on the best paint brushes and the best highest-quality paints.
Instead, I recommend when you’re first beginning to give yourself an abundance of materials. If that means buying lower quality paints and brushes, it’s really fine and great.
When I first started painting, I learned using student-grade acrylics, and I used hog hair paint brushes. I still use a lot of hog hair paint brushes, which are very coarse paint brushes that you can pick up for $2 at the 2-dollar shop.
I practiced and developed my skills through using all these very basic materials that you really just pick up from the local 2-dollar shop. They are perfectly fine for you to have a play with and push some paint around, so you’re not feeling inhibited worrying about the cost.
#3. Skills
The third thing that doesn’t have to be perfect in your creative life is you don’t have to have the perfect skills.
Whatever skills you have right now are adequate for you to be able to build upon and to further your own development, by playing with your materials. Especially if you’ve given yourself a sense of abundance with your materials.
Naturally, through the process of using your art materials and giving yourself permission to play, your skills will develop.
So you don’t have to feel like you must have the skills of an artist or creator you admire, and that if you don’t have those skills, you can’t create.
In fact, you can use whatever skills you have now, to start expressing your creativity.
Like my mum says, if you like doing some squiggles and there’s a few squiggles you like, then keep making squiggles and you’ll develop your own style of squiggle.
It’s a totally beautiful thing to do, and it’s nice to give yourself permission to play.
Those are just 3 of the things that don’t need to be perfect in your creative life. I’m sure you can probably come up with some more ideas of your own, which you’re more than welcome to share in the comments below.
I’d love to hear from you.
Which of those 3 things may have been holding you back in the past, and you’re now feeling like, “You know what? I’m not going to let that stop me. I’m going to jump in, and I’m going to start to play with my creative life this weekend or today.”
Looking for inspiration to get started painting & reignite your creativity?
If you’re new to my blog and you would like some help to get started with painting and creativity, I’ve created a beautiful 10-day free e-course that takes you through just that, called, “Get Started with Painting & Creativity.” You can find that at www.nicolanewman.com/flourishwithpainting.
In that free e-course, you’ll be taken through how to paint an abstract painting, plus we’ll do a writing and a photography adventure. It’s loads of fun! You can get that free e-course here and start painting today.
I’m wishing you a beautiful week.
Be kind to yourself and nurture your creativity,
With love,
-Nicola
Did you miss last week’s post? Check it out here: 7 of the Best Life-Changing Creativity Books