You’ll find that as you paint you aren’t copying one single painting but you are creating something that is your own work. Can you strengthen any of these qualities that you admire in your own encaustic paintings? Now look at your own art and compare it to what inspires you.Create a list of ten words and rank them in order of importance.Ask yourself-Why did I pin that painting? What drew my eye? What inspires me? What do I want to steal?.Create a Pinterest board of paintings that inspire you.My Essentials Listīelow is the painting I completed during the open studio following this exercise “Horizon” 16″ x 20″ by Ruth Maude – Encaustic on panel I invite you to try this creativity exercise yourself: As I then looked at the board and analyzed why I had pinned the image, it was very easy to select my essential words from the provided list. I had pinned abstract landscapes and seascapes ( see the renamed and now public board here). Before I knew it I had a very narrow focus. When you Pin an image Pinterest suggests other similar images that you may also want to pin. I created a private Pinterest board called Steal Like an Artist. Need a little inspiration? Open up the swipe file.” (pg 22) See something worth stealing? Put it in the swipe file. They only collect things that they really love… You’re only going to be as good as the stuff you surround yourself with.” (pg 13) (If you aren’t familiar with Pinterest read What is Pinterest? and Why You Should use it.) Pinterest Inspiration Board Why did I pin that painting? What drew my eye? What inspires me? What do I want to steal? I created a Pinterest board and then compiled my list of words by looking at that board. “It seems contradictory, but when it comes to creative work, limitations mean freedom.” (pg 137)īefore choosing my essential words I decided to constrain my focus. But this time I found it difficult to narrow down my list without a focus. Andrea sends us a monthly focus that guides our discussions before and after we paint.Īndrea had us choose our essential list ( read Andrea’s post about this exercise here). I’ve done this exercise before to find a list of salient words to speak to my inner critic.

At the same time I’ve been attending Andrea Bird’s Connect and Create Sessions, the same group of artists meet once a month.

Steal like an artist online