Mimicking other artists.

 

Last week I posted about how we need to surround ourselves by creativity and other creative people so that we can take in their work to fuel our own.
This week I want to do something a little different. We will be pin pointing certain elements in other artist’s work and mimicking it.

 

Why should we do this?

Well the only way for us to know what art looks like is for us to observe it. Or in other words we are going to be looking at art and dissecting it so that we can understand how it works.
Through mimicking other artist’s you aren’t only looking at art but you are also busy building up your own creative process. When you mimic artists you are figuring out how things are done and what methods work bests for you. You are forming a habit or a flow of creativity that will help shape your future original content.

 

Now this is all nice to write down but the important question is where do you start?
Where do you start when you want to mimic an artist?

 

Well to speak the obvious you will need 2 things.
1. The right materials.
2. Some art work that you want to copy.

 

I’m going to leave the first part up to you, because I don’t know any details about what you want to do with your life.
The second part though, I can tell you isn’t so hard either. The internet is full of amazing artists that really can use your support. I talked about this in last week’s post so if you haven’t read it then you are probably regretting that now. (go here)

 

Now to imitate it.
You can do that school thing where you analyze the art and try to fully understand it.
I suggest you take notes on paper of what the artist did. You can ask what is it that drew you to the piece? What style did the artist use? Do you think there’s a meaning behind the art?
Put these notes where you can see them and now honestly putting the artist’s thing next to your own blank canvas/page/music sheet/dance floor start to mimic what the artist did.

Mimic them while looking and while not looking. Try to memorize what the artist did before trying.

 

Now here I would like to add that you shouldn’t worry about perfection just yet. Instead focus on creating art. Focus on simply getting something done even if it’s horrible.

 

For this week’s mission I want you to simply go mimic as many artists as you can.
Try to do a little every day or every second day otherwise. Really just practice a lot.
Get into the flow of being creative and you’ll be surprised what happens before your eyes.

 

That’s it for now. I’ll be writing more on the topic next week. I hope to hear from you 🙂

 

Being creative can be both hard and easy. Sometimes it comes as easily as breathing and other times it’s as hard as running 10k up hill.
Now me, I swing between the two polar opposites quite a lot and my “Creative blocks” are something I’m becoming used to.
So I was wondering how exactly creativity works and how can I start forcing it when I need it?

A lot of people would now tell me that if I have writers block then I need to just sit down and write because apparently I’m procrastinating… as if they know my life.

If you are like me who end up having writers or creative blocks a lot and don’t believe that you’re simply procrastinating then please let me tell you that that is perfectly okay. I believe you.

Creative blocks have a tendency to originate as something personal.
Things such as, crippling self doubt, depression, hopelessness, or in my case a bit of anxiety.
Creative blocks are first and foremost emotional blocks that you’ll need to go pin point yourself and work through. Confide to a nice friend what you’re going through and see if that helps. If you don’t have someone to confide in then feel free to talk to me  I would love to help you. (Seriously helping people with creativity is my passion)

 

So let’s assume that we’ve now sorted out what is at the root of our creative blocks. I went to a couple of sessions with a therapist now my anxiety is better. You have taken some sort of action for whatever is bugging you and now you feel like you can start being creative again.

 
The question now is, how do we start being creative again?
How do we do this?

I went and I outlined the creative process. I plan to go through each of the four steps that are involved to help myself – and you – to better understand creativity so we can get going again.

To explain it simply creativity is a give and take process. Before you can be creative you first have to surround yourself with creativity, you have to practice creativity, you have to better yourself and only then will you be able to create unique and original art.

 
So the four steps are:
1. Take in other people’s creative works.
2. Mimic other people’s creative works.
3. Grow your skill.
4. Create new and original content.

Makes sense?

Okay so I’m going to be writing a blog post for each and every one of those steps but for now I want you to focus on what is blocking your creativity.
What is at the base of your creative and emotional block? Did you go through something recreantly? Did you get hurt? Where you discouraged?
Whatever it is, look for it and spend a week working and praying through it. Write down what you discover about yourself. Tell someone about it and then figure out a way to get past it. Remember you are the creator of your own life.

Good luck, I look forward to hearing from you.

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