Thursday 26 May 2011

Exercising your mind, exercising your talents

Have you ever put something off continuously, and eventually found yourself in a rut? Or maybe you find yourself complaining about the smallest things, as if it's become a habit. Is it because of boredom? It's easy to fall into a trend, especially with modern technology doing so much for us these days.

A few days ago I had my entrance interview for an art school I had high hopes for attending. A conversation I had with the program coordinator really stuck with me. Going through my portfolio, she mentioned that it seemed my work had a lot of time and effort put into it and asked me if I had any inspiration behind what I had come up with and how much planning went into it. The only answer I could come up with was, "I need to keep my mind busy, or I get lazy and stay that way." She agreed with me and we began talking on how easy it is to get stuck simply by not challenging ourselves and our minds. We spoke of the shapes I use in my ink drawings, and how there isn't any planning, and that a pencil is never used to plan. It's all up to what my mind wants to do, and usually, the more I have on my mind, the more I like the photo when I'm finished. The more time my mind takes to work itself out, the more time I spend on the drawing. If I get lazy and stop, I will likely never finish what I had started.

I am guilty of this - quite often.

I have endless amounts of paintings, sketches and drawings, all not finished. The ideas lost forever because I chose not to work hard on it when the ideas were there. Now, the ideas and the inspiration are gone. I can't even remember where I wanted to take many of the pieces I had started.

An example of a drawing which was never finished.


Now, I'm not trying to sound like such a downer. I am quite fascinated by the fact thoughts can become lost, as if they just disappear into nowhere. Do they go somewhere? Or are they simply gone forever as quickly as they came? Some thoughts eat at you, and to me, my art really fixes this. A good way to take it out instead of yelling or getting upset, is to use all that energy and put it down on paper. Often fantasizing or elaborating the ideas makes it so much easier to come to terms with.


Just remember, if you're bored you should try challenging yourself and getting out of old habits. Before too long you might start looking at the negatives. Keeping busy will help keep you positive. Being positive not only makes you happier, but the people around you too.

Until next time!

Sunday 8 May 2011

All You Need is Love

So after more than a week, I have finally completed another painting. Life is busy, and gets in the way, also my motivation decided to go on vacation. Now it's back, and I've finally kicked myself in the butt to get going.

Do you ever wonder what artists did before they made it? Or what they do as their full-time occupation? If I ever made it, I think it would sound silly to have my biography say, "Sof was a cashier at..." Not so interesting, right?

Someone made an interesting comment recently when seeing one of my pieces, and it got me thinking. They said, "I wish I had some sort of talent." Although the comment made me think maybe this person was just being a bit of a downer on themselves, it made me wonder what their talent was. Everyone has one, whether it be art, music, public speaking, listening to others, math...the list is endless really. We look up to people with special talents. Many of them musicians, and artists. Whether it be someone who we can relate to, or someone the complete opposite. I find myself having a hard time with public speaking and carrying on a conversation in general. Someone very close to me is a very confident speaker, and carries themselves very well. I really look up to them, even if they don't think that is some kind of talent. To me, things that help you in everyday life such as good charisma, being able to listen and giving good advice are amazing and rare talents.


Anyways, here is my newest painting:

Evening Dreaming
I'm still trying to decide where I want to take my art. I guess I won't know until I work more on it right?


Thanks for reading!