What does this Artist do all day?!
I have been catching up with the BBC 4 series ‘What do artists do all day?’ and the insight it has given me into other artists’ lives has been a relief to say the least. I am not alone, although sometimes it feels like I am a breed into myself! Recently I posted a link from the Huffington Post on my Facebook page entitled “18 Things that Highly Creative People Do Differently” and I can honestly say I related to all of the points, which ranged from observing everything, to seeking out new experiences to taking time for solitude.
Watching the BBC 4 series made me realise that it is all about finding a rhythm that works for each individual, but also that in this day and age, and maybe since Raphael or Leonardo’s time, it is not, unfortunately all about creativity, if we are to be successful. We must allocate time to marketing, to networking, to market research and to the business side of things. But also we have to gather the inspiration. Now I am no Scientist, but I would like to know what chemical and physiological changes take place in my body when I am in the ‘zone’. I would guess that I am completely calm and emitting a huge amount of endorphins and serotonin. Therefore stress and busyness just doesn’t work for me or my art.
In fact, the origins of the word ‘inspire’ is to fill the mind or the heart with grace, or in other words to do something ‘inspirit’. And there is no way I could do anything inspirit if I am full of head chatter, ego or stress hormones. And life being life, there are always times of stress and pressure that mean I can’t always paint. What does this artist do all day then?
Well..she goes on lots of long walks and waits for the storm to pass! In fact, it is when out walking that I will slip into an ‘inspired’ place without trying, and that is when the writing seems to just pop into my head. Poems and short stories have all been delivered into my mind when out in this glorious Highland landscape. They normally start with a feeling, and it is that feeling that I then try to encapsulate with words. A similar process to how I start a painting, except I am trying to verbalise the feeling, rather than paint it.
This poem came to me while I was sat on a rock at Freswick Bay,
The Boat of Despair
The little boat called Despair
Was out to sea in stormy waters.
Darkness permeated for miles around.
The winds were strong
And the boat of despair was
Tossed around on the mercenary waves.
It was endless.
She battened down the hatches.
Sunk into herself.
Months went by in this gloomy state
With the elements threatening to pull her under.
As she became numb to the sensation of despair.
It was mere survival now.
Then one day, something else came
Along with the incessant wind
And turbulent waves.
A chasm appeared in the sky.
And a ray of light reached down
To touch the boat of Despair’s heart.
Briefly. And then it was gone.
But it awoke within her
Something warm and light.
Hope.
Hope carried Despair through the remaining stormy days.
But soon, the winds eased and the waves were but a gentle swell.
The skies became clearer and brighter
And Despair was a changed little boat.
She was full of life and laughter.
And had put the storm behind her.
You would not even know her now.
She sails by the name of Hope.
And the same feeling inspired this painting. 
Hopefully you can see now how to creative outlet works and you have gained an insight into an artist’s process. I see creativity as a tap that flows naturally given the right circumstances but one that can easily become blocked. So next time you see this artist out in the middle of the day, and you wonder why she’s not at her easel, remember it’s all part of the process!