Creating Art for Art's Sake

Over the past few months I have been painting daily on a journey to rediscover my aesthetic. (Obviously this has changed slightly now that little miss Rae is around.) I’ve come to find that creating for you is more important than creating for the potential client. I found that in creating everyday, just to create, my heart was more invested and in turn the artwork more inspired. I started a journey of creating consistently for one hundred days. The purpose was to get myself into a rhythm of creating again; to find inspiration and find the style of my artwork. It had been years since I had consistently created artwork for myself and I felt like part of me was missing when I wasn’t painting.

After day one of painting, I looked forward to my daily painting time. Sometimes I had to push myself into it, but I knew once I got into it I would be elated in my painting world. It was a chance for me to escape reality and create for myself. I focused on creating things that I was happy with instead of worrying about how people would react to it on social media. I know many times we get lost in the world of social media. We look at numbers of followers and numbers of likes, but in reality that robs you of your creativity because you focus on others' opinions instead of creating what your heart desires. Don’t let others' opinions stop your creative methods. Keep creating what you love.

Right now I’m half way through my one hundred days of painting and I actually haven’t painted in a few weeks. My husband and I welcomed our first little one into the world at the end of September and I don’t even have enough time to sleep – let alone paint. The thing is that I’m not going to push myself further than I can take just to get back in the painting studio. There are different stages of life and with this new little one I know that my painting has to take a back seat. Not to say that I won’t get back to painting, but that it isn’t my main priority.

When you have a big life change, be okay with those things taking priority. I am looking forward to getting back to painting, but I know that there are other things that must come first right now. Again, don’t let others' opinions change what you know is best. Don’t let the obstacle of others' thoughts change what you are doing. The fear of others’ expectations should not be the reason you push yourself back into creating.

Once I get back into painting I still want to make sure that I’m creating work that I'm passionate about. Eventually I’d love to get artwork in people’s homes, but for now I’ll stick to creating for myself; for the process of it all.

At the beginning of my one hundred days of creating I wasn’t sure how to start. You may be in that same place; unsure of where to begin. I want to encourage you to simply jump right in. When you create for yourself it truly doesn’t matter how successful those first pieces are. Get those ideas out into the world and see what follows them. Your art will change and you will gradually see pieces that you are excited to share. Don’t be afraid to share your process either. It’s encouraging to see the entire journey instead of only the end product. Encourage others by sharing your journey of creating for you. I would love to see your process and how you’ve come to find your creative aesthetic. You can see my one hundred days of painting on Instagram [tulipslacestudio] or feel free to contact me via email at tulipsandlace.studio@gmail.com. Continue to make pieces for yourself and you will be more invested and inspired to create!

Come check out my work so far on Instagram!

https://instagram.com/tulipslacestudio/