A new work that forms an extension to my ‘Chaos, Emotions and Stoicism’ series "Beyond the Storm", which was exhibited on my graduation approximately six months ago.
I think Thorin has become a big part of my inner world and occupies a big place in my bran, as a character, an example, a philosophy, a virtue (big part of my professional research on chaos,stoicism and virtues as an artist)....maybe i shall add him in future works too.
This one is about Nostalgia (as emption), "Hiraeth" and "Saudade"....forms of nostalgia of which even Thorin was "victim". He dreamed of a home he never gets to live in again. And then he tried to make it his, it bites him back with dragonfire and a cursed gold....a dream of a home he had and it got him killed...The King still Dreams....he dreams....He dreams....an endless dream....and This is his dream....
I can't properly express how deeply this campaign influenced me as an artist. Its so succinct and to the point. Smart critiques, Stupid Creates.
To this day I still regularly refer to some of my art projects as Stupid and I end up really offending my friends. "NO, your work is not stupid!" Like . . . I bedazzled a horny male torso sculpture, the concept itself IS stupid, but that's not a bad thing!
I fucking hate architecture as an art. Genuinely get real. Buildings are buildings. Space shouldn’t contain meaning. Reality shouldn’t interpret or imply theoreticals. That’s dumb. You live in reality, it is a space for life. Not Art. Fuckass
I like drawing many different kinds of people.
Their nationalities are all different, but I enjoy drawing everyone as beautiful and cool.
When I draw characters from different nationalities, I have one personal rule:
I look at many photos from that country until I start to feel genuinely fascinated by the people there, and then I look for the features that make them wonderful. At the same time, I try to be careful not to fall into stereotypes.
If you happen to like my art style, I’d be really happy if you visited my blog!
I tell myself whenever I think about public speaking, writing, or creating anything at all, because the input determines output.
Before focusing on the symptom of
“I don’t know what to draw.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
Its not about "not being creative enough"
Its about not having sufficient input to begin with. You cannot expect to create new things when you haven't challenged yourself to more exposure: to discover, see, and hear of something new.
If your art block is chronic, you're going to have to change your mental inputs, not just slightly, but deliberately.
To consume your "usual" content is too familiar, it will not always teach you something new. Read books deliberately, learn from philosophers, the stoics, deconstruct your own worldviews, expand your horizons on different kinds of music, extract beauty and life lessons from everywhere, find whimsy anywhere.
Exposure to different techniques/ artwork (collage, painterly artwork, pencil sketch, colored crayons as opposed to color pencils,
Exposure to different artists (early era of painters, different styles of art throughout the years, anatomy focus to meaning cohesion art)
Watch a new movie to be inspired and learn from
Learn knowledge from things you normally dont look for.
Find a piece if art to see from a different lens of reality
What more to create beauty if not to be inspired by the beauty , the passion, the sheer will and life experience of others in the human race?
How can you create beauty if you are never moved by anything?
How can you express passion if you never absorb passion?
Not every inspiration come from passive scrolling, it is deliberate observation from exposure. It is letting yourself be altered by what you encounter.
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Accumulated Input
Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
This lesson about art block became much more clear to me because of this artist.
Basquiat wasn’t chasing anatomical perfection compared to da Vinci, but he was obsessed with the meaning, he fed his mind relentlessly with books, and meaning came from exposure — different literary genres, history, symbolism, culture...
He filled his mind with references, with fragments, with ideas that allowed him to layer symbolism instinctively into his work.
But it wasn’t by instinct, it was by accumulated input.
You cannot think symbolically if you’ve never exposed yourself to more symbolic systems.
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Preservation of Intellect
Detachment (2011)
In this day and age where you can easily search what to see or just scroll through available images:
How would you make symbolism if you’ve never studied symbols?
How do you expect to build your own independent worldview when modern content is condensed into pre-digested summaries?
You cannot expect depth if you only consume what is familiar. If everything you consume is over-simplified for mass appeal, your thinking can become simplistic too.
Preserving your intellect is a deliberate choice you make by,
Reading deeply & deliberately
Studying source material
Exploring outside your comfort zone
When you judge and read a source material by itself, you make your own judgements and conclusions, as opposed to being fed a summary from another person's view of the material.
You cannot let someone else do your thinking for you, and then complain about "creative emptiness".
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The Identity Trap
Some problems lie in the fact that some people identify with their problem so much that they view it as a part of their "identity"
Now you can't even correct or teach them anything new or else their entire self construct shatters on impact (and usually they will blame you or anything else as "the problem" and not their lack of differentiation of personal narrative vs reality).
When a problem becomes your perceived identity, you defend it, you stop questioning it. And if someone challenges it? it feels like an attack on who you are.
The first step to doing new things is letting go of old narratives, and taking accountability for your own life
art block is not a quirky personality trait.
It's a by-product of a lack of input, a fear of imperfection, or intellectual stagnation.
Not all advice fits everyone. But if you are chronically stuck, complaining wont move you, diagnosis will.
...
Synthesis:
An output is merely a reflection of the input added, as everything starts inside the mind.
This lesson about art block was made coherent from observing an artist who never stopped feeding their mind.
You cannot expect to think of new things when every idea or image had already been thought of for you.
As an artist,
If your art block is chronic, stop complaining and diagnose it clearly for your own sake.
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End Note: There are different usages of "art block" from different artists. Some artists use it to describe decision paralysis, a fear of imperfection, but just like the first leading image to this post, this is specifically about:
"I Want to Draw, but Don't Know What."
...
Index:
Everything Starts in the Mind
Accumulated Input
Preservation of Intellect
The Identity Trap
Synthesis
...
References:
Despite the fact that Jean Michel Basquiat is most recognised for his expressive abstract pieces, I’d argue graphic elements are just as imp
