Finding the Creative Flow - 7 Tried and True Artist Techniques
Getting back into the creative flow
Have you ever had one of those days when everything just worked? You were in the creative flow, ideas came easy and conversations were effortless?
And then somehow you woke up the next morning and it was like the entire Universe spent the night plotting against you?
The past few days were like that in my studio.
Getting into the creative flow always feels like a magical vortex opens and sucks me into a beautiful, totally focused alternate reality.
It’s one of the greatest feelings being an artist, but it can also happen doing anything, anywhere.
So why is it so finicky?
Here It Comes
A couple days ago the magic turned on and I fell into that creative flow.
I was working on new artwork for my upcoming mini book and everything magically synced up. I felt like I couldn’t do wrong.
Ideas were flowing.
Each one seemed better than the next.
I pushed myself into uncomfortable dark corners only to find the light.
I didn't try.
It just happened.
It was all came so easy, I actually thought to myself that maybe I’d broken through and it was going to be like this from now on.
Right.
There It Goes
Of course you know where I’m going with this.
I got to my studio last night, and couldn’t get there.
Everything felt forced.
It was a grind.
Every idea seemed worse than the last.
That sweet flow from the previous days disappeared over night.
The well went dry.
I know that many artists, no matter how brilliant or famous they are, even Picasso, have all struggled with this.
“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”-Pablo Picasso
The Impressionists considered themselves craftsmen.
More like brick layers than how we commonly view artists these days, living eccentric lives waiting for lightning to strike.
Inspired or not, they kept painting.
So the big questions are, how can so much change over night?
And is there a way to stay in the creative flow and not have this happen at all?
Seducing the Muse - Myths, Legends and Techniques
Once again, I’m reminded that the lessons I learn in my creative life are exactly the same and perfectly applicable to the rest of my life.
This whole dance is about desire and flow.
After 30+ years as a creative, as well as being a person who generally tries to be conscious of myself and the world around me, I’ve developed a list of myths and techniques I try to remind myself when I get frustrated and can’t find that creative flow.
And I’ve found these apply to anything and everything I really want in life.
This is the box of tools I pulled out this week to navigate me through.
Myths - What I Tell Myself vs. The Reality
Myth #1 - It’s My Fault
There is no reason why things shouldn’t flow all the time. There is nothing different about today than yesterday. If it’s not flowing, I’m doing something wrong. It’s my fault. Maybe I’m not as talented or smart as I thought I was.
There are two elements to my response:
Today IS different.
Every day is different.
I am different.
The entire Universe is different.What if there is a reason the creative flow pulls back sometimes?
What if it is by design and actually part of the life process?
When it comes to creativity or problem solving, I believe the subconscious needs time to work on things behind the scenes.
It needs to know the boundaries and sticking points of any given situation.
This narrows and focuses its scope.
Then seemingly like magic, a solution appears while we’re in the shower one day or out for a walk.
And the flow turns back on.
That’s not an accident.
There are numerous studies of the brain which support this idea.
Myth #2 - I’m the Only One
It seems easy for everyone else. Why not me? If I’m struggling, there must be some shortcoming, void or lack of something that is causing it.
Simply not true.
Some of the greatest geniuses in recorded history struggled with problems.
Isaac Newton.
Albert Einstein.
Pablo Picasso.
Read their bios.
They pulled their hair out for months before the breakthroughs came.
Myth #3 - Gone Forever
The juice will never turn back on. That was it. The good days are over, never to return.
This is ridiculous and hilarious.
Neurotic gibberish.
Sometimes the things I tell myself sound credible and real in my head until I say them out loud.
Someone suggested to me once to write down everything I said to myself in a notebook for one day.
It completely blew my mind.
The voice in my head is crazy. Literally.
Myths Dispelled, Getting Back Into the Creative Flow
Phew
Ok, now with those myths out of the way, the door opens for me to apply any or all of the following 7 techniques to get me back on track as soon as possible.
#1 - Keep Going
Stay with it.No matter what.
Take a step away if needed, then come back.
Consistency is key.
This goes so much further and deeper than the artistic process.
Anything I want in my life requires consistent application of pressure.
I need to make time every day to work in my studio.
I need to make space everyday for something good to happen.
Picasso’s advice is perfect here.
I’m not an old man (yet), but I’ve been alive long enough to see patterns in myself and life.
The number one thing required to get back into a creative flow is forward movement.
Keep going. No matter what. Personally, emotionally, physically.
When I do this, the flow always returns
#2 - Don’t Overthink It
This isn’t always so easy.
My logical left brain thinks it’s the resident genius in my head and can figure anything out.
In reality, it’s just an order taker.
A worker bee.
It’s great at lining up tasks in a logical order and completing them.
Higher level solutions, real connections with people, and any truly revolutionary idea I’ve ever had has come like a bolt of lightning.
That’s all right brain.
So I don’t need to lay out a series of logical, rational things to do.
Can’t be done.
If things get sticky, I try approaching from a different angle.
Or I work on something else to cleanse my mental and emotional palettes.
#3 - Intention
I need to let my subconscious know what I want it to work on.
If I feed it too many problems at the same time, it will bounce from one to the other. The subconscious works deep. In my experience I’ve found it works best on one thing at a time.
Whether I’m looking for a breakthrough in a career goal, a piece of art, a song, or even a health issue, I check in with myself from time to time during the day to consciously to see if anything bubbles up.
A great way to help with this is to write it down and read it out loud every day.
I know. Cliche. But it works because it keeps my subconscious fresh on the problem so it can wrestle with solutions and opportunities behind the scenes.
I believe that’s part of the reason my first band Kik Tracee got signed to RCA Records.
Our manager had us write down our goal of getting a record deal on a piece of paper, put it next to our beds, and read it every morning.
This week I am keeping my mind on the specific problems I’m addressing in the book I’m writing.
What do the visuals need to communicate coupled with those specific words?
I keep reminding myself to think about it during the day.
Solutions will come.
#4 - Start Small. Break It Down.
Sometimes it’s best to break a bigger situation down to a smaller one.
What is the next step?
Since my goal this week is to finish these images, I’m just working on the next one.
What does this particular page need to say?
Then I will move to the next.
Sometimes bigger solutions require many mini solutions along the way.
#5 - Be Simple. Raw. Primal.
When Apple was at the top of their game, every device or program they built was easy to use.
The code behind it was complicated, but the user experience was not.
If my situation feels too complicated, it probably is.
The best ideas tend to be simple.
And even amidst complicated systems and formulas, more often than not the idea that cracks the code, is a simple one at its base.
This doesn't mean execution is simple. But the concept usually is.
#6 - Don’t Want It Too Much
Ever wanted to be with someone so bad you couldn’t stand it?
And then when you were finally face to face, you were so nervous you could barely speak?
Or you wanted a job so badly you clammed up in the interview and didn’t get it?
Be reckless with ideas.
This is particularly important in the hunt for fresh ones.
Some situations need meticulous attention in the execution stage, but the idea stage needs to be wide open for maximum possibilities.
Revolutionary ideas only come from being bold.
When the dam breaks, life happens.
Stop trying to control it.
I know what I’m doing.
Trust it.
This is how I got caught up this week.
Once I made some work I felt was a breakthrough, my attention shifted and I started trying to make something “as good as that one” rather than something else radical.
I went from trusting the process to being afraid.
There is a spiritual lesson here as well.
If I want something THAT bad, then I am acknowledging subconsciously that I am not complete without it.
It’s hard not to come up with airy fairy metaphors here, but basically we are each like a musical note vibrating in the universe meant to harmonize with each other, rather than a bunch of gaping holes running around looking for corks to plug our leaks.
I have to remember that.
Just as wanting someone so bad is surely the kiss of death, wanting an idea or outcome that bad is a total creative flow killer.
#7 - Get Angry. Burn the Kingdom. Start an Internal Revolution.
Sometimes I just have to say f#$k it.
Anger can be positive here.
I have to get angry at the voices in my head telling me who I am or am not.
And what I can or can’t do.
I have to rebel against what I’ve done before or who I “think” I am.
Literally say “f#$k you” to that part of myself.
I know it sounds intense and harsh, but our protective walls are strong.
Sometimes they are so strong, only an act of aggression can bring them down.
Because who’s to say what I can or can’t do?
Or who I am or am not?
And where my creative or personal limits or boundaries are?
Have you ever surprised yourself?
Why cut that possibility off?
This is how I became a singer years ago.
And a songwriter.
And an artist.
And pretty much every other creative or personal breakthrough I’ve ever had, like the one this week?
Why can’t I put a giant rectangle on a page to illustrate someone’s head?
It Worked. Again.
The day after I wrote the bulk of this post, the faucet came back on and I made some real progress.
Sometimes I stumble into the creative flow and other times I have to fight for it.
But pointed perseverance always wins.
It doesn’t necessarily make broken days like yesterday much easier, but it does help to remember..
The downs are an important part of the process.
The ups can’t happen without them.
And ups feel good.
Really good.
They’re worth waiting for.