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17 Q&A’s With Photographers
50 Conversations With Photographers
72 Quotes Collections By Photographer’s
99 Videos On Photographers
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You can learn a lot from watching how other artists work, especially if they’re working in another medium. Figuring out how you work in similar ways to produce your own authentic works is an exercise in creativity itself. And creativity is like a muscle, the more you work it the stronger it grows.
You’re sure to be inspired by these 6 masters.
Anni Albers
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Helen Frankenthaler
Hannah Hoch
Donald Judd
Jacob Lawrence
Find more How To Be An Artist posts here.
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They Did It This Way
Did you know?
Ludwig Van Beethoven religiously took walks in nature to find new musical ideas.
Georgia O’Keefe cultivated her garden for improved health. Upon hearing that John Marin had completed three canvases in one day the first thing she asked him was what he ate that day.
Agnes Martin’s rigorous meditation practice helped her manage her schizophrenia and find inspiration for her paintings
Ernest Hemingway stopped writing before he didn’t know what to say next so that he knew where to pick up in the morning.
Thomas Edison slept upright with a metal ball in his hand to wake him up so that he could record the ideas he found during light sleep before he lost them in deep sleep.
You Do It Your Way
No two artists do it quite the same way. Your art is your own. So are the daily rituals that propel your life. Like you, they change over time. The time you spend reviewing your habits, casting aside old unproductive ones and cultivating new productive ones will ensure greater fulfillment and success and quite possibly new breakthroughs.
Habits … they’re the keys to achieving your life goals. Habits are powerful because small things build up to something much bigger over time. Are your habits serving you? If you haven’t reconsidered your habits recently, it’s time. I know it is for me. We don’t have to do this all at once. We just have to get started. And make it a habit to consider our habits.
In this set of resources, you’ll find all kinds of great food for thought including what worked for famous artists like Leonardo, Beethoven, Hemingway, O”Keeffe and many many more.
A Toolkit To Help You Improve Your Habits
Don’t think of these resources as a to-do list. You can’t do it all! What’s most important is making time and space for the things in your life that are the most important to you.
Think these resources as toolkits to help you craft the life you want to live!
Schedule
How To Schedule Your Day For Peak Creative Performance
Exercise
Why Exercise Makes You More Creative
Can A Simple Walk Improve Your Creative Thinking?
Beethoven’s Daily Habit For Inspiring Creative Breakthroughs
Diet
Need A Creative Boost? Take A Look At Your Diet
From Picasso’s Rice Pudding to O’Keeffe’s Green Juice, the Favorite Snacks of Famous Artists
Sleep
Taking a Nap Could Make You More Creative
Scientists Agree – Coffee Naps Are Better Than Coffee Or Naps Alone
Can Sleep Make You More Creative ?
How Famous Artists Dealt With Insomnia
Stress
Artists Share Their Rituals For Dealing With Stress
Meditation
Why Meditating Might Make You A Better Artist
How Disconnection Boosts Your Creativity
Want to Be More Creative At Work? Stop Working !
Artists
The Daily Routines Of 12 Famous Writers
The Daily Routines Of Great Writers
The Morning Routines of Famous Artists, From Andy Warhol To Louise Bourgeois
The Daily Routines Of 10 Women Artists, From Joan Mitchell To Diane Arbus
7 Famous Artists Who Made Great Work Late At Night
Quotes
That’s a lot! Don’t eat it all at once! Savor it over time!
Start here.
Can Sleep Make You More Creative ?
You can learn a lot from watching how other artists work, especially if they’re working in another medium. Figuring out how you work in similar ways to produce your own authentic works is an exercise in creativity itself. And creativity is like a muscle, the more you work it the stronger it grows.
You’re sure to be inspired by these 8 masters.
Plus enjoy 33 Ways To Be More Creative.
Find more How To Be An Artist posts here.
Find more in my social networks – Facebook and Twitter.
Get more great curated content with my newsletter Insights.
Copying isn’t bad; it depends on how and why you do it. I recommend you try copying – and be clear about why you’re doing it. Though I rarely share these kinds of studies with anyone, I make them frequently – and I learn a lot.
I’m not fond of phrases like, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” (That phrase itself has a history that borders on theft. Read it here.) They can be interpreted as a legitimization of plagiarism, as long as your sources are unknown or you hide them well. A lot is lost when this happens; the original author goes unfairly unappreciated; the plagiarist tragically passes up the opportunity to find something of their own; readers are deceived; we all lose. The biggest trouble with phrases like this is that so many fail to go further after pronouncing them.
The best thing about phrases like this is that they memorably raise an important set of questions about the wide variety of purposes for copying: forgeries rob money (except the ones museums and collectors commission as insurance policies for exhibition); plagiarism robs intellectual property and content; studies educate the development of artists; appropriation references culturally important touchstones (best done with attribution like a quote); working in the manner of someone can be both a sign of respect (homage) and a way of fanning those flames of inspiration; and making new authentic work after being inspired by another strikes new sparks carrying the torch further.
Follow phrases like these with a rich conversation about the possibilities and you will be richly rewarded every time.
Here are a few resources that will help enliven your future discussions.
Study Finds Copying Other People’s Art Can Boost Creativity
Why Artists Are Allowed To Copy Masterpieces From The World’s Most Prestigious Museums
From Craft to Art – Leaving Dafen
Kleon – How To Steal Like An Artist
Things get really gray with appropriation.
When Does An Artist’s Appropriation Become Copyright Infringement?
Appropriation In The Digital Age – Richard Prince Instagram & The $100,000 Selfies
Who Actually Shot Richard Prince’s Iconic Cowboys?
Forgery has a fascinating history.
A Brief History of Art Forgery From Michelangelo To Knoedler & Co
How Museums Handle Forgeries In Their Collections
Orson Welles Movie F Is For Fake
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This issue features valuable resources on How To Write About Your Images.
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Writing an artist’s statement is something I initially resisted. For years I’d heard all of the excuses from many great artists, “Pictures should be seen and not heard.””If I could say with words what I want to say with images, I’d have become a writer.””Those critics got it all wrong.” But, did you ever notice how the people who write about other people’s art always have to address what the artists wrote about their work? Van Gogh’s and Edward Westons’ journals are both excellent examples of this – and worth reading.
I broke down and wrote my first artist’s statement when a gallery insisted they needed one for their exhibit and the response was positive. (A professor at Stanford later asked permission to share it as an example of how to do it well.) I was surprised not only by the positive response to my writing but also by how much I learned about my images while I was writing about them. I knew how to make the work – physically, emotionally, subconsciously – but did I understand what I had done fully. My conscious mind had some catching up to do … and in the process, I found new ideas. Now I make writing about my images a regular practice. Why? I understand them better. Other people connect with them more. And I find new ideas.
I’ve collected some valuable resources that will help you write about your images.
Start with my free PDF.
9 Ways Of Writing About Your Images
Then move to this collection of quick tips.
6 Tips for Artists on How to Talk about Their Art
4 Tips for Writing a Good Artist Statement
How to Write an Artist Statement
4 Ways to Write an Artist Statement
An Authentic and Easy Artist’s Statement | 10 Powerful Tips
Want even more? Try these three information-packed resources.
What Should An Artist’s Statement Contain?
The Language of an Artist’s Statement
Examples Of Artist’s Statements
There’s even an entire website dedicated to helping you write better artist’s statements.
Artist’s Statement.com – Resources To Help You Write A Good One
It’s easy to make fun of artists statements when they’re done poorly or for the wrong reasons –while you’re doing it just be clear about what makes them funny and you’ll learn a lot while you’re having fun. You can learn a lot about how to write well by looking at examples of bad writing. So, don’t use this to write your artist’s statement, instead, use it to figure out what and how not to write. And don’t forget to laugh along the way.
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Plus check out The Complete Guide To Writing Your Amazing Photography About Page
I create and curate a lot of content on creativity, art, and photography.
Here I’ve collected some invaluable resources for finding, energizing, and deepening your creative vision.
You’ll get a great taste for the content on creativity we offer in our Digital Photo Destinations Workshops.
Seth Resnick @ B&H – Seeing Color & Enhancing Creativity
John Paul Caponigro @ TEDx – You’re Created To Be Creative
John Paul Caponigro @ Google – The Creative Process
John Paul Caponigro @ Austin Talks – Find Your Way
Gregory Heisler highlights the importance of doing things your way.
Gregory Heisler @ Creative Live – Embracing Your Uniqueness
David Duchemin writes soulfully about cultivating your vision.
David DuChemin – Your Next Step : Authentic Work
David Duchemin – Finding Vision ?
David DuChemin – Chasing Photographic Style
David DuChemin – Vision And Voice
Hungry for more? Savor this book.
Thomas Moore’s – Original Self
Want to find out more about my creative process?
Check out my ebook Process.
The big take away? Creativity is an evolving process of discovery. If you simply engage the process with an open mind and a willingness to try new things, you’ll be uplifted by the surprises it holds for you. And, with mindful practice, you can start to influence the courses your creative life takes to make it more likely that you’ll get the results you desire most. Dream, act, fulfill them.
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Want to be more creative? Whether you can’t seem to get going, find yourself stuck in a rut, or you want to break through to your next level, you’ll find these articles both inspiring and useful.
7 Simple Ways to Be More Creative in 2018
Why Exercise Makes You More Creative
Need a Creative Boost? Take a Look at Your Diet
Want to Be More Creative at Work? Take a Vacation
Why Meditating Might Make You a Better Artist
Some People Can See Sound, or Taste Color. Does It Make Them More Creative?
When Timothy Leary Got Artists to Take LSD
Fixed vs. Growth: The Two Basic Mindsets That Shape Our Lives
The Creative Learning Spiral Envisioned
How Creativity is Measured—And Why It’s So Difficult
Pour your favorite drink, relax, and enjoy.
Hungry for even more?
Explore my creativity resources here.
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