You sit down to paint.
You're a little nervous and skeptical. OK, a lot nervous and skeptical.
After all, painting is something you think about, but haven't really done much. Or if you have done it, you haven't gotten very far with it.
You pick a brush, start a painting and add brushstrokes.
Wow, this is fun! you say to yourself.
After awhile though, the self-recriminations start.
You say to yourself, this is no good, this is terrible, why did I think I could do this.
And you put everything away and go do something else, trying to forget that initial spark that made you say to yourself, let's paint!
Sound familiar?
I'm not a scientist nor a psychologist, so I can only speak from personal experience as a writer and an artist for over 30 years.
And my opinion of what's happening in the all-too-familiar scenario above is right- and left-brain thinking.
It's generally believed that the right brain is in charge of creativity and the left brain is the judgment side.
When you're having fun and enjoying the painting, the creative right side of the brain is partying. As soon as you start to see the painting with a more critical eye, the left side has taken over.
And I think this is the reason that many people get stuck and give up painting—they feel that what they have done so far is awful beyond repair.
What's the solution?
For me the answer it to take control of the left brain/right brain schedule and to use the left-brain critique to improve the painting.
Instead of letting your brain be in charge of whether you're going to be creative or judgmental, make the decision yourself. Allow yourself creative time and also review time and know it's all part of the painting process. It's OK to play and create and it's also OK to critique and improve.
The only thing you have to lose is the thought that the painting is awful because it can always be improved if you keep going.
If you don't believe in left- and right-brain thinking, then don't call it that. Just think of it as your creative side and your judgment side and learn to harness the power of both.
You decide how long you want to play around creatively and then you choose when to look at your work with a critical eye. Deciding the timing for both will let you keep going instead of walking away for good, or until you get the urge to try painting, again.
I was reminded of this creativity/judgment dichotomy yet again while painting the garden portrait at the top of this page. I painted it in Adobe Photoshop for a new video tutorial and custom leaf brushes I created for the Artistry Academy of Painting for Photographers for painting Impressionist-style garden portraits. At first I tried to paint with the leaf brushes in a specific way to build up the painting one step and a time and I just wasn't getting anywhere. I was reminded that I can't paint that way, trying to be methodical. Instead of painting a certain way, I let myself play around with brushstrokes without thinking about it, using my right brain. I was able to have fun and make progress. After awhile, I looked with my left brain at what I had painted and made adjustments.
So next time you feel creative and start painting and then get stuck thinking you're no good and wanting to give up, try telling yourself you're just going to play for awhile and let yourself be creative without thought. Tell yourself that it is OK to experiment with brushstrokes, styles and colors without thinking about how the painting is coming out. If thoughts come into your mind that what you're doing it no good, just shut them out. Those thoughts, in my view, are the left brain talking. Then after you've played and had some fun for awhile, take a step back and let the judgment side take over, when you decide to let it. Look at what you did with a critical eye and make adjustments. Don't think of it as criticism if you see things that need to be fixed. Assure yourself there's nothing wrong with seeing things to improve because it's just part of the process. Just look at it like everything is an interim step and assessing the work with the left brain will let you know what you need to do to be happy with the final painting.
This playing/appraising can go back and forth many times in the course of a painting until you are happy with the results.
The key is to not give up when the judgment side rears its ugly head. Just see what you can do to improve the painting and keep going.
Members of the Artistry Academy of Painting for Photographers get extra help with this creativity/judgment dynamic.
For the creativity side, they have me encouraging them in videos and in feedback webinars to try things and to know that everything is an interim step and to keep going.
For the judgment side, they learn the art lessons and Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter painting steps, so that they have concrete painting information to consult for how they can improve their paintings as they go along, plus they can then get my input in our monthly webinars.
So next time you paint and you feel your creativity turn into self-criticism, take charge and just tell yourself it's OK to keep painting if that's what you want to do, or take a look at what you've done and improve it, if that's what you prefer. The choice is yours!
All that matters is that you keep going and don't give up!
Happy Painting!
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