So, you want to live a more creative life? Perhaps get into art as a way to blow off steam and relax or you want to make something of it but have no idea where to start? Here’s a short list of my go to basics every newbie artist should have that aren’t going to break the bank or be difficult to find!
We don’t realise how many incredibly talented and creative souls that share the same town/city/state as us. I came across Chloe R Everett’s instagram (@honey.possum) and I was overwhelmed by the raw talent. There is something so freeing about her work, the raw edges, and textured brush patterns, it isn’t pristine and fine lined and that’s what I love most about it. As someone who is overcome by perfectionism and anxiety, the illusion of creating in a carefree way gives me comfort and inspires me to let go a little more.
A tale old as time—art tends to be looked down on, considered a bludge lesson—in Australian high schools if you take creative subjects such as art or music in year twelve, your ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) will be much lower than that of your peers who have taken science or maths. It doesn’t mean you didn’t do much work, because anyone who has taken those classes in their final year of high school knows the endless amounts of time spent and stress of getting folios and finals finished on time, but it seems the ATAR system doesn’t reflect the hours you spent working.
But what if I told you studies have shown that analysing art can increase blood flow to the brain by 10% and the act of producing visual art increases “functional connectivity in the brain along with enhanced activation of the visual cortex.”
Art supplies aren’t cheap—the good ones that is—but just because something isn’t hyped up on social media or is cost beneficial doesn’t always mean it is lacking in quality, and just because something is, doesn’t always mean it’s worth the splurge.
This question has popped up a few times during my search to find out how traditional brick-and-mortar galleries showcasing and selling art are fairing with the age of the internet and social media—and the answer I found to be the consensus was: No, but they need to change if they want to survive.
Often the word is associated with being penniless, struggling, and the general suffering of the heart and mind of an artist—take Vincent Van Gogh for instance—but today’s landscape of being an artist has changed drastically. We have the internet. At the snap our fingers we can connect to thousands, if not millions around the world, and getting your art noticed and making a living from it is a lot easier than it used to be.
But there are still misconceptions about what it really means to be a self employed artist, as local Adelaide hills artist, Wendy Dixon-Whiley, can attest to. Due to people bringing up their doubts and pessimism about art being a substantial way of earning, Wendy put off following her passion for a ‘real’ job, but now is a established artist supporting herself through what she loves.
Wendy can be recognised by a variety of work around Adelaide; including wall mural for popular vintage store Fanny Adam’s Vintage, as well as logo design and wall mural for Caffiend Coffee Company at their recently opened 2nd location in the city, and arguably most notably her ‘Paste the Hills” project where she completed a 75m long mural inside the tunnel that connects Littlehampton to Mount Barker.
So I sat down with Wendy the other week to discuss what it is really like to be a artist today.
When I was younger I was carefree with my art, everything I drew fascinated me—albeit sometimes I would crumple up the paper frustrated, but more often than not, doubt rarely obstructed my creativity. Then I experienced a little thing called high school. High school is a breeding ground for doubt and pessimism and I was not immune to it. I spent a lot of years barely creating a thing and hating whatever I did make, so much that I’d avoid it altogether.
Over the last year I’ve made it my mission to rekindle my creative spark and win back my love for art. Don’t get me wrong, I still struggle by second guessing my ideas and feeling as though I have none at all at times, but I’ve learnt it’s okay to lack ideas, it doesn’t make me any less of a creator. I had to learn to be patient with myself and give myself a break.
So here are some things I suggest to get your artistic creativity going that have helped me:
Quillligraphy 