Be curious, be creative

Our natural artistic abilities

Children can draw and paint before they are able to speak and anybody can still draw and paint even if they have lost many other abilities. We can express ourselves through art naturally. It is just so that when kids grow up they frequently get engaged in devices and digital devices, as well as they believe there is no more time for art.

Brain fitness

The comparative research in brain fitness and memory boosting activities clearly showed that doing manual observational drawing and painting 2 times a week for a few hours grew the most new brain neurons and wired the brain in the way that it was much more active than with any other activities. Drawing and painting were compared with reading, writing poetry or fiction, researching internet and writing down discovered things, doing mind games and crosswords.

Outstanding visual memory and decision making

My personal experience is that observational drawing develops extremely good visual memory, not simply good and flexible memory, but outstanding memory which does not worsen over time and with age. Drawing and painting boost attention and focusing ability to a high degree, and most importantly, one becomes master decision maker because that is what drawing and painting is. Every single brushstroke and line is based on numerous decisions. At least, it should be. The memory improvement occurs when we absorb the subject visually, and our brain sends a signal to the hand with brush or pencil . That is also active brain exercising.

Style, decisions and originality

Curiosity and necessity are frequently the main driving forces of discoveries. Creativity is the base for any solution we find along the way. Since anything we create must originate in our personal perception and be based on our own decisions, one cannot ever learn drawing or painting by watching somebody else do it. As they paint or draw they make decisions which we are unaware of.

Be curious explorer

I have noticed the following. Most people who are about to attend art classes have new art supplies: new paint tubes, new sets of paints, new brushes and new paper and canvas. Everything is unopened and not used. The first time they open their paint tubes is in the classroom, therefore, nobody knows what their paints and brushes are like. It seems surprising to me. How do you know now what that particular paint or brush will do? We should start with exploring what we have.

Quality or lack of it

We have numerous art supply manufacturing brands nowadays. Some are fine, but some sell such bad quality paints, brushes or paper that it is hardly possible to use them. Just like with many other products, art supplies often will be: “you get what you pay for”. That is why you should always test everything.

Curious as a kid

Look at kids what they do with a new box of paints, pencils, markers or crayons! They open it as soon as they can and start using immediately. Kids are curious and they are creative naturally. What is stopping adults? It is hard to say, but they should try being as curious and as creative with their new art supplies.

Testing art supplies

I am strictly advising: test every color, test every brush, test every paper and canvas. Do it before the class. Open every tube and paint some areas with every paint color in your set. At first, we do this using each color separately. For watercolor, we add more water, then less water to see what range of tones each particular color gives. For acrylic, use a small bit of water and wash the brush with warm water and soap afterwards.

Testing two colors

Next step is to test two colors together, for instance, every other color with blue, then every other color with yellow, then every other color with red. Larger sets will have many blue colors, many red colors and at least 3 to 4 yellow colors. That gives you numerous shades and transitional colors. That will also allow seeing what exactly you have. Be curious, be creative and that will allow you to start out easier.

Creating your own color swatches

It is not important to use any color charts or wheels, but it is important to know what the colors you have are and how they behave when mixed. Create color swatches from all tubes you have. Add to mixed color swatches. That way you know what you have, what it looks like and whether it is worth using it.

Testing watercolor paper

It is very useful to test the watercolor paper, as well. We will have different results with different paper. Some papers buckle a lot and some won’t allow applying more than 2 washes. You need to know what your paper does when using water on it. Brushes are also not the same. If you test your brush and it absolutely does not perform, it is quite clear that you’d need a different brush. We only use 2 brushes for either watercolor or acrylic at the beginning.

Some of 2018 watercolors

Being curious and being creative will make art happen

Being curious and being creative is always helpful when doing art. It is so much better to discover your own favorite colors and color mixes than to just blindly follow some rules, charts or somebody else’s favorites. Be the creator of your own style. I am personally against rules in art. We need at least some areas in our life which are free of strict regulations and rules. Art can be that area if you give your imagination  space.

It is New Year. Maybe you have lots of new art supplies. Don’t wait to explore them. Always be curious and be creative, try them now. Thanks for reading!

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25 Replies to “Be curious, be creative”

    1. I think that will happen.
      The only bad thing that is on the horizon is that we will have to move again. That’s why I’m not unpacking watercolors and drawings, as well as matted paintings. There is no point in doing that over again because it was extra time consuming.
      I also intend to write a lot more and I am putting together my downloadable art materials for 365 day inspiration. That is plenty of work, but it will be awesome for people who start out in drawing and watercolor. I should do something about the other blog, too, I’m less dizzy now, still not 100% ok, but way better, though. Lots of things to do.
      I don’t think I will make videos, however, because I can see in my classes how people have no advantage of watching online videos. They have not learned anything from them, and sometimes they have gotten it all wrong. I do want to break, however, the assumption what many students are holding on that everything in art is based on rules. It is assumed that one must to use one or another color, that one must implement one or another composition and that one must use certain tools and not anything else. I want to deliver the message that creating art is based on absolute artistic freedom, logical thinking, observations and decision making, as well as courage to experiment and take risks.
      I hope the 2019 is nice to you, as well!

    2. I rarely think about positive or negative, but it is basically what will happen. As soon as I got some strength back I could clearly visualize how well I can manage some things this year.

    3. I think it is very logical, and that is true for all people. I’m not completely fine yet, but trying to get there.

  1. As always, I enjoy your tips. I find brushes the hardest to determine and I notice you said you basically use two. I’m wondering what they are. Hope you’re feeling a lot better… Diane

    1. Thanks! That’s correct, no need to use numerous brushes and get confused. For watercolor, it is sable size 10-12 and one round size 5-6. For acrylic, is one flat size 3/4 inch because it has numerous uses depending on what edge we use and one small round size 5-6. Some people really love fan brush and that’s fine, but we are mostly using sponge for these steps. I’d also say one can use only 5 tubes of acrylic paint: black, white, red, yellow and blue.

  2. thanks for the reminder about how we get what we pay for.
    And the tip about testing things out….
    lovely color in each of the photos – really beautiful flow to this post –
    oh and cheers to 2019 – here’s a to a creative and flowing year…

    1. Thanks for good wishes! Certainly, I wish you a happy New Year also!
      Watercolors are really sensitive.
      Bad brush will not work. I usually paint everything with just one size 12 sable brush which has a very fine tip and holds a lot of water and pigment.
      Paper is probably the most important part. I’ve run out of Arches and I was using Saunders-Waterford for a while, but every time I ordered it, it just got worse and worse. I even checked the package label because I was certain that cannot be the same paper. Yet, the label said it was. We have to pay $25 for a 29 x 22 sheet of Arches above 140 lb. That involves some limitations for me because I need lots and lots of paper in order to paint frequently.
      Luckily, I can buy very good or, in fact, the best in the world watercolor paints when I visit Latvia. These paints have uncompared translucency, extra high pigment content, no mudding or causing dirty shades since the pigment is still natural and there is a lot of it.
      I do buy my brushes in Latvia, too. They import from Russia, therefore, prices are lovely. I also bought some Kohi-Noor pastel pencils. Believe or not, they were 10 times cheaper than in Canada. Anyway, supplies really matter when we want to create a decent quality art.

    2. Latvia sounds like the place to get art supplies – wow is that good.
      Is it hard to get thru customs ?
      The size 12 sable brush is a good tip (for me and any other readers) I have had seasons of painting (mostly acyrclic and/or gauche) and I had a couple of brushes that were used the most.

    3. Well, I am originally from Latvia, I relocated to Canada in 2004. All my family, except husband, is in Latvia: my daughter, grandchildren, my mom, my sister, etc. I’m usually going for a month every year to take care about mom who will be 89 this year. I travel with 1 suitcase, therefore, I’d usually buy 1 box of watercolors and 2-3 brushes. Acrylic and gouache aren’t watercolor, I’m talking about the real watercolor: aquarelle. These paints are small, light and last for a very long time. For acrylic you can use almost any brush and no brush at all, but for watercolor we need a very specific brush or otherwise it’s impossible to paint. Customs only care about these who spend a lot of money staying a few days abroad. Artists usually travel with some paints. They certainly had excellent prices on acrylic, too, but acrylic paints are heavy and do not last, no point in getting these ones.
      I think, everything is extra expensive in Canada, at least 1/3 more than in the States. It’s also fact that Canadian dollar has been quite low compared to the US dollar. It’s a shame, but Canadian artists have to spend a lot of money to paint something whether on paper or canvas. I’m not even talking about framing which is absurdly expensive. I once wrote a post on this website how everybody cashes in on artists in Canada.

    4. Hi – thanks for sharing his watercolors are easy to travel with (and of course I know that acrylic and gouache are not watercolor)
      I have some experience with using watercolors (nothing close to your professional and personal experience)
      Anyhow – I will search for the post the next time I have some time to do some reading –
      I am surprised Canada has not tried to rectify this situation for artists –
      Side note – my husband has been doing health (weight loss) coaching for a year now and he has a huge circle of Coaching friends – and he jokingly said he wished we lived in Canada because of the many perks they have for the coaching – cannot quote any source – but something like Canada offers financial incentives for weight loss and will reimburse people so much money if they use a coach and lose so many pounds. He said it is very helpful for the coaching practice –

    5. That’s interesting! Well, I am Latvian in heart and I eat very differently from Canadians, basically I use European and Latvian style food and always cook from scratch. I just cannot eat what they offer at catering places. I have never had any weight problems, that’s why I would not know about weight loss. I am sharing my advice on how people would be better off without any supplements, etc. on my other blog https://inesepogalifeschool.com/
      I’ve been a medical translator and writer for more than 35 years. Therefore, I get to review and edit and translate confidential materials. Everything is confidential and not for public eyes. I do compare health and weight situations, and I can tell how North America is off the track.
      I think if it were so great we wouldn’t see overweight people here, but we have insanely many people with weight and related issues and lots of overweight kids and teens. Maybe they do reimburse, but I definitely would not know that.
      I know, though, how and what to eat in order one never would be worried about weight, blood pressure, cardiovascular, digestive and nervous system disorders. People just do not listen, I guess, it’s easier to take a pill or powder and not do anything.
      I’ve been arguing with doctors here in Canada about their very unified and silly approach. Smarter ones have always listened, but these who follow Health Canada misleading guidelines certainly do not.
      I can wear anything that I was wearing 4o years ago I I probably said I am over 60 now), I still have that stuff because I make my own clothes and design them, as well. I’ve never been to gym, but I keep my metabolism youthful and active. Well, I think, ancient places like Latvia are so good to stop by because they still grow a lot on their own food and I basically grew up and lived until 46 years on natural food which I had planted, seeded and harvested. That helps.

    6. Oh that organic gardening diet likely helped big time – and whew – I could chit chat for hours with you about some of these topics – but let’s just say we are very more aligned in our thinking on the topic
      And simply – so many people eat such non nutritious food and don’t even know it – then the chemicals and processed food – oh there is delusion and misinformation and it breaks my heart sometimes –
      And my husbands tagline is the weight loss – but when he works with clients it is actually a lifestyle change and complete new way of looking at every choice (moving rather than exercise – good fats and oils – salads and veggies – and it is about long term healthy habits – but enough of that)
      Your comment reminds me of a book I am slowly reading (one of a few I chip away at…) and this one is about the history of massage therapy – and I recently read that it was the Western idea to slice into people – but for many centuries healing was done more holistically – ammo and anmo were the early terms and it is about massage and body work that can be used as systems of healing – combined with life-giving foods and behaviors — I might do a blog post on the topic next month (not sure how much time I have for blogging this year – so we shall see) ….

    7. So true: it is a complete lifestyle change.
      I couldn’t agree more that we have to make use of ancient healing treatments. My great grandma and grandma were so smart in this area, I still use to my own benefit everything I learned as a young kid.
      It is great there are people like your husband who not popularizing chemical and synthetic treatments, but life style change. I would go even further: it is a mind change and it involves even our subconscious us. I think one has to strictly believe in what they want to achieve and create a methods exclusively for themselves in particular. We are individuals, and no two people will ever benefit from exactly the same approach.

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