Five Ways I Recharge My Creative Batteries
By Guest Contributor PAT FIORELLO
If you’ve been painting for any length of time, you know it’s natural to go through periods of great energy and inspiration and other times where you just don’t feel like creating.
For the more than 25 years I’ve been painting, I’ve been fortunate to mostly have been excited to get in the studio and paint, but there have been times where I lose my enthusiasm, focus or direction. Often a dry period becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, and the longer it goes on the more you resist getting back to making art. For example I’ve had home renovation projects prevent access to my studio when I didn’t paint for over a month. With that kind of hiatus, it’s easy to get in your head and think you have forgotten everything you know. You almost have to “re-boot” your artistic spirit.
Pat Fiorello, Hydrangea
In case you experienced these “dry spells”, I thought I’d share a few things I do to get my creative juices flowing again. I mainly paint florals, still life and landscapes, but these tips could be adapted for any creative work.
- Have Inspiration Pre-screened and Ready to Go
I take tons of photos (60,000+) and keep them organized on my computer in folders by trip, location, or topic. I preselect, those that speak to me the most. For example, I just got back from teaching a painting workshop in Sicily, so on the plane I went through the photos and marked those photos I immediately had an emotional reaction and put them in a separate folder “Sicily favorites”. This way when I’m at a loss of what to paint next, I know there are references that lit a spark and I’m sure to find something exciting already pre-screened there. I also have a general file name “Paint Next”, where I store images I love, and don’t want to forget about. If I don’t know what to paint, I’ll go there and find something I love.
- Consume Beauty
My aim as an artist is to create and share Beauty. But Beauty also sources me. If I’m feeling low on inspiration, I will go to books and magazines filled with “eye candy”. I keep many coffee table books around with colorful luscious photography of flowers, home décor, nature etc… that fill me up. I am not looking for reference material in these books, but just feeding my own soul with Beauty. Going to beautiful places, like the botanical garden can also be uplifting and energizing.
Still life with roses by Pat Fiorello
- Let Other Artists Inspire You
Often just looking at the work of other artists I admire is enough to recharge my batteries. I have a folder of images I keep on my computer called “Exquisite Art”. They are favorite images of paintings by other artists, both past masters and contemporary artists, that really touch me. Looking at those paintings put me in a dreamy, “feel good” place and can have me longing to paint once again.
- Be Unattached, Start Small
Over a short period, like a week, I’ll set a goal to do 5-7 small 6” x 8” studies. These are just ideas, no attachment to the outcome, not finished work for anyone but me to see. Not all of them will be great, but in the process, there may be one or 2 that are worthy of being translated to a larger finished piece.
- Do Something Easy
At times when I’ve felt stopped or perhaps overwhelmed by a difficult painting, I take a break and go back to paint something familiar or simple. That gives me a feeling of success and a jolt of confidence again that gets me beyond my frustration.
Pat Fiorello, A Few of My Favorite Things[
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