Creative Inspiration Has A Dark Side

Key #3 to being a PROLIFIC ARTIST

Get Inspired

“The object isn’t to make art, it’s to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable.”- Robert Henri

Getting inspired by other people’s work is a great way of getting you into the creative mindset to begin creating your own work, but it has an evil dark side that you must learn to master.

Inspiration is a great indicator as to where you want to go. It’s like a big neon sign that acts as a beacon.

You experience some art and a part of you resonates with it.

Go towards it. Go with what excites you.

The word ‘Inspiration’ comes from the Latin ‘spirare’ and means to ‘breathe in’. The way I think of is that you are drawing in fresh air to fan the flames of your creativity.

It’s like opening a window in your studio and letting the air come through and move some of your sketches or writing and help you to see your work with fresh eyes and with a renewed energy.

The act of breathing in is to replenish your body with fresh oxygen to keep you alert, active and engaged.

The same goes for your art practice. Making sure you get inspired will help your art practice function with renewed vitality so that you can get the energy to do your thing and push past any resistance you might experience.

This is Key #3 in my free eBook called PROLIFIC ARTIST.

You can grab the other keys here if you want to know more.

To get inspired you can go to a gallery, listen to your favorite record, flick through your favorite photography magazine, open up a good art book, read your favorite poet or writer, watch your favorite film maker or go to a gig.

In my 2 day workshop I go into detail about my Creativity Development Method and how much time you should allocate to different aspects of your art practice.

I set a minimum of 5% of my creative time for inspiration and gathering new ideas.

This is something you need to do on a daily basis as part of a daily practice as well as a few big doses of inspiration to really push your ideas.

I personally make a creative inspiration day at least twice a month. I go to the national gallery, the modern art museum, the film museum and I listen to music on the train there and back. By the end of that I’m chomping at the bit to make music!

This tip is EASY to fulfil! And fun!

Warning #1

Don’t get caught up in all that inspiration. Once you get a buzz, move quickly to Key #4 (which I’ll share in my post next week).

Warning #2

Inspiration has a dark side, and you don’t want to go there. It can fire you up or burn you down. It can empower you and make you think ‘I want to do that and I’m willing to try’ or it can disempower you with thoughts like ‘I will never be able to do that because I’m not good enough’.

My tip to master the dark side of inspiration

Stop comparing where you are at with other artists and instead focus on where you want to go. Then take a simple step to move you in that direction today.

Download all 7 keys of PROLIFIC ARTIST for free below.

Did you get some benefit from this creative tip? If so, share this with your creative community and share the love to help others.

Tell me what or who inspires your work the most? What do you do to get inspired? Feel free to add some links below to works or whatever else inspires you so that it might inspire others.

Your art matters, so go and create!