Disrupt your Art
Today we are talking about how to make your art more like you. I love helping artists develop their own unique voice. That takes time and is hard, but it is especially so if your art is realistic.
John’s book is about the contemporary movement in the art world called, “Disrupted Realism.” I have a feeling it just might provide you some ideas as to how to make this possible.
Click on the video below to check it out…
I love this subject and especially John’s book.
How do you disrupt your art?
Leave a comment for either myself or John in the comments below.
And just because we love you guys so much, John’s daughter will be choosing one Art2Lifer from the comments to send a free, signed copy of “Disrupted Realism.”
For everyone else, if you want to order your own copy of “Disrupted Realism,” just click here.
In disruption,
Nicholas
PS If you haven’t already, come join the Free Art2Life Artists Facebook Group by clicking here.
Standing together / Nicholas Wilton / Art2Life
I have canceled my normal vlog today in order to express my solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and the dismantling of institutional racism and inequality.
As I’m sure many of you are also feeling, my heart is heavy over the recent displays of violence and police brutality. This moment calls upon us all to stand for justice.
How we do so will be different for each of us. It might be protesting, using art, song, or story. Others may offer financial support for this movement. And for some, it will begin by learning and listening.
Alongside my team at Art2Life, I am sitting in deep reflection around how we can work towards justice and greater equality both within and beyond our immediate community.
I recognize that words and empathy are not enough — they must be paired with action. In the short term, Art2Life will be making a $10,000 donation, split between the following organizations: NAACP Empowerment Programs, Black Women’s Blueprint, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, The East Oakland Collective and Black Lives Matter.
Beyond this, I am also asking: How can Art2Life embody meaningful change that reflects our values of inclusion, generosity, and uplifting creative voices? As a global platform for artists, how can we harness the transformative power of art and artmaking in service of a future that celebrates the creativity within us all?
These are my questions to answer in the weeks to come, but know that I, as well as my team, am listening and taking your feedback to heart.
In solidarity,
Nicholas
PS I wanted to offer this list of organizations to support as well as resources that a friend shared with me that has been helpful in my own journey of understanding. If you know of others, feel free to post them in the comments below.
PSS The above painting of mine is from the children’s book “Feathers and Fools” by Mem Fox. It is an allegory that teaches children to embrace differences in others.
Answer this and your art will take off
What do I do now? This is the burning question I hear from artists more than any other. We ask teachers, artists, friends and just about anyone who might have a clue.
But this question is not best answered by others. It is answered by you.
And that’s what today’s video is about. If you can get this right your art will simply take off.
Click on the video below to watch.
The ability to answer this question doesn’t come all at once. It is a practice. A practice of listening and collaboration with not just your intellect but your intuition too. We need both to make your art exceptional.
It begins by following hunches and the breadcrumbs of your desires. Notice what brings you alive in your art. What color is more of a Yes than others? How do you feel making those kinds of marks? Looking back at the art you have made, what is a Yes?
From my experience, the more congruence we have between intellect and intuition the better one’s art becomes.
The heart speaks softly and is often drowned out by all the superfluous noise in the room, but rest assured it is speaking. Even now.
What is your intuition telling you about your art and life?
Leave a comment below and let us know.
This might be the most important question you have answered all week.
In anticipation,
Nicholas
PS If you would like to be inspired and find others like you, please join us in the Art2life Artist’s Facebook Group.
We would love to have you join us. Art2life Artist’s Facebook Group
This will change you and your art
Ever notice you become bored in your art and life if things stays the same for too long?
We feel alive when something different shows up. It happens when the sun shines after a week of overcast days. It can happen by adding a bright pink color to a drab grey painting,
In life and art, however, the edges, the place where one thing changes to the next is especially potent. Where that drab grey suddenly shifts to bright pink is a visually powerful spot. So is where the deep blue of a sky meets a sparkly sea.
It took me 8 days lost in the middle of the ocean to learn this. But you don’t have to. I can just show you now.
Click on the video below to watch.
You can more easily improve your art once you know that edges are where the visual potency resides.
Try paying attention to the transitions between different areas in your art.
Make them juicy. In other words, let the viewers (and you) feel enlivened by change.
Do you pay attention to the edges in your art?
leave a comment below and let us know
If you are new here check out our amazing free Art2Life Artists Facebook Group. You might be amazed at what is happening in there…
Hope you have a great Sunday!
Nicholas
Paintbrushes? Who needs them…
My recent work has been made without paint brushes. For me, it makes better art. Is this the case for you? Check out this week’s video to see why…
That is what today’s video is all about. Click on the video below to watch.
It has to do with control. I discovered the less control I have, the less like me the art becomes. And this is a good thing. Having me control everything, well, feels like I am controlling everything. And that makes my art predictable.
Instead, highlighting the difference between me, the artist, and the foreign, chance marks that occur because of the tools I use to make my art, brings a freshness to the art. It makes my art in a way bigger than me.
Does that make sense?
So my question for you is:
How do you make your art without paint brushes?
leave a comment below and let us know
This same question is also the theme for the next episode of the Kitchen Table Art Project.
So open that kitchen drawer, grab some tools you might not normally use and join us this Wednesday at 12 pm PDT. We will be talking, laughing and art-making.
See you all on Wednesday!
Nicholas
PS Watch or get last weeks’ episode’s “KTAP Materials + Resources” PDF
See you there!
Why does abstracting realism make it more real?
Making something 2D look 3D is almost like magic.
A flat painting that looks realistic and dimensional can take your breath away.
However, when I tried to make my paintings more realistic by controlling the paint and using smaller and smaller brushes, my art became less realistic. It ended up becoming kind of flat.
What was happening, and more importantly why? That is what today’s video is all about. Click on the video below to watch.
Here is what I learned: My art looked and felt more realistic when I let the materials be more themselves. Then there was a contrast between just the paint and paint that looked like something real. It had both, and as a result, the art, at least to my eye,
became stronger and more seductive.
It also made it feel more real. It is an odd thing when a painting of a place can actually feel more like the actual place. In part, this has to do with imbuing it with
your own feelings about the subject at hand. I believe the realism of the art is bolstered by our own emotions. In a way, it makes the picture bigger than its subject matter. Even in life.
What are your thoughts about this?
Does the abstraction of realism make it feel more real?
Let us know in the comments below.
This same question is also the theme for the next episode of the Kitchen Table Art Project.
So grab some art materials and something from life and join us this Wednesday at 12 pm PDT. We will be talking, laughing and art-making.
See you all on Wednesday!
Nicholas
PS Watch or get last weeks’ episode’s “KTAP Materials + Resources” PDF
PSS Join the Art2Life free FB group? You won’t believe what people are making…
See you Wednesday!
What can you use again?
This time is partly about managing with less. Less driving, less shopping and less social engagements.
Interestingly, it actually doesn’t feel like less. My days feel more calm. I am noticing and discovering more. It is affecting my art, too. I am even finding and using different art supplies I forgot I even had.
This video today is about discovering new creative approaches, tools and thinking in this time. Especially in your art. Click on the video below to watch.
The colors in your art can serve as connection points for I had a stack of buckets lying around the studio and one day I started to mix my paint in them instead of on a palette. I realized that this simple approach saved me so much time walking back and forth to my palette. It also has helped me paint larger and with more spontaneity. I had no idea how much the feeling of running out of paint on my tiny palette was holding me back.
My art is now more free and fresh. I am enjoying making it way more. All of this because I repurposed some old plastic buckets.
So my question for you is: What are you repurposing to make your art?
Let us know in the comments below.
This same question is also the theme for the next episode of the Kitchen Table Art Project.
So grab some materials you don’t ordinarily use to make art and join us this Wednesday at 12 pm PDT. We will be talking, laughing and art-making.
See you all on Wednesday!
Nicholas
PS Watch or get last weeks’ episode’s “KTAP Materials + Resources” PDF.”
We also recommend you bookmark the above link just to make sure you can always find the PDFs and recordings of previous KTAP episodes.
See you there!
How do you find your wild side?
Ok, so we are stuck inside. Our lives are becoming more predictable. You might be settling into routines.
But not all of our life needs to become this way. Your art can become a place of adventure. Unpredictability and wildness can run free in your art practice. And this is what this week’s video is all about.
Click on the video below to watch.
You can take a walk on the wild side by starting your art in a much bigger way. Or perhaps allowing yourself to make something entirely new. After all, no one is watching. Go for it. Now is the time.
Maybe you are ready for something new. Something you haven’t made before.
Something bold and daring. Something all together, wild.
How do you find your wild side while stuck inside?
Let us know in the comments below.
This questions is what next week’s Kitchen Table Art Project is all about.
So grab your art and brace yourself for another KTAP this Wednesday at
12 pm PDT. We will be talking, laughing and art-making.
See you all on Wednesday!
In the meantime, stay brave.
Nicholas
PS A huge shout out to Christine who generously purchased my auctioned painting to benefit the COVID relief efforts! The community of Art2Life is deeply grateful.
PSS Click here to find episode replays or get last week’s “KTAP Materials + Resources” PDF
What is blue for you?
I almost became a marine biologist. It didn’t take too long to realize, however, that
the part of the marine world I loved was its appearance. It wasn’t so much about the science.
I just was absolutely mesmerized by the colors of the undersea world.
So I figured I could just stick to being an artist and stay in this world of color. And that’s what happened. Over the years, my art has become less about the colors of places or things but more about just the colors.
For me, color is subject enough. And that is what this video is about today.
Click on the video below to watch.
The colors in your art can serve as connection points for those who see it. What colors move us is fascinating. We all accept the fact that things are certain colors but when we
think about color itself, it requires a bit more thought.
It leads us into the world of abstraction and pure emotion. Some colors move us more than others. How exactly, does that deepening blue of twilight make us feel?
And how we see color changes over time. It is constantly evolving. Even the culture we reside within changes our perceptions of color. What colors signify or remind us of in one place, often is entirely different in another.
What color moves you and why? Let us know in the comments below.
The color of blue, now most recently imbued with the courageousness and self-sacrifice of our health care workers and first responders, is the theme for the next episode of the Kitchen Table Art Project.
So grab your colors, especially blue, and join us this Wednesday at 12 pm PDT. We will be talking, laughing and art-making.
See you all on Wednesday!
Stay creative.
Nicholas
PS Watch or get last weeks’ episode’s “KTAP Materials + Resources” PDF.
PSS Wednesday, during the show, I will be auctioning off the blue painting I will be making live to benefit the Covid relief efforts!
See you there!
Your art family…
I remember the first time my father complimented something I made. I never forgot it. It gave me the confidence to choose a life that had art as its centerpoint.
The motivational speaker Jim Rohn has famously said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
For most of us, especially in this time of quarantine, these are the people we hold most close. In our art and life, our successes are, to a large degree, determined by those in our inner circle.
This is what this video is about today. Click on the video below to watch.
My family has helped me and my art in so many ways. For starters they have given me objectivity. When I am always alone in my studio, it is easy to lose perspective on my art making. Those close to me can offer fresh, invaluable perspective based upon the entire arc of my art making.
Receiving support through the hard times can help you maintain confidence. When someone else believes in you, it oddly makes it easier for you to do the same.
In the end, art journeys are not ours alone. They are held, in part, by those we hold close.
How do those in your family, given or created, help you make your art?
Let us know in the comments below.
This question is the theme for the next episode of the Kitchen Table Art Project.
Join us, this Wednesday at 12 pm PDT. We will be talking, laughing and art-making.
This week, we will be having family art makers on the show!
See you all on Wednesday!
Stay close to those who are…
Nicholas
PS Watch or get last weeks’ episodes “KTAP Materials + Resources” PDF.
PSS On the cover shot of this video, I am holding a painting of my late father, Clifford Wilton. On Wednesday,
I will be sharing his artwork and some of his stories.
See you there!
