Learning how to balance a painting’s composition can be difficult. If you add in too many marks, the piece can become crowded, making it difficult for the viewer to know where to focus.

Fortunately, there’s a simple solution for this. Watch the video and let me know what you think. How do you solve your problem pieces?

In gratitude, Nicholas

PS. I’ve put together a free assessment, designed to help you identify and then solve your biggest art making challenge.

To take it, just go to artlifenew.com.

If you find it useful, please feel free to pass it along to your friends!

I became somewhat obsessed with this question early on and have been asking myself the same one for my entire life. In my current job of mentoring artists, I now help others find their own answers to this very same question. It is not necessary to even know the full answer but it is imperative to consistently ask yourself,

What inspires you?

It has occurred to me that when you become involved with this question, over time, you get better and better at answering it. The answers change with the passage of time. They become more personal and distinct the more times you think about it. Each time you ask the better the answer becomes.

For many of us this might be the most important question of our lives. It is for me. Every time it is asked, every time we allow ourselves to realign our lives to the answer, our capacity for generating more meaningful art increases.

Moving towards the fire – those things in our life that inspire us and bring us alive – generates creativity. It took me a long time to understand that out of inspiration, doing all manner of things you love, comes creativity. If you are an artist and rely on creativity like me, then it becomes imperative to protect, to nurture all things that inspire you.

I am not just talking about art. I am talking about that yoga class, seeking out and seeing those friends who light you up, taking time in your day to walk in the woods, going to see new kinds of art, taking a workshop to learn something new or just diving into a new world of a book you have wanted to read but just never found the time. It is, of course, different for everyone. It is the practice of discernment. Choosing the big YES! over the small yes or, even worse, the plain and resigned, ok.

It is important to answer the question accurately because often the culmination of the answers and decisions based on this question manifest in what we create, what ends up in our lives. It could be a new business idea, a new relationship, a painting, a novel, a song, a career change or any other countless possibilities. In short, the decisions, the choices derived can either bring us alive or hold us where we have been. We want the former, especially if you are an artist.

We just simply must get it right. Our creative lives depend upon it.

Thankfully, as artists we actually get a lot of practice asking this very important question. The very process of making art is literally thousands (actually, millions) of yes and no decisions based solely on what feels right to you.

In an art process it is all about compromising less and less, eliminating the unfulfilling parts so that eventually what remains is something incredibly potent and meaningful to you. Your art is simply one of your answers made visible.

Our art, therefore, can stand as our personal reminder, a single placeholder of what truly matters to us at that moment. It resides within the bigger context of our art making, a practice that we can return to again and again to try to better answer that essential question: What inspires me?

I am curious. What inspires you?

I’ve been working on this painting that’s been driving me crazy – I just haven’t been able to make any progress on it. Today though, I finally had the breakthrough I’ve been waiting for!

Watch the video and let me know what you think. Have you had any “breakthrough” moments with your work?

In gratitude, Nicholas

I kind of cringed when I wrote that subject line. I used to think like this. In the past, usually when my art was not going so well, I would look outside of myself for answers. Maybe I hadn’t sold anything or was just feeling kind of unconfident about what I was making. It just somehow seemed that everyone in the world was doing better than me. What ever it is, sometimes when things aren’t going so well here, we look over there, to see what others are making.

And then, if you see art that you love and it appears to be doing all the things that yours is not, such as selling or appearing any number of ways, all better than your own work, it does seem logical that you just might make your work more like that work. In fact, you just might try, when nobody is looking, to copy that work.

And that is a problem. Not so much because, as we all have found out, it is not so fun, but because it is not at all the right path to lead you back to where you belong. Where you should be starting. Where you should be paying attention: your Art.

We need to be inspired. It is essential to look at others work. Especially work that is going where you would like to go someday. But we need to do it with a particular set of questions and goals. Ones that help us get the benefits of looking at others work but also keep us in our own artistic lanes. Remember there is something in this art that is calling you to it. And that is what we are after.

Here are the questions I use when falling in love with someone else’s art.

What specifically are the qualities of the admired art that attract you?

Really go deep with this question. Write down the specific aspects you admire.

Compared to your art… Is it more colorful? More loose? Is it the subject matter or the feeling of the finished work that draws you to it?

Does my art have some of these qualities already?

It might be possible that all you need to do is strengthen these qualities in your own work to improve it. In other words you just need to push your art further.

What would I change about this admired work if I were making it?

In other words what don’t you like about it?

In asking and then answering all three of these questions, you are framing this attraction in terms of your own art.

Let others work help inform you about where you want to go. The whole creative world is self-referential. All of us are influencing one another. The successes of others should inspire you. After all, if it possible for them, it is possible for you too.

Take a dive into what others are making, but do it looking through the lens of your own art. You always need to be driving your own car. Not somebody else’s. There is no room in their car anyway for you. Drive yours. Stay in your lane. Sure, listen to the radio as you go, but don’t try to become it. Just listen and let it inspire you as you go. It is the soundtrack to your movie. Your art. Your life.

I recently tried something new – I started working on a piece of canvas pinned to a wood panel. What ended up happening was totally unexpected and so cool!

Watch the video and let me know what you think – what happened when you brought something new to your practice?

In gratitude, Nicholas

I just started working on a painting and already it’s looking pretty good. The problem with this is that it’s too early for this piece to be anywhere near finished. In order to move forward I’m going to have to push the composition and in effect ruin the piece a bit. It’s always a bit scary to do this, but I know in the end it will make the piece stronger.

Do you ever have this with your work? What do you do when the piece starts to look good before it is truly finished?

In gratitude, Nicholas

I have just one thought this week and it keeps coming up again and again for me. It has to do with one of the primary, worthwhile reasons to make your art. It has nothing to do with what you hope to get out of it. Not monetarily. Not even notoriety. None of that.

And even though art making is what brings you alive it isn’t even about that part either.

Sometimes Art making is super hard and pushes you to your edge. Some days it feels like you are totally ill equipped to be even trying. Other days you feel like you and your art are on top of the world. But that isn’t the reason I am talking about either.

The reason is entirely outside of ourselves…

And this is it:

Making personal, authentic art gives the rest of the world permission to do the same.

If we have the courage to step it up, to actually investigate what, who and why we are, in connection to our art, then it offers, by example, the possibility for others to do the same. And this has a huge impact in the world.

What begins quietly in your studio by no means stays there. It becomes part of something moving, something bigger.

This shared momentum; this rising tide of creativity and possibility is the best place to be as an artist. I think most of you have experienced this place. The support and inspiration found by witnessing the success of others makes anything possible for the rest of us.

I know first hand that I first make my Art firstly for me but I also know that it is not just about making art for myself anymore. I also know I need to make it for you too. We need to make it for each other.

And that, makes it all even more worthwhile.

Art making is so often a process of adding, removing, and then adding again. I do this constantly with lines, which are some of my favorite marks to make.

Watch the video and let me know what you think – what are some of your favorite marks?

In gratitude, Nicholas

Have you ever noticed that when you are making your art and it is all working out that it is almost as if you are not entirely there? You are driving the bus but it seems like you do not have to try very hard. Almost like it is driving itself. Art making sometimes can feel that easy.

I love it when that happens but it rarely stays that way for long. If I overthink and concentrate too much I lose that ability to just let the art unfold naturally. Instead it feels hard and somewhat forced.

I realize I tend to tighten up when I am over focusing on a new technique or, perhaps, trying something I haven’t before. It seems like the making of the art just goes slower. It becomes more effortful.

However once I have learned that new something, once I have done it a few times it starts to become second nature again. I think it just takes time to integrate new information. And then I start to get those days that art making feels super easy again. It is like I am not even trying.

It reminds me of how I did things as a child. I remember just naturally getting involved in something, following my curiosity wherever it wanted to lead me. There was no agenda. No particular reason to do anything except for the simple joy of doing it. Everything was approached that way.

This is actually how I wandered into art in the first place. It was simply enjoyable.

I found this quote the other day by Pablo Picasso “It takes a long time to become young”

Which got me to thinking.

Maybe that is why it feels so refreshing to occasionally get totally in sync with our creativity. When our art just flows. It feels good, especially now, as busy adults with a world of concerns and long to do lists following us around. Maybe when we fall into that easy place where art making is simply effortless it is a reminder of what is still possible. The way it is supposed to be. Or rather the way it all started out being in the first place when curiosity and joy were simply enough.

The wonderful thing about fine art is that you get to make what you want. Making Art at its best is unbridled personal expression, free of concerns for making it a certain way or pleasing anyone beside yourself. There are very few things one can do in life that carry such freedom.

It is no surprise then, that when Art is made for someone other than yourself it becomes trickier. It could be a friend, an institution or a collector. Anyone peering over the shoulder of the artist, who has a vested interest in the outcome, can often make the creative process more challenging. It no longer becomes just about pleasing yourself, but becomes about pleasing others as well. If it seems hard sometimes to please yourself, then it becomes doubly so when others are on the sidelines waiting.

You might have guessed by now that I am mostly talking about commissions. Those projects that are often instigated by someone who has seen something you have made before, that they love. And of course it is no longer available, which makes it that much more desired. The only solution is for them to commission you to recreate it again – not as an exact copy, but something usually close.

The artist must now create in a different way. This new way of creating, this thinking is no longer solely the artist’s. It is easily affected by the wishes and concerns of the waiting patron. It can be very difficult to not think about the comments and concerns of the interested party who has possibly put thousands of dollars on your studio table. We all want to please. I know I do. Unfortunately this can stifle the creative process.

It seems so easy to point at something done previously, probably something done effortlessly and without particular thought, and think it can be remade again. This hasn’t been my experience. The second time around almost always becomes tiring or even worse, incredibly rigid and stiff.

Usually it is both, but since it assured a sale where there wasn’t one, I usually agree. It always seemed so possible, such a reasonable request. I am, after all, an artist. What is the big problem?

Over the years, however, I have become better at doing commissions. I actually enjoy them now. What really helped me was coming up with two rules, commitments to myself actually, that I now follow. If I do, then everything is much easier. Maybe they can help you too.

You have to be excited.

 I never accept a commission unless I genuinely want to make this particular piece of art. I have to be somewhat engaged and in alignment with the premise. For example, if it is making something derived from very, old work I probably won’t accept the commission. I no longer make Art in the way I did 10 years ago. I don’t want to go backwards, so this is a definite no. It has to be current. In short, I have to be able to become excited about it. I know for certain if I am not excited, the art will fall flat.

Make it yours. Always.

The second commitment to myself is my personal guarantee. I tell myself that at any point and for any reason, if the client is not entirely happy, they are under no obligation to purchase. If they are not totally happy with the commission then I will keep it. This puts me squarely back in the driver’s seat of making the art according to just my sensibilities. It doesn’t matter at all if the client accepts it or not. I just have to like it so much, it must be so strong, that I would gladly send it to one of my galleries, or better yet, keep it myself. This painting, in other words, is made to please myself.

It becomes almost incidental that there might be a buyer waiting for it – or perhaps there is not. Strong work sells. If I love it, then someone else will too. And in the end the primary experience, the lion’s share of the value is not the price but the experience of creating something you actually really, really like. I get that regardless. It must be a win for me no matter the outcome.

Interestingly, if I truly love it, almost always the waiting buyer will too.

These two commitments seem obvious but it took me years to figure it out. Maybe you have a knack for doing commissions, a way that makes everyone happy. Especially you.

If you do I would love to hear about them.

In gratitude, Nicholas