Hello! Jola here, but you may know me better as @JolaPictures over on Instagram.

Well, 2020 has been somewhat of a ride. Needless to say, it has not been the exciting start of the new decade that I had envisioned.

But now is not the time to bemoan what cannot be changed. When things are confusing, I choose to shift my mindset to a positive – or, even better – a fruitful one! Naturally, art helps me with that tremendously.

I would like to share with you some of the ideas which helped me to remain productive and enthusiastic about making art in these uncertain times. It comes down to:

When you can’t see sunshine – become the sunshine yourself.

Please let me elaborate on where I am coming from!

CREATE REGULARLY, NOT PERFECTLY

I am BIG on consistency. And simply showing up.

If you treat your art seriously, your art will treat you with respect in return. But what does that mean?

I have found that when I create regularly, I fall into a rhythm of making work as if it were an important task that needs to be ticked off my to-do-list. 

No, you don’t need to make art *every single day*. We all have different schedules and responsibilities, and life is busy even during a lockdown; I know it all too well.

When I say ‘regularly’, I don’t mean sticking to the same time of the day either. It would then be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that if you miss that slot, you are a failing creative! This is the approach of a masochistic perfectionist, and as much as I tend to be one myself, I also know that this is not the way to go about loving self-care, especially during a worldwide pandemic. 😉

Your ‘regularly’ might mean every couple of days, or perhaps an early morning at the weekend and a late evening of a weekday. Maybe you can doodle in your sketchbook at lunchtime, or when on the phone with a friend. Perhaps you only feel like drawing once a month because you simply don’t feel inspired every day – and that’s cool!

What counts here is to *remember* to always come back to your craft. Keep experimenting whenever you feel like you can devote a slice of your undivided attention to it.

Image credit: Jola Sopek

WE ALL HAVE TO BEGIN SOMEWHERE

Forget your ambitions of pristine excellence and the need to create a masterpiece every time you paint or draw.

Let’s be real, you won’t come up with a staggering beauty of a painting just because you ‘really want to’. Heck, quite the opposite, you will have to go through a lot of mediocre practice to get to the good stuff; we all do! Once you truly accept and relish this simple fact, you will enter a blissful state of creating for the sake of learning and exploring, and not the arbitrary achieving.

It has always been about the journey, not the destination. When you make yourself fall in love with the creative process itself, the fruits of your work will grow naturally as a result of steady, patient practice.

Image credit: Jola Sopek

And that precisely is the way your art will start respecting you – by organically improving itself (yes, it does start to take a life of its own!) if only you remain conscientious and patient enough to attend to it consistently, and with loving intention and patience.

THERE IS NO ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL FOR WHAT CREATIVE PRACTICE IS

You need to discover what ‘makes you tick’, and that will be different for everyone.

Perhaps you feel like you are rushing when you draw in the mornings; but have you tried doing it late at night instead? Are you feeling differently depending on the weather, the music you listen to, the people you talk to?

If you put unnecessary labels on ‘how’, ‘when’ and ‘what’ you should create, you will potentially never feel like you can really leave the beginner phase of your art journey.

Therefore, it is important to try different approaches and see what works for you and what makes your own creative juices flow. I genuinely want to encourage you to treat this as a way of self-discovery!

Image credit: Jola Sopek

If you feel stuck, try mixing up the art supplies you use. If you haven’t yet found a medium that makes you want to jump with excitement every time you think of it (as I do when I think of watercolours – even after three years of painting with them!), experiment with something new.

Pencil drawing bores you? Try sketching in ink. Are acrylic paints frustrating rather than fun? Roll out some calligraphy nibs and try your hand at lettering! Perhaps you enjoy traditional watercolours, but have you played around with liquid watercolour paints to expand your horizons?

Ok, so now you feel overwhelmed because there is too much to choose from… 😉

How about ordering a rolling subscription box full of surprise art supply goodies arriving at your doorstep? That will surely keep your creative mind on its toes, and you will not need to make the choice of what to buy!

THE TRUE SOURCE OF INSPIRATION

The possibilities to evolve as a creative are pretty much endless, regardless of what craziness is unfolding in the external world. The only restrictions exist in the limitations you put on your understanding of what creativity ought to be.

Your sketchbooks can be neat or messy; thematically consistent or as random as you like. You can pick them up every day, once week, or once a month. It does not matter!

Image credit: Jola Sopek

What matters is that you allow yourself to discover where your unique version of creativity flows from. This might be wildly different to my process, or that of the multiple amazing artists you see on Instagram and mercilessly compare yourself to (I know you do it!).

Go out in nature if you can. Read an intriguing book. Listen to your beloved record and cook a delicious meal. And then yourself – “what is it about my favourite things that draws my attention to them? What makes them pleasurable in the first place?”

The answer to these questions is where the foundation your unique version of creativity resides. Go and explore that source.

If you can’t see sunshine, find the sunshine within yourself. During a pandemic and beyond!

Image credit: Jola Sopek

Have a question about this process? Comment below and I'll respond ASAP!

You can find more of Jola’s work and motivational content on her Instagram @JolaPictures.

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