Home › Forums › The Think Tank › Creativity › When in a not so creative environment
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Rachel.
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May 24, 2019 at 9:25 pm #473619
For some people, like me, who have to keep a day job that has little to do with art to put food (and art materials) on the table, how do we keep the creative juices flowing each working day?
I bring a small sketchbook + oil pastels in my office purse and paint while eating during lunch breaks.
I wonder how everyone else who is in a similar position does it?
May 25, 2019 at 9:51 am #831886I think we need to understand that life is not always fair. As a young man life was great… no one to worry about but myself and I could do my art 24/7.
At 24 I got married and started a family and we all know most can not keep going on art alone. You have to work… So at 38 I went back to school and got an arch. @ drafting degree and it became my art. Later when laws changed and wages went down I went to work running a 4 color printing press and that became my art.
Now I’m retired and able to start painting again but I never lost art. We never lose art… the medium just changes.Don't paint what you see, see what you paint.:thumbsup:
May 25, 2019 at 9:53 am #831881I am starting to search for a job now (to pay off student debt). I will just have to do more. That is 8 hours for work (hopefully not more), and 8 hours for art. A few hours for cleaning and so on. As far as the cleaning, and other household chores, try to be as neat and organized as possible in your living space, and that should not take much of your time. Don’t watch TV. Spend less time on-line. Being on-line is a major time waster. Get audiobooks so you don’t need to read much (sorry). Cut down on shopping and errands or combine trips.
I used to do this before when I had a job. I actually feel my output was even more when I worked. And, in a sense, I have all kinds of papers to write and books to read so I actually do work full time as a student as well.
Also, break down your art jobs into small sections that you can do in a specific amount of time. This allows you to know that you have 2 hours left to go on this job (if all goes well). I suppose I am saying track yourself in an organized way. In a sense, start working like a professional artist.
No longer a member of WC. Bye.
May 25, 2019 at 11:41 am #831878When I worked a day job, I did colored pencils exclusively.
Easy to transport, fabulous effects, no clean up. I drew on the train every day, and sold there, actually!
Katy, when I have all day to do something, it can take all day to start it, or at least with me. I think that’s what I like so much about commission work, I have deadlines, I have to work every day to keep from slipping behind. Having to maximize your time really gets a lot accomplished.
Robin
May 25, 2019 at 2:32 pm #831882Katy, when I have all day to do something, it can take all day to start it, or at least with me. I think that’s what I like so much about commission work, I have deadlines, I have to work every day to keep from slipping behind. Having to maximize your time really gets a lot accomplished.
Well, you respect deadlines when you are doing work for someone else, but maybe not yourself. I am saying treat every job like a commission then. You get more done. I have to have things done in a 5 week cycle. My next deadline is the 30th of this month. So I have one week more to go. If I don’t make it, I have to wait for the next deadline. It is kind of like writing a paper for a class. You have a certain amount of time to do it but what you do, in what order is really up to you, so there is still a bit of freedom. If you say 2 months per picture or something like that, then you move into a system where you know you must do steps A-Z, and you start timing each step. That makes it “project management.”
No longer a member of WC. Bye.
May 25, 2019 at 3:59 pm #831884I have a job that often takes me away from home, Monday to Friday. I like to paint with watercolours but as I know how messy I can be I don’t like to take them wih me to use. So when I’m away I switch to pen and ink. I have a couple of sketchbooks, one where anything goes and one for botanical sketches. I also take loose watercolour paper with me, so I can draw things out for painting when I get home.
When I’m working in the office, I have an exercise book that I keep in my desk drawer, purely for doodling.
Kay D - Edinburgh, Scotland
So long, and thanks ...
June 2, 2019 at 8:59 pm #831887I do carry a small sketchpad when I am doing the “day” job.
It helps when I want to sketch something I see interesting or jot down a few notes if an idea comes up.Another thing I have been doing is bringing Art books with me to work.
In my day job, it is more business oriented, not very creative.
Some days it is painters, and other days it is Comic books.There is something about having these items around that break up my day, make it fun, and keep my mood upbeat. The personalities of the workplace can bring my mood down if I am not careful.
I may not always sketch everyday, but having books around remind me why I am a creative.
Victorhttps://www.facebook.com/pg/ArtofVictorRamirez/photos/?tab=albums&ref=page_internal
June 5, 2019 at 3:51 pm #831879Well, you respect deadlines when you are doing work for someone else, but maybe not yourself. I am saying treat every job like a commission then. You get more done. I have to have things done in a 5 week cycle. My next deadline is the 30th of this month. So I have one week more to go. If I don’t make it, I have to wait for the next deadline. It is kind of like writing a paper for a class. You have a certain amount of time to do it but what you do, in what order is really up to you, so there is still a bit of freedom. If you say 2 months per picture or something like that, then you move into a system where you know you must do steps A-Z, and you start timing each step. That makes it “project management.”
Ew, no interest in project management now, had enough of that when I managed in the corporate world.
Robin
June 8, 2019 at 12:04 am #831880You need to be like Winston Smith from the book 1984 and find a place where you cannot be seen and draw, paint, sculpt, whatever is necessary.
June 8, 2019 at 8:38 am #831883You need to be like Winston Smith from the book 1984 and find a place where you cannot be seen and draw, paint, sculpt, whatever is necessary.
Just remember that there are no “Art Police” and no “Room 101” for art.
It is only on a basis of knowledge that we can become free to compose naturally. -- Bernard Dunstan
blog.jlk.netJune 10, 2019 at 8:30 pm #831885In my day job, it is more business oriented, not very creative.
Some days it is painters, and other days it is Comic books.There is something about having these items around that break up my day, make it fun, and keep my mood upbeat. The personalities of the workplace can bring my mood down if I am not careful.
I may not always sketch everyday, but having books around remind me why I am a creative.
Victor[URL=https://www.facebook.com/pg/ArtofVictorRamirez/photos/?tab=albums&ref=page_internal][COLOR=Blue]My Facebook page[/COLOR][/URL]
[URL]https://www.facebook.com/pg/ArtofVictorRamirez/photos/?tab=albums&ref=page_internal[/URL]
I totally get this. I bring actual art books from time to time, but most of the time, I have them as ebooks. They do give that needed boost or lift when stress from the work occurs.
July 1, 2020 at 12:49 am #1305916When I found myself in a not so creative environment, I try to draw my inspiration from my dreams. I dream about a lot of crazy things and I think it’s interesting to paint them.
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