Venessa Spells

Still Available 2ft x 3ft on canvas.  BandingHendrix.com

Venus Moves

Six arm Shiva. Available 4ft x 3ft $300  Bandinghendrix.com

Nude

I painted this nude for one of my martial arts instructors.  In my martial arts we wear Brazilian pants called Abadas.  These pants we have to special order from Brazil or go there and pick them up.  Not only are they difficult to get they are also expensive.  When my instructor went back to Brazil I was low on cash so I told him I would trade him a painting if he would get me a new pair.  So he had me paint a nude of a Brazilian Samba queen  Bandinghendrix.com

Clear Sound

I painted this piece for a client.  My client has black tie events where he likes to display a nice piece of art somewhere in the party.  2ftx3ft I charged him $300

Stacks Of Art

I have so much art that I have painted.  I have endless amounts.  This picture was from my old house and where my art was.  I took the picture when I was moving out.  This was about half of what I have.  I create so much that it is a challenge to document all of it.  Bandinghendrix.com

Jimi's Birds

Jimi is a huge inspiration for me.  I have listened to his music all my life.  It always lets me know that I'm not alone and that things will flow out the way they are supposed to.  Here is a painting I did live.  Original still available $300 2ftx 3ft on canvas. Bandinghendrix.com

Dragon Styles

This piece is still available $400 4ft x 4ft on wood.  Bandinghendrix.com

Buddha Bless Earth

This piece is still available $300.  2ft x 3ft.  BandingHendrix.com

Awake

This painting I painted live at the Big Fish pub for a electronic dance night.  I love this piece a lot because it is a self portrait. Canvas 2ft x 3ft prints available

Documentation of a painting I did for the "Love Me Dead" art show

I feel documentation is on the top three list as one of the most important things we can do as artists.  For me it goes as follows:  Create, document, market/business.

Creating: Of coarse I mean to paint and to manifest and build in whatever medium that you explore in.  Keep going and finish the things that you start to the very best of your ability.

To document:  As a painter the first step is to number and date all the pieces.  After you number them on the back make a hard copy  all the work in a file with the number, name and date. Take pics of all the paintings. This is a great tool for me because as soon as I load them into the computer my program automatically files them with dates.  Once these pics have been filed with dates this is legitimate prof incase anyone else tries to rip your art.  Now you have saved dates and pics of when the work was first created.  Buy a external hard drive so you don't bog down your computer with images and or small flash drives .  Also this is a great way to back up all your data.

Take as many pics as you can as a artist, pics of your studio, pics of you painting with friends/colleges, pics of you at your art shows, pics of you at other peoples art shows.  Spread these pics and share them on all your social media sites. This is  beneficial because you are further actualizing your presence in the art world. The process is also a lot of fun because it shows you a different perspective of you gaining momentum in your art career. For me this builds excitement and excitement then builds inspiration to create More!!

The other form of documentation that I am building is video.  I am doing my best to video all my work that I create.  I have a simple editing program on the computer that I use to put them together.  After I create the video I post and try to share with as much people as possible.    It's ok if you do not have great equipment.  The point is: you have to start somewhere even if it is just with a small digital camera.  From there with hard work and faith the creative elements that "are" will open up doors and opportunities that will bring you better equipment.

Marketing/business: In this blog I just wanted to really talk about documentation. The business/marketing  section is endless and I have talked about it a bit in my past blogs. I think one of the biggest things to realize about being a artist is:  marketing/business is just ONE hair less important then the creating process so don't neglect it. It helps if you are supper organized, if you have an equal balance of all your elements and to visualize the process being all linked together.

Here is the Link to the most resent video I made of me painting live. I did a painting for the Love Me Dead Art Show at Galeria De Los Muertos. Check it out, if you like it please post/share with others that you think might like LOVE ME LONG TIME

Innovated Art Magazine

New Online Art Magazine I'm featured in. The whole magazine is great, I start on page30.
http://issuu.com/innovatedmag/docs/jan11_innov_mag_final Click on the link Then click on the cover. Enjoy.

Creating a presence online as a artist.

Creating a presence online as a artist.

I had to make the step into the online world of marketing.  Being a artist that solely wants to sell his work online, I had to learn how to drive more traffic to my personal website.

The first step is creating a personal web page. A web page is important; it is a gallery that anyone can see from any where in the world.  People that see your page can also (if you set it up right) make purchases from where ever they are. This helps in becoming an international artist without even leaving your studio.

I created a website four years ago.  I bought a mac book pro and used the I web program to build the site.  It felt great doing it by myself because I like to be as self sufficient as possible.  After it was built, I sat back and was anxious to have new people come and visit my page.  I passed out 1000s of business cards in hopes that people would check it out.  By this time, I was already on myspace and I directed people to the page.  I began to get hits but nothing serious. So, I sat back and I waited, waited for the number of hits to stack up and the sales to start rolling in.... and waited and waited.  Hmm, something must be missing, I thought after waiting for three years.

Having a website is great and is a necessity.  However, having a website is also like having your own virtual private island that only you know how to get to.  In order to get visitors to this island you have to make road maps so that people can find it.  So lets talk about some of these basic road maps.  

When I speak of road maps, I am speaking of SEO, search engine optimization, blogging, article writing, posting comments on due follow blogs, social media networking, youtube videos and publishing all of your relevant content anywhere and everywhere that you can on the web. You can pay someone to market your website on the web.  They will be an online marketing pro.  If you're like most artists, you're doing your best to just to feed yourself so, it is difficult to pay someone to market your product for you.  The following are a few things you can do that require little or no money to get started.

After creating a web site, the next step is to create a blog.  Blogging is wonderful because it allows other people that are in your field or just lovers of your field to read relevant information about you and what you are doing.  When I started blogging I thought, "What should I blog about?" I started to think about what the people that have bought my art and other artists want and need to know about.  I started with who a biography of I am and why I create.  Then, I started to talk about the styles that I create and my creative process.  Now, I am focussing more about the steps that I am taking to market myself on the web.  I do my best to write 1 to 3 blogs a week.  Every week I pick up at least one new follower.  The going has been a little slow but blogging is a process that should be continued forever.  Blogging is also a great tool to use to look back at what you have done in reflection.  A personal learning map of trial and error. When you blog you want to add a link to your website that will drive people back to it.  You also want to add tag words.  I will talk about tag words in a bit.

After creating a blog, the next thing to do is find a website/service that will publish articles. The one that I use is: http://ezinearticles.com.   Ezinearticles takes your article and it will publish it posting it out to their readers.  Thousands will have access to it.  People read it and you'll get a following of readers.  It will help lead people back to your website by you linking your website in the article.  In order to cut down on my writing, I use the same content from my blog as I do for my article.  I post my article at the same time that I write my blogs. This service is also free.

Make some videos.  I got a youtube account and started to make videos.  I started with videos of me painting live, painting in the studio, painting murals.  Video making is fun because the more I get into it, the process becomes a creative act as well.  Start thinking about filming relevant content on your topic, informational videos and help videos.  Pretty soon you'll get people waiting for your next one.  By making videos, you are marketing your work and sending more people to your site.

After you create your website,  an article, blog and video  it's time to create a few profiles on some social networking sites.  You do this so that you can notify people that you are creating, that you're producing great art, being successful and having fun while doing it.  I am on,Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. I am on art websites as well, Onewithit, Daggerrom, Myartspace and Flicker.  Every time I produce a new art piece, I take a picture of it and I notify all those sites with a link to my new picture and my site.  Every time I write a new blog or do anything that is worth mentioning, I post it up on all the sites.  Now, people are noticing that I am a creative wrecking ball and slowly but surely I am gaining a following online from people all over the world.  I'm selling art to strangers that live across the seas.  The more time you put in the more that you get back.  Be proactive.

Collect emails from the people that are interested in what you are all about.  Every chance I get, I exchange emails with someone and or take their card.  I get to my office and log in their info.  I try not to blast my email list too often.  Perhaps once every three months I will do a mass email to notify people of my new work, new sites, blogs, art shows etc. I don't do it too often because no one likes spam.  Make your information useful, relevant and be tactful.  Spamers are spotted fast now and communities won't put up with them.  It also makes you look cheap.

A little about SEO, search engine optimization.  I can't go too far into detail about this because I am a bit of a noob in this field.  But with the help of a very good friend, I got showed the right direction and more then a few things that I can do by myself to help in the marketing process.  SEO is all about getting google/search engines to recognize your website as a formidable website that is  legitimate that entities use and visit.  One major way search engines do this, is by reading/counting how many legitimate links you have going to your page.  The more links you have in the online world the more google/search engines will respect your website and it will start to place it closer to the top pages. To help make this happen, you have to come up with tag words.  Tag words are words that you put to describe whatever you are doing.  Mine are, abstract art, pop art, stencil art, surrealism, modern wall art, buddha art, mural art.  Every time I write a blog or an article, I put these words somewhere in it.  On my website every page's url address has these words in it. These words also help people find my artwork and me when they are randomly searching for lets say "pop art".  Because I have "pop art" linked to my website on so many pages google is placing me closes to the top.  The more links I create that involve these words, the more google will identify them with my website.  I know, it's complex, I'm barely learning it now. Most of this stuff you have to have someone that is a SEO agent help you out with because they have access to programs that will allow them to analyze the efficiency of the way your website is generating traffic.  From there you can have a better understanding of what you need to do to create more traffic.  Also, they have programs that will analyze the competition for tag words telling you how many people are trying to use the word.  The more people that are using the word the more competition you are going to have linking your specific site to it.  If you're like most artists that don't have the $$$ to go out and get a SEO agent there are more then a few things that you can do yourself to go to make waves and go forward like blogging, social networking  and producing relevant information and publishing it.  Won't happen over night, but the more you put in the more you'll get back.

If you want to learn more about online marketing and SEO youtube and google search it.  There is free information on the subject that will give you a better understanding of it.  I googled and youtubed it for a week straight, watched videos and listed to free online seminars.

Have FUN! Hope some of my experiences has helped.

Abstract art ~What it is, Where does it come from? Why do I do it?

Abstract art is art that does not try to represent a specific subject matter or something that is recognizable in reality.  Abstract art plays on the emotions of the artist completely by using shapes, colors and textures.  Abstract art is very spontaneous in nature.

When I paint abstract art I do my best to start with at least three different colors.  These colors can be complimentary or opposite on the color wheel.  This depends on what I want to have the viewer feel and experience .  Do I want bright colors that are so opposite that they vibrate when you see them? Such as green and purple, yellow and blue.  Or do I want colors that harmonize when you look at them causing your eyes to move in a soothing pattern across the canvas?  There is no wrong or right way to paint abstract art because there is no wrong or right way to feel while painting it. 

~Emotions

Emotions  are the key ingredient for abstract art.  What is the artist feeling?  Is he feeling angry, sad, in love, out of love, inspired, aggressive?  Mood can be greatly effected on the habituates a artists takes and doesn't take.  Artists have had a long reputation for using outside stimuli in the form or alcohol, weed, pills etc.  I do not agree with this and I do not disagree with it.  I am also not saying every artist uses.  But I will say that a lot of great art has been inspired and created under the influence and sober.  So what does this mean?  Emotions are key in creating art, sad or happy, drunk or sober whatever state the artist is in is going to influence the outcome of the piece.

~When to stop, Less is more

When I paint abstract art , I feel as though I want to put subject matter on it, a flower, bird, person, building, etc.  I see a beautiful background and I want to put something that defines an image.  Most of my art I combine what I am feeling with what I see or am inspired by.  However I feel the real challenge in producing a great abstract piece is knowing when to stop, when to say "enough".  Abstract art can be as simple as a black and white painting and  have a few powerful brush strokes.  It can be minimal in construction and design.  The artist is saying more with less words, less strokes can say more by utilizing the empty space that now just exists.

~Less Is More, but some times More is better

When I am painting abstract art I try to challenge myself in using less.  Meaning how can I make a powerful piece of art by utilizing the empty space that is on the canvas?  Say more by saying nothing, paint more by using the paint to excentuate the emptiness giving it form.  But the opposite exists as well.  How many layers can I use? I ask myself.  In my opinion layers of paint mean layers of emotion.  So when I want to convey more, I ask "how many layers can I have?"  "How many layers can I build?"  "How much more color and texture can there be?"  I build layers much like  a sculptor would take away to expose the hidden form  but with layers I add to define dimensions, texture, shape. This conveys emotion.

~Abstract Art where does it come from?

All my pieces of art combine a aspect of the undefinable, the unknown the abstract.  I  combine my pop art, surrealism, modern art and abstract art together to form my individual style.  Abstract art is fun. It allows me to explore the subterranean levers of my psyche.  As I dump colors, work with brush strokes, thick gobs of overlaying paint, my mind travels.  It travels to a place that can be only explained through the finished product. This allows me to release hidden layers of myself that I can not reach without engaging in the artistic  action of painting.  Abstract art is the reflection of the inner mind.


I like to combine my abstract art with my pop art, stencil art, mural art, buddha art.  Major styles of art have already been defined. I do my best to merge styles together to form something that has been influenced by a certain genre but make it my own by mixing, destroying, and rebuilding.

Abstract art, What it is, Where does it come From and Why do I do it?

Abstract art

~What is it, Where does it come from and Why do I do it?

Abstract art is art that does not try to represent a specific subject matter or something that is recognizable in reality.  Abstract art plays on the emotions of the artist completely by using shapes, colors and textures.  Abstract art is very spontaneous in nature.

When I paint abstract art I do my best to start with at least three different colors.  These colors can be complimentary or opposite on the color wheel.  This depends on what I want to have the viewer feel and experience .  Do I want bright colors that are so opposite that they vibrate when you see them? Such as green and purple, yellow and blue.  Or do I want colors that harmonize when you look at them causing your eyes to move in a soothing pattern across the canvas?  There is no wrong or right way to paint abstract art because there is no wrong or right way to feel while painting it. 

~Emotions

Emotions  are the key ingredient for abstract art.  What is the artist feeling?  Is he feeling angry, sad, in love, out of love, inspired, aggressive?  Mood can be greatly effected on the habituates a artists takes and doesn't take.  Artists have had a long reputation for using outside stimuli in the form or alcohol, weed, pills etc.  I do not agree with this and I do not disagree with it.  I am also not saying every artist uses.  But I will say that a lot of great art has been inspired and created under the influence and sober.  So what does this mean?  Emotions are key in creating art, sad or happy, drunk or sober whatever state the artist is in is going to influence the outcome of the piece.

~When to stop, Less is more

When I paint abstract art , I feel as though I want to put subject matter on it, a flower, bird, person, building, etc.  I see a beautiful background and I want to put something that defines an image.  Most of my art I combine what I am feeling with what I see or am inspired by.  However I feel the real challenge in producing a great abstract piece is knowing when to stop, when to say "enough".  Abstract art can be as simple as a black and white painting and  have a few powerful brush strokes.  It can be minimal in construction and design.  The artist is saying more with less words, less strokes can say more by utilizing the empty space that now just exists.  When using less is more in abstract art it starts to become something else, modern wall art.

~Less Is More, but some times More is better

When I am painting abstract art I try to challenge myself in using less.  Meaning how can I make a powerful piece of art by utilizing the empty space that is on the canvas?  Say more by saying nothing, paint more by using the paint to excentuate the emptiness giving it form.  But the opposite exists as well.  How many layers can I use? I ask myself.  In my opinion layers of paint mean layers of emotion.  So when I want to convey more, I ask "how many layers can I have?"  "How many layers can I build?"  "How much more color and texture can there be?"  I build layers much like  a sculptor would take away to expose the hidden form  but with layers I add to define dimensions, texture, shape. This conveys emotion.

~Abstract Art where does it come from?

All my pieces of art combine a aspect of the undefinable, the unknown the abstract.  I  combine my pop art, surrealism, modern art and abstract art together to form my individual style.  Abstract art is fun. It allows me to explore the subterranean levers of my psyche.  As I dump colors, work with brush strokes, thick gobs of overlaying paint, my mind travels.  It travels to a place that can be only explained through the finished product. This allows me to release hidden layers of myself that I can not reach without engaging in the artistic  action of painting.  Abstract art is the reflection of the inner mind.

http://twitter.com/BandingHendrix

Making a Living as a Multi-talented Artists.

I find most artists wether your a painter, dancer, musician or any other creative medium also have a secondary medium that they explore in.  It is challenging already to take a personal talent and make it work for you in a financial way.  A lot of artists are talented in their field but lack the know how to get the ball rolling.  So if you are an artist that enjoys a couple different ways to express your art, how do you choose which one to take to a professional level?  A level in which you can  make a living.  These are the questions that I had to ask myself when I decided to leave the "work for someone else world" and just wanted to do art. There is no right way.  The beauty of being a true artist is paving a personal path through trial and error.  

I will explain how I developed my painting skills to start to bring in income. Also how I decided out of the talents that I possess guitar, martial arts, dance and painting how I chose what one to develop into a profession.  I will also explain briefly my next mission and that is: how do I combine my mediums of artistic expression to form a supper "unit".

After graduating from the art institute of Phoenix, I got a job working at Air Photo USA.  This was a map making company that had small cessna  airplanes that would take arial photo images.   I worked in the quality control department.  My job was to scan whole maps in photoshop and look for abnormalities.  Such as specks, hairs, dust that the scanner picked up, bad color and wavy lines or over lapping images.  Once I found them I would correct them in photoshop.  I did this for little over 2 years. Sitting in front of a computer all day was mind numbing, I almost went nuts!  I was let go with a small severance package.  

I had some money saved and with the severance package that I received, I thought, "Now what?".  I was no longer doing any illustration and/or painting because I felt I was burnt out from the Art Institute of Phoenix. I was concentrating heavily on guitar and martial arts training.  I had been playing guitar for several years by now and would practice at least two hours a day.  I got pretty efficient in it.  I wanted to produce and make music.  But was I ready to?? NO, way.  I knew this and to this day I am just now getting ready to really get some things recorded 6 years later. We are also  our own worst critics. 

After leaving Air Photo USA, I had a bit of an emotional episode involving a relationship that went Splat!  I figured it was time to pack my bags and move back to San Francisco my hometown and live with my older brother. I thought I needed to figure out what it was I want to do with my life before my small amount of saving was gone.  

I started meditating and asking myself, "What is it that I want out of Life?" I never focused on what I did not want in my Life.  Every self reflective question/statement I asked myself was stated something like this:

"I want to work for myself"  

"How do I work for myself?"  

"What do I have right now?  

"What talent that I have will and can be utilized to put money in my pocket and food in my mouth?"

"What talent that I possess is going to make me happy doing it all the time?"

I looked at the guitar player in me.  I had been playing for a few years and although I had become fluent playing the instrument, I had no real experience writing songs and/or singing. Not to mention, I was shy and really had not developed confidence in my singing ability. So, the prospects of getting booked for any gigs soon didn't look too promising. 

Okay what's Next?

Then I looked at the dancer/martial artist talent in me.  I have been doing martial arts almost all of my life on and off with different intentions and intensities. Although, I consider myself above a normal standard for martial arts ability, I knew if I wanted to open my own school I would have to find a new teacher.  I would have to start with a new system and I would have to start competitions and fights to gain experience and establish a following.  That takes time and money.  I needed money Now!  Plus, after evaluating the reasons why I train, doing cage matches and becoming a MMA fighter didn't seem to appealing.  I am not a fighter.  I don't train martial arts to win fights.  I train so I know how to survive in Life and keep myself disciplined. I am into survival. I still train and I can see myself teaching one day.  I would teach purely to give back to the community and not try to make a living from it.  As for dancing, I had just picked up free style dance, house, modern and brake-dance. I had no formal training.  It was basically the same story as my martial arts history.

I asked myself, "What do I have left?  Who Am I and what is my strongest talent?"  I then asked myself, "What do I feel the most comfortable and confident doing?  What have I been doing the longest?  ART, Painting! Derr.  I knew that I could start selling my art work if I started painting again.  I had not picked up a brush in years.  But, I knew it was inside of me and not that hard to find.  When I look back at my earliest memories, painting and being creative always stands out as one of my fondest talents.

I am what I am today and I am here today because that was the beginning process.

  

Whatever your talent is, pick the one that you feel is the most powerful.  Pick the one that is the most marketable.  Also, pick the one that brings you the most freedom in mind and spirit because it is the most natural to you.  Once you have found that, the next step is to make a game plan.  Little steps, fight and win little battles because it is those that make up the entire picture. I will share with you my first game plan so you can get the idea.

I wanted to sell my work.  But I didn't have a piece of work to sell, not one painting and I had not painted in years.  I had to get the juices going.  I sat down and meditated... Bingo, this is what needed to be done.  I went to the art store and bought a portfolio book with empty sleeves.  I also bought pens and markers.  I wasn't ready for the brush yet.  But I told myself that I am going to fill up this whole book with illustrations and then take the best ones and make paintings out of them.  So I began.  It was one of the most memorable times in my life. I drew all day filling this book up and getting myself inspired.  I started to surround myself with like minded people.  I also rented movies and read books on my favorite artist to find out their process.  The universe I believe works in mysterious ways.  Before I knew it an opportunity found me.  

I came back to Arizona from San Francisco for Thanksgiving and met a friend of mine from Arizona who runs a local chain of Italian restaurants. He gave art shows out of the restaurants every so often.  He and a couple investors had  a company called Dreamz Art.  This company would give artists' shows, represent them and make giclees prints of their work.  He ask me to come up with a series.  When the book was done  come up with at least 6 new paintings from the book.  Come back to Arizona and lets have your first art show.  Great, everything was falling into place.  

I moved back to Arizona and had a successful art showing. I  have been painting full time ever since, pop art, modern wall art, abstract art, surrealism.  Once I got that initial push, I was able to support myself with my artwork. I find that opportunities constantly are coming my way.  I appreciate all the opportunities that continue to come my way even though I realize we all  have good days, good months but also have down days and bad months. The way I stay mentally positive is to do my best to stay productive!  When I get stuck in life, I ask myself, "What can I do right now, in this moment that can help me go forward?"  Be mindful of your time and how you spend it, because the smallest effort could start a chain of events that could link you to a huge success. Remember this, any productive action is a move in the right direction.  No action is a move in no direction.  Regardless how small, it is all part of the larger goal!  I am constantly striving for the next level because I know if I keep this same formula success will always come.

Have a realistic plan.  A realistic plan will start with a few small goals that you know you can accomplish within a reasonable amount of time.  I like to look at my greater goal, then I work myself backward on a piece of paper writing out the steps on how to get there.  If you try to conquer your large goal first without breaking it down into smaller units it probably won't work. It will fall apart at the seams because it has no real foundation.

So now that I am selling my artwork on a consistent basis how do I incorporate painting with my guitar playing?  My goal is to play the guitar at gigs and display my art with it.  I am using the same formula that I did with my artwork..  I am coming up with some songs, practicing them and doing my best to come up with a 45 min set.  Once I have my set finished,  I need to put together a small business proposal that I can take and present to local venues and show them what I have.  I think it would be a great idea, play my music and have a vending booth to sell my art. 

If you're a multi talented artist and are having a hard time starting out and picking which one to pursue, I hope reading my process has helped a little.  You might even have two talents that are equal.  I have a few friends like this.  They dance professionally and play in a band, they DJ at clubs and show their artwork.  Being a full time artist you have to survive and to do that you have to have a product/talent that you can sell to the public.  I know now I can go to pretty much any major city in the world and if I have the right supplies to paint, I can feed myself, I can survive.  I feel the next article I will write will be:  Full time artists, more then surviving, it's about thriving and becoming very successful.

http://twitter.com/BandingHendrix

bandinghendrix.com

Inspired All The Time

Inspired all the Time.

People ask me "how do you paint so much?"  "how do you stay inspired?"

I think the real question is: "where does creativity come from?"  I will do my best to answer these questions in this article, but really a book could be written on each subject.  No artist has a right answer or right way but they have "their answer, their way".

"How do artists do it? How do they keep creating?"  I will say in a very general way,  artists are usually born that way.  For what ever reason at a very young age they created, drew, painted, clay, collage and made a lot of messes.  Well this sounds like most children growing up, so what then really deciphers who will grow up to be an artist who will not?  

Growing up around creative people, creative parents and siblings helps to stimulate the initial seed for creativity.  Growing up with a sister who is a great artist, a mother who was always painting or doing a craft, a father, although not artistic,  was creative in that he worked on custom cars, always had a new idea for an invention of some sort or another and found creative ways to solve mechanical problems.  I was always positively motivated and encouraged to create all my life by those around me.  My parents could see that I had a gift for art, so they always supported and encouraged me to continue.  Sometimes lack of encouragement can drive one to create.  It's in the nature of the artist to rebel, those that were never encouraged or even criticized for drawing all the time found a way to flip that inside their mind and that drove them to create even more.  Almost like a reverse psycological  .

So, if you're a person who is born with it, how do you keep it?  How do you keep painting?  And where do I believe creativity  comes from?  Honestly sometimes it's harder to turn it off then to turn it on.  For instance, I have so many ideas I constantly remind myself that I am just a vessel for this creativity to flow through. I allow this creative energy to channel itself through me.  The more I give to the energy the more my physical being is capable of doing more work.  That is a huge psycological  advantage to the artist in seeing themslves as a channeling device for the creativity to flow.  It's an advantage because if you envision the creative power inside you that motivates you as being something greater then who you are, your name, your physical identity, then the creative power will always exist and it is up to you to allow it to move through you.  

So what is this creative power?  Where does it live?  Where does it come from?  Creative power is raw energy, it is energy that is focused in a productive act of creating.  It could be a painting, a dance, a bridge, a building a clay pot.  It is all just raw energy to begin with feeding through our sub conscious mind and giving an identity to the conscious mind which the artist chooses to create.  Then it becomes manifest in the physical.

As an artist, I believe this energy lives all around me, it is the very miracle of life.  It is the harmony of the heaven/space.  It is the idea that out of all the galaxies and all the empty space and all the planets, we have life on ours and it's all happening right now.  This energy lives right now, it's all around you.  We are on a planet with billions of people all living and breathing, fighting, loving, sharing, building and destroying, it's an over abundance of energy all around.  The miracle of just "being" and sharing this life time with whomever else is on the planet is pretty amazing to me.  As long as I am conscience of this happening I know there is a field of energy that I can tap into any time and moment that is endless.

But amongst all this energy there are times when this miracle can be forgotten. There are times when you need inspiration to be awakened.  I will share a few methods on how I continue to be inspired when I feel that my ability to receive this creative energy is low.  I know that the creative energy is always inside me and out there, so how do I now allow myself, my imagination to be receptive to the creative channel?

I surround  myself with other creative people.  Being an artist, all  my close friends are artists.  They all are working on projects, murals, paintings, graphic design, music, dance.  We feed each other; we talk about our creative processes;  what techniques are being used;  what styles; who inspired them to create this piece. etc. etc.  There is so much information other artists have to share that will help to open your door.  Aside from sharing with other artists, as an artist it is very important to be around other artists.  As an artists, I have already stated it's in your nature to rebel.  Rebel against the way "normal" people perceive the world, our very act of creating is the act of rebelling.  Governments don't want it's people to create , it wants it's people to follow.  We use our imagination to free our selves from whatever political or social episode the rest of the world is having.  In doing this it creates separation from the norm, from the masses and this can be lonely.  Driving a artist into personal exile because they feel nobody understands them or excepts them.  That is why you must as an artist surround your self with other artists!  It's healthy to know that there are other people that feel the same way as you, that think similar and share the same challenges as you do.  Yes, you are unique being an artist but you are not alone. Network and help each other build.

If I am feeling the creative block and there is no one that I can connect with at the time to share and network with,  or I really do feel like being alone but I need to get the juices flowing and I can't,  I take a brake and exercise. 

To change ones mental attitudes, you have to change ones physical physiology.  Get up, move, stretch, go for a run.  If you mentally feel stagnant, it's probably because you're physically stagnant.  Everyone knows exercising is healthy but when you exercise, you allow new blood,and new oxygen to go through your body re-engerizing and stimulating your body and mind. In stimulating your mind you stimulate your imagination because that's where your imagination comes from.  When I exercise, I don't think about my art projects.  I love to exercise. I am a, martial artist so when I train, I am thinking about my martial art technics. If I am jogging, I am thinking about my stride.  But as I think about my current physical activity there are times I can not help my mind from wondering into the depths of my creativity thresh hold.  This is usually the moment when I have a creative brake through. I get that puzzle piece that I needed to go forward with whatever project I am working on or the fresh new idea for the new project I'm about to start.  Try some exercise, doesn't have to be major, don't over due it, if you're not used to it.  You just need fresh oxygen and good blood circulation.

Let's just say for whatever reason, I can't exercise.  Well then, I use books and the internet to stimulate my creativity.  I read a thought provoking book,  something metaphysical, books on my favorite artists, or a good fantasy or science fiction book.  Books feed my mind with new images and ideas.  Those ideas sometimes lead into new visions of creativity.  The same goes for the internet.  I look up photography, animals, figurative, anatomy, dramatic lighting effects, ...  I search for other artists, maybe, I just type in google "abstract art" and I see what pops up.  Do not rip or steal other peoples' work, however, being inspired from them is ok.   Borrow ideas but make them your own,   You know inside when you have ripped a complete idea and when you have borrowed it to influence your style.  There is a difference.  Pop Art is a good example of this because it plays on a subject that has been already created.

Traveling is a great way to open the door up to the creative mind.  This  helps to change your perspective.  Great art and great artists  are made from finding different perspectives that most people are not going to see.  As an artist it's your job to help other people understand there is a different way of thinking .  When I say travel, this doesn't mean you you have to go to some far off exotic place, however if you can  then thats awesome.  Just get out of town for a day trip, go see the city, or if you live in the city go to your nearest forest.  It will help you feel refreshed. Make sure to bring a note pad or your sketch book incase you have any creative brake through.  But don't look for the creative brake through, keep in mind you're on a trip to get away from the struggle in your mind.  Be relaxed, enjoy the moment and let it come to you.

The last area in my life where I get my inspiration from is my dreams.  I am not going to go into too much here.  I feel I could write a separate article just on dreams and using the information in the dreams to help stimulate visions.  I have had lucid dreams all my life. It is just within the past 6 years that I have really been paying more attention to my dreams and trying to think about how they relate to me in the my physical reality.  It has just been this past year that I have been using the imagery from my dreams to base some ideas from them for paintings.  There is a state of consciousness right before you sleep where you can induce lucid dreaming.  I am beginning to control that state.  Now, if I have an idea and it is incomplete, I will think about that idea and at the same time induce a lucid dream and most of the time there are instances where the original idea takes a life of it's own in the lucid dream giving me a vision.  Right now, all I can say is:  "pay attention to your dreams.  Try to remember them, write them down and see if there is anything that you can use in a creative way.  It takes time it takes practice".

 I am not only a creative individual but a full time artist I have the door open to the creativity thresh hold open all the time.  Sometimes I can not paint fast enough to get ideas out.  But when I feel there is a block, those are the solid technics I use in opening the door to creativity.  If you're an artist, see what works for you.  It might not work the first time or one might work better for you then the other.  Just remember, finding ways to open the creative door is just as much a technic as using whatever creative medium you explore, when you're in the creative act.  If you are not an artist and just want to find out a little bit more about a creative process, I hope this gives you a little bit more information on the creative act.

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