Creative Growth

There are things I have done all my life (tell stories), there are things I’ve done for decades (write and take photos), there are things I’ve done for years (play guitar). I do them with varying levels of expertise or consistency, but they are all staples of my creative life.

And after a while I get bored.

There is still plenty for me to learn in all of those areas, and I continue to grow (sometimes VERY slowly!) in all of them. But it felt like I should try something different to keep my creative juices flowing. I have no idea if that’s how it works, but it’s what I’m trying. So late last year, I started playing with watercolor painting.

My great-aunt Dot was a water-colorist. Two of her paintings hang in my house. They have always fascinated me. So when I started looking for something different to do, I had examples right in front of my face. I asked for some basic supplies for Christmas, added some more a month or so later and have been slowly picking my way through learning something that has no precedent in my creative life.

What’s most interesting is that I’m learning things I didn’t expect to learn. Like patience! Watercolor goes at its own speed, there is little the artist can do to change that. You adapt to the art, not the other way around. My tendency to want to “move it along” has resulted in more “learning experiences” (read as muddy blobs) than anything else.

The idea for this blog was to share ideas and creations as I follow my creative journey. So with much trepidation, here’s some of my newest creative efforts. Creativity calls on the creator to be brave. Sharing these pretty awful first attempts is the bravest thing I’m planning on doing this month!

So that’s the first step. In the next installment of “Let’s Watch Jay Make A Mess”, I’ll share a series of paintings of the same subject to see if I’m making any technical progress.

So have you tried to pick up a new creative outlet? How did it go/is it going? What’s the part you struggle with the most? Jump into the comments and share!