Is it ever too late to become more creative?

Thoughts on flow, failed paintings, and starting a creative practice later in life.

Hi friend. 🖤

I just published the 50th video on my channel! A milestone indeed. And I'm especially happy with the topic for this one - starting a creative practice later in life. Of course "later in life" is a question of definition, and it changes depending on the craft. For an actor, "later in life" seems to mean anything beyond 20. For an author or artist, it might mean anywhere from 35 to 65. What I argue in my video is that creative people have no expiration date, and that it's never too late to start a creative practice, or to build a flourishing creative career. There are even advantages to coming into a creative field with a bit of life experience.

I also talk about my process for learning a creative craft. It's a procedure/mindset I've used to quickly learn a wide variety of skills in my life, and I hope that it can help simplify the process for someone else. Switching careers and committing to art at age 37 felt insurmountable and confusing to me at first, but I can tell you in hindsight that the journey has been quicker and simpler than I anticipated. So much has happened in these 2 years, and I believe it’s because of the approach I explain in the video.

Artwise, my portrait practice is going well. I told you last week about my challenge for October: to draw as many of my favorite villains as possible. So far, I have five of them already on my wall, and eleven on my to-draw-list. (Still open to suggestions from you by the way...)

My favorites so far.

I was home alone last Saturday, so I spent all day in my studio blasting loud music, ugly-dancing, and drawing. Big, wild and messy portraits by my standing easel. I could barely tear myself away, and when I was done, the whole floor was covered with smudgy sketches, my hands were black, and I was pleasantly exhausted. Do you ever have creative sprees like that, where you completely lose track of time?

My normal state of being as a perfectionist control freak is that of tension, anxiety and a painful awareness of everything I have to do and how it should be done. So to lose myself in a creative flow like this is healing to my soul. I can breathe a little deeper after a long painting session. And I love waking up the next morning and seeing everything I did yesterday. It doesn't matter if it's good or not. It's a reminder of the fun I had, and a measure of the practice I did.

Whenever you get stuck in self-criticism, or take yourself and your art too seriously, try to look at it through this lens instead. "I'm proud of all the practice I got done today." There are no failures, only brave attempts. 😅

I need more wall space…

This weekend, apart from my usual portrait practice, I'm excited to finally try painting with soft pastels. Something I've been wanting to do for a while. And now my set of pastels have finally arrived. I just have a hunch that I'll enjoy them. Soft pastels are pretty similar to charcoal after all. And even though I love making monochrome art, I also want to get better at using color. I think soft pastels might be a great way for me to explore that. I'll probably film my first attempts, so you can expect a video about that soon. 😊

I wish you nourishing weekend, and we'll talk again next Friday. 👋🏻

With love,

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New video: "Am I too old to become more creative?"

Course: Pencil Sketching For Beginner Artists

This course is now available as a standalone purchase, outside of Skillshare. 🎉 If you want to improve your sketching and drawing skills, this is a great way to get started. As my email friend, you can get the course for just $20 the next 7 days. After that, I will officially launch it and the price will go up to $30. 😊 (Note that taxes might be added if you’re in the EU. Haven’t found a way to set a uniform price on this course platform…)

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Reading:

Reading is going slow right now. But I'm carrying on with Books of Blood by Clive Barker, and The Mirror Man by Lars Kepler.

And I’ve just started reading my first Brandon Sanderson book: the first book in the Mistborn series, The Final Empire. Been wanting to read something of his for a while, and my partner is currently raving about this series, so I decided to finally dive in. 😊

Watching:

“Art is advertising for what we really need”, by School of Life:

I've always been curious about the reasons people buy art, especially very expensive artworks. There's no doubt that art is valuable, but explaining why and how is trickier. This video does a good job of that!

“How to bounce back from a bad painting”, by Chelsea Lang:

This really resonated with me. I approach failed paintings the same way: by stepping back into my comfort zone to gather courage, by going back to the basics, studying, et.c. Watch this is you're currently struggling in your practice and need some tools and encouragement.

Other than YouTube, I'm also watching House of the Dragon. Was pleasantly surprised by the first three episode but now I feel like it's going downhill, so... we'll see. 😂

We're also re-watching Breaking Bad for the third time. It’s unbelievable how this show started 14 years ago and still holds up today. It hasn’t aged the way a lot of other popular older shows have. It doesn’t get better than this: the writing, the character arcs, the acting, the directing, photography, editing, and how it ended gracefully and powerfully. It’s storytelling perfection. Would you agree? (And if not, which one is your favorite?)

Listening:

…for the inevitable pattering of mouse feet on the attic, which are due to arrive any day now. 🙈

And also a lot of Opeth, Porcupine Tree, Type O Negative, A Perfect Circle, and Arcane Roots while I'm drawing my villain portraits. Ah, the October feels. 🍂

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