Tips for Growing as an Artist

So here's a question for you...
Have you ever gone through your portfolio - Painting, Photography, Graphic Design, Writing or any other medium and felt like throwing it all away because you just saw another artist's portfolio?
This happens to me so many times, but what does it do?  Well, you can get discouraged and feel like giving up, or hopefully, it causes you to get better and inspires you to create more.

The truth is there isn't an artist in the known universe that does not feel like that at times, or daily... it's how we grow, we need to keep working, even when we don't want to, to push ourselves to get better but how?

Here are some Tips....

1. Get Inspired - Browse Magazines, not just in your particular field either, you never know what image will flip that creative switch.  Browse artists blogs and Websites, browse Deviantart, Tumblr, Flickr and other sources. Listen to different styles of music.  Visit Museums and Galleries.
Immerse yourself in creativity... Take a shower in creativity.... Fill your soul with creativity.

2. Don't judge yourself to harshly - I know it seems impossible, but accept that someone will always seem more creative than you at some point, use it to fuel your own creativity and help you grow.

3. Get involved - Communicate with other artists, and share your experiences with each other. You will discover that others feel the same as you.

4. Keep your skills sharp -  I know, from personal experience with Photography, there is always more to learn, new gadgets, new techniques so keep practicing your craft.

5. Create often -  You can't be a part-time artist if you want to keep growing, you need to keep working daily.

I hope these simple tips will help you on your creative journey... hey, we are all in this together!

An Unconventional Artist

While going through my magazine collection the other day I came across a 2011 issue of Digital Photo Pro Magazine.  Now, I realize why I never throw magazines out, I had somehow missed this wonderful article featuring an incredible photographer Brian DeMint.


What caught my eye other than his creative photos was how the story began - 'It's suppertime when Brian DeMint returns from his 12-hour swing shift at a rural Missouri power plant—unless, of course, he's working the overnight. He usually grabs a slice of pizza and kisses his wife, but then he gets to work again. Unlike most folks in Joplin who work two jobs, DeMint doesn't moonlight as a fast-food worker or a security guard. His other job is fashion photographer'

Amazing, a guy working a non-creative, typical job, somehow comes home from work, likely tired, and where as most people would probably sit down and watch some TV and eat a doughnut ... Brian not only goes back to work but has to somehow find this creativity that is so evident in his photographs.

DeMint later says - "I don't consider myself a commercial photographer, I turn down nearly all assignments unless I'm given complete creative control. I loathe parameters and prefer my unconscious mind to take me where it likes—before conformity, logic or marketing kick in. I rarely, if ever, preplan a shoot. For me, the modus operandi is that the model shows up, and I get ideas on the fly and we shoot them. The ideas are influenced by all the visuals floating around in my brain at that moment."

When asked to describe his passion DeMint replied with - "I would be more apt to call it an obsession, all my spare time is engaged with something associated with fashion photography: shooting, editing, studying, experimenting. Even when I watch movies, I pay so much attention to the makeup, the attire and the cinematography that I'm often clueless about what's happening in the movie."

Seeing his work, I was surprised by his equipment as well, I had expected him to be using a Hasselblad or some other high end Digital camera set up, but as revealed in the article - 'He recently traded in his Canon Digital Rebel for a Nikon D90 with a kit lens.'
He mentions -"An 18-55mm, I think, is all I need. Well, that and the chicken warmers. You know, those $7 silver dish-reflector lights with the clamps? I get mine at Wal-Mart because they have a 10-foot cord instead of a 6-foot cord. They run about 20 cents more, but I feel a guy has to splurge sometimes to get the equipment he needs."
 

Since that was 2011 I imagine he probably has upgraded his equipment by now, although it certainly wouldn't surprise me if he hadn't.  This guy could shoot great photos with a Vintage Brownie Camera! 

I really enjoy reading articles like this, about a 'typical' small town person who has a burning passion that drives them to excellence while everyone around them just keeps doing the daily grind....and I am reminded why I keep those magazines!

You can visit his site here: http://www.eyeworksphotography.com