Creating Content as an Artist on Steemit

throughwindows (42) in art • 8 years ago (edited)

Wrestling with a sketchbook:

The Steemit community is alive with creatives sharing their work, and striving to create new, high quality content. The majority will have existing work that they want to share and receive feedback on, though that body of work may have limitations for a user who wants to post regularly. What happens when 'writer's block' hits for musicians, writers or visual artists on steemit?

It's no coincidence that those posting lengthy details of their artistic process rise to the top; artists benefit widely by reading how like-minded individuals are producing work and refining their making skills. As the community draws more closely together, we can forsee a set of creatives who not only support each others posts with upvotes and resteems, but also provide critical and constructive feedback conducive to the development of the practise of the individual.
Whether it be a painting, a story or a new vaporwave track, as a fellow creative your input is invaluable as an alternative perspective.

So what can we do as artists to ensure that we consistently publish content that is true to our style and form?

Keep sketchbooks/notebooks
- Many of you will already do this, though it's more common for visual artists to keep them to draw in, particularly if they've had an arts education. However even as a writer or musician, keeping a notebook is a rewarding way of documenting your experiences and reflecting back on these later. The culmination of these notes, however trivial, can inform a later piece of work or inspire the appearance of new ideas.

Document your process
- Creative 101, as obvious as it sounds, I stopped documenting my process during university, as I felt that it created undue pressure to produce a perfect final piece. I regretted this later on when I found that I hadn't taken any good pictures to remind me of a mistake I made, or how I overcame a particular issue. It's easier to improve your creative skills when you document your failures, even as a note hidden in a folder of your computer somewhere. Only the artist themselves can change the nature of their work, and hiding from failures isn't a good way to progress!

Paintings in the studio 2014, at least five of which went undocumented aside from this photograph

Ask questions
-The community is here for the exchange of ideas, the comments section can be as important as the post itself. Start asking others about the materials they used, how they came about their ideas, or what fuels their creativity. One of the greatest sources of inspiration is through conversation with others, and can be the birth of great ideas.

All images and artworks are my own, if you found this post useful please resteem - links to your posts regarding this topic are very welcome!

art steemit blog painting creativity

8 years ago by throughwindows (42)

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reddragonfly (64) · 8 years ago

Some very useful information! Although I am more a writer than an artist, this is good for part of most creative processes.

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throughwindows (42) · 8 years ago

I'm pleased that you found it useful even from a writing point of view. Do you keep a notebook?

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holoz0r (71) · 8 years ago

Firstly, Great, evocative, username! Also, what a great post!

Secondly, Entirely true. I remember the most frustrating part of art school for me was all the back up work, when initially I had a vision I wanted to produce. That vision rarely changed, but when it did, it changed for the better, and it helped the creativity be part of the journey.

Thirdly, I'm your newest follower!

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throughwindows (42) · 8 years ago

Thank you @holoz0r, what did you study? I did fine art and they wanted to see absolutely every step of your process! It often felt quite revealing, as my sketchbooks are stream of consciousness. I'd love to see more of your work.

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holoz0r (71) · 8 years ago

My major was Digital Art, minor in photography. My thesis was on representations of death in art from the pre Raphaelites through to contemporary video work.

I'm in the process of getting some stuff out of the archives, it will be on steemit once it is!

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throughwindows (42) · 8 years ago

Looking forward to it! Following for more.

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paolobeneforti (70) · 8 years ago

nice job. :)

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throughwindows (42) · 8 years ago

Thank you Paolo!

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silviabeneforti (72) · 8 years ago

wow, I really love your works!!!

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throughwindows (42) · 8 years ago

Thanks Silvia, really looking forward to seeing more of your work.

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twirble (66) · 8 years ago

Good advice, love all those old artworks on that wall! Were those oils?

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throughwindows (42) · 8 years ago

Hey @twirble, yes they're all in oil, i found it easier to start by painting a ground so every one of these has a brightly coloured layer of oil paint with lots of turps to help it dry. This was about 6 months after i started using oils and i was struggling with them! They are my go to medium now, you can do such a variety of things with them.

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twirble (66) · 8 years ago (edited)

They are hard to use but they look so good when done correctly. I am tired of trying to make colored pencils and oil pastels look like oil painting when I should just roll up my sleeves and learn oil painting. :) The dog hair flying all over the house makes it difficult.

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throughwindows (42) · 8 years ago

You can do it! You're already clearly a great painter, there's a steep learning curve with oils - people with a classical arts background will have been taught hours of oil painting. Self teaching is hard but rewarding :)

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twirble (66) · 8 years ago (edited)

Well I did do oils years ago...but I have to relearn everything about mediums. Thank you:) You are an amazing painter!!!

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throughwindows (42) · 8 years ago

I suppose learning again, although frustrating, will be fun in ways and you'll likely see some demonstrable improvement in how you visualise your work. I really don't know what the proper way to use oils is, but going by trial and error and developing your own techniques will mean your own distinct style comes through.

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aksinya (68) · 8 years ago

Great post, thank you! And very interesting works!

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web-gnar (60) · 8 years ago

cool studio shot

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