creativity – Page 6

The Fear Factor: Make It Work For You

April 30, 2018 by Lonnie Lardner

(Pic #1) “Little Monsters” – My first sketch with a stylus on the new iPad, using an app called “Pro Create.” Totally freaking.

Learning something new can blast you into a supercharged creativity zone.

New tech? Color me paralyzed. It happens every time I’m introduced to a new fangled gadget or upgrade. Heck, for the longest time I even balked at learning the tech of blogging. But my fearless techie friend Amy sat me down in 2010 for weekly sessions until I was able to “enter through the back door” as they say, and troubleshoot my own writings and photo layouts. I went kicking and screaming, but she swears I was just a big baby with irrational fears of technology.

(Pic #2) Illustration by San Diego artist Beau Hufford, using the Pro Create App.

Fast forward 8 years: I’m still kicking and screaming, but the difference is I’m starting to use my fear to make each new artistic experience an exciting adventure. Yesterday, I bought a new iPad, and it was my first day using a stylus (on the screen of any device) — and it felt weird. But exhilarating. My good friend and life-long illustrator (Pic #2) Beau Hufford told me about the insane Pro Create App, and I had to jump in.

I expected to be frustrated and clueless when I started, and guess what — I was right. But the joy I felt in teaching myself something fresh and new far outweighed any angst. In fact, I couldn’t put the pen down. I couldn’t stop exploring all the digital paint brushes, fat and skinny lines, magic markers, and a tool that shoots out spray paint in real time.

The cool bonus in learning new things like this is that it’s good for your brain. According to CCSU Business & Development, “practicing a new skill stimulates neurons, which forms more neural pathways and allows electrical impulses to travel faster across them.” That means we learn better. It can even help us stave off dementia.

And oh, by the way — these innovative artistic experiences end up being way cheaper than therapy.

Kids and Color: It’s A Natural Thing

November 30, 2015 by Lonnie Lardner

(Pic #1) “Captain America” shows his “Fauvist take” on Halloween in South Central Los Angeles.

(Pic #2) “Le Bonheur de Vivre” by Henri Matisse. Classic Fauvist painting. (1905)

One of the most awe-inspiring qualities I see among my young inner-city painters is fearlessness. I love the way they slap on coats of unexpected color onto their seasonal gourds or Easter eggs.

(Pic #3) A 6-yeaar-old’s painting also in vibrant “Fauvist” colors. South Central Los Angeles art workshop. (2015)

They don’t ponder the pairings, but almost dare to bemuse adults with their carefree combos.

The young artist above (Pic #1) unknowingly made a phenomenal reference to what I saw as a “classic Fauvist” color palette: he juxtaposed complementary brights, like orange and purple in ways Henri Matisse (father of Fauvism) would have enthusiastically embraced. (Pic #2)

In the early 1900s, Matisse and André Derain formed a group of artists who painted with outrageously bold colors. This new in-your-face trend basically freaked out the art world, and the painters were dubbed “Les Fauves” which in French means “wild beasts.”

(Pic #4) “Woman with a Hat” by Henri Matisse.

In Matisse’s “Woman with a Hat” (Pic #4), the artist uses bright and unnatural colors to paint the portrait; he wasn’t worried about making the painting look exact, but rather creating an interesting arrangement of colors and shapes.

This is the perfect lesson for our young artists. I always like to encourage them to experiment, and explore form and color rather than perfectly replicating an object or scene.

Interestingly, experts say bright color aligns with a child’s energy. “Kids are drawn to it naturally, and love playful interaction with it. They play with color like they play with toys.”

While we often feel compelled to correct a child with mismatched socks, or colors that make no sense, it’s way more exciting to see his or her own creative combinations. It’s what keeps me coming back to the art table.

No Excuses! Commit to Your Creative Path

January 29, 2014 by Lonnie Lardner

A fifth-grader born without arms takes up the trumpet

Please remind me – the next time I start whining about lack of time, feeling fatigued, or some other lame excuse for not pursuing my creative passion — that I only need to watch this video to understand nothing should ever get in the way. 10-year-old Jahmir already knows that. In fact, he’s way ahead of us, and it never even occurred to him that anything could ever hold him back.

Press play.