Artwork in Progress

Some Sunday morning whimsy.
#doodle #doodleart #doodlesofinstagram #originalart #bunny #creativesandbox #creativesandboxway #pigmamicron #dailydoodle #dailydoodle2017 #artistsoninstagram #artistsofinstagram #abstractart #whimsy

What is art for? It’s a philosophical question for the ages, because art is many things to many people. But what I’m concerned about is what it is to YOU, as the CREATOR.
Whether you think of yourself as an “artist” or not. Whether you share your work, or show your work, or sell your work — these are all secondary things.
Because first and foremost, the purpose of creating is to FEED YOU.

The purpose is JOY.
The purpose is because it FILLS YOUR WELL. It fuels your tank, energizes you, recharges your batteries, makes you happy, and gives you the energy to go on.

It makes the rest of your day go better! (Which, btw, implies that doing it earlier in the day makes a whole lotta sense, because MORE of your day will go better!) THAT, more than anything else, is the purpose of creating. Whatever your chosen expression — drawing, painting, writing, dancing, gardening, macaroni sculptures, WHATEVER you love to do.

Yes, there are lots of other great reasons, too, but you don’t need them as justification, because this one reason is enough all by itself.

You do not have to justify yourself or your art or your creative urges to anyone. The fact of them is enough.

You are entitled. Go get creating.

#creativesandboxway #originalart #doodle #doodles #doodleart #doodlesofinstagram #doodlewithdinwiddie #artistsoninstagram #artistsofinstagram #abstractart #pigmamicron #blackandwhite #dailydoodle #dailydoodle2017 #dailyart

This weekend I’m in Monterey on my “Anniversamoon” with my husband — the anniversary of our honeymoon. It was supposed to be the first weekend in January, but we both got slammed by the cold/flu that’s been going around, so we postponed a month.

Now here we are, and what a treat it is to get a break from normal life for a few days!

But of course I brought my pens and sketchbook with me, because Creative Sandbox play happens everywhere and anywhere!

We were out the door at 9:30 this morning to go sea kayaking. And this afternoon we took a long walk along the ocean.
But in between: doodling!
It’s so energizing and restorative — and FUN! — to let myself simply PLAY and see what happens. Just let my pen go where it wants to go, with no regard to the outcome.

That’s playing in the Creative Sandbox, and we all need some of that playtime in our day, whether we identify as “non-artists,” or artists, or creative professionals, or anything in between!

Creativity doesn’t discriminate. We’re all born with it, and it never goes away.
What goes away for some of us is the sense of *entitlement* to creative play, which is what I’m here to help you reclaim! (That’s what my book, The Creative Sandbox Way, btw. http://bit.ly/2dnWyeJ)

The only difference between artists and everybody else is not creativity or talent. It’s *entitlement.* YOU have just as much entitlement to create as anyone else. Just start creating.

Just own it.
Seriously. That is the secret.
It may take you awhile to get there, because the mindset shift may not happen overnight, but that is the secret — nothing more.

You were born to create. Start telling yourself this every day, and over time you will start to believe it.

And most of all, get creating. Every day. Small daily acts build creative confidence and joy. “Think tiny and daily” = Creative Sandbox Way Guidepost #4.

Go get creating!

#doodle #doodleart #doodlesofinstagram #originalart #abstractart #artistsofinstagram #artistsoninstagram #pigmamicron #blackandwhite #dailydoodle #dailydoodle2017 #dailycreative #dailyart #creativity #creativesandboxway

Heading off to Monterey for my anniversary trip with my sweetie, but first, the start of a new doodle. Because art comes FIRST!

The thing I do FIRST is the thing that gets DONE.

And because I just read a distressing news item that upset me (foxes being placed in charge of henhouses all over the place these days, with the full consent of one half of the government, which utterly baffles me). What to do with that upset? There are some actions I can take, of course (phone calls to Senators, etc.) which are important, and necessary, but don’t leave me feeling particularly powerful.

So it is essential that I do what DOES power me and fuel me and charge me up, and one of those things is to make my art!

Whether I like what I make or not — the outcome is irrelevant — it is the creative process itself that fuels and nourishes me.

THAT is why we must create: because it feeds us!
And when you create, it makes the whole rest of your day go better, so better to get a little Creative Sandbox time in EARLY in your day, so *more* of your day can go better! ?

Go get creating!

#doodleart #creativesandboxway #originalart #doodles #doodlesofinstagram #artistsofinstagram #artistsoninstagram #pigmamicron #blackandwhite #dailydoodle #dailydoodle2017 #artheals #artsaves

Adding some color doodles with Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils to a black and white doodle I did several days ago. I’m not crazy about it, but that doesn’t matter, because whether I like it or not is not the point!

The purpose is not to make great art, or win awards, or impress anyone else.

The purpose is JOY.

The purpose is because when I give myself Creative Sandbox time to play and explore and follow my curiosity, IT FEEDS ME.

It fills my well, restores my energy, and recharges my batteries so I can face the rest of my day.

THAT is the point.

And sometimes I even make something I do really like, or that other people really like, too. Which is always really cool. But that’s frosting.
Joy is the real gold we’re mining in the Creative Sandbox, and you don’t need to impress anybody for that.

As always, for a deeper dive, check out my book, The Creative Sandbox Way, http://bit.ly/2dnWyeJ

#creativesandboxway #originalart #abstractart #doodleart #doodles #doodlesofinstagram #artistsoninstagram #artistsofinstagram #derwent #inktense #watercolorpencils #pigmamicron #dailydoodle #dailydoodle2017 #dailycreative #dailyart #joy