Creativity Techniques, Strategies And Inspiration From An Experienced Professional Artist And Designer
Creativity and Skill
When I was younger and attending the College for creative studies I noticed a number of very talented students that had developed their chosen set of skills to a very high level. If they had chosen oil painting as their favorite medium their ability to represent things in oils was very impressive. If they were painting a figure they could represent that figure with amazing accuracy and if they were painting a still life that still life would be beautifully represented as well.
It became clear over time however, that many of these students had great difficulty being creative with their skill. As long as the instructor told them what to do (ie: “Paint this still life." or "Paint that landscape.") they were OK. But when they were given complete creative freedom to develop their own subject matter, style and overall direction many were often frustrated and confused. It became evident that the skill of execution did not always come with a natural creative ability, and in reverse, many wildly creative students had trouble representing their ideas in reality.
That being said, there were those rare occasions when I met students that were very talented in both creative thinking and execution and it was these students that would consistently produce the most outstanding work in the school. It is because of this that I believe you should always work hard to maintain a balance as you develop your creativity and your chosen medium of execution. If you know that your "skill of execution" is far beyond your creativity, develop your creative thinking skills. If on the other hand your creativity is beyond your ability to execute, practice practice practice your execution. Each will enhance the other and you will find yourself flowing with ideas that translate beautifully into your area of work.
In a nut shell
1- Talented execution and creative thinking don't always come together
2- Be acutely aware of your abilities in both areas
3- Focus on developing the weaker of the two
4- Find a healthy balance and let them enhance each other
“It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.”
Video
Photographer Andrew Zuckerman has put together an amazing collection of photographs. The following video is only a behind the scenes short of his website and book project. His website should not be missed. Click on the preceding link, click OK to the copyright and browse his "Photographs" link. You will be amazed. I have never been personally interested in birds but I found his website extremely captivating.
