The Artist's Way: (Link)

This week has been mentally difficult. Extreme swings of mood, and introspective isolation are something to be expected from practicing this book, and the morning pages sure do deliver what they promise. It's a worthy practice. 

Sometimes I limit myself because it’s so hard to believe that anyone could find my work appealing, or at best, purchase-worthy. The Artist’s Way is creating a path inwardly towards acceptance. Acceptance that I can work until I am masterful at something. I can be focused enough to be masterful in my artwork, then I can be focused enough to master my inner turmoil, and accept my own spirit. 

Week 5 is all about accepting that our limits are self-imposed due to the past experiences of life. Be they traumatic, or blissful, they all have shaped the person that we strive to be. We don’t paint that big painting because we’re scared it will be too hard, or it will look ugly. We don’t ask for a raise because we are scared of retribution, or we don’t ask out that person because we are afraid they’ll say no. My whole life I have been saying "fuck that" to that notion. EXCEPT for in my artwork. I have always been the “fuck that” guy when it comes to malevolent authority, and assholes in general. But, for some reason my artwork has always held this power over me that I could never see. I am starting to peel that away and I am coming for you Van Gogh! So say it with me when I say:
 
Well fuck that!
                             -Chris Potts

Do the shit you are holding yourself back from. Because in those moments of bliss, romance, and despair you will find your art. You will see what it is that the universe is and has been showing you, and you will connect to yourself. 

The Artist's Way: (Link)

Spiritual rehabilitation is probably the best way I can describe this journey. Writing three entire pages of thoughts in the morning every day is like forcing yourself to sit down over breakfast with yourself. Have that hard conversation, confront that looming deadline, and build camaraderie within yourself. I can’t express wholly enough the benefits that have come from this practice. You tend to lose yourself in thought more often, and access the creative subconscious easily. Meditation comes from simplistic things like gardening. 
 
I have written 60 pages so far of thoughts, dreams, hopes, desires, hatreds. Nothing has made clearer my purpose, which is to create. I am here to design, represent, and paint the surreal sublimity that is the divine creation in which we all reside. I seek only to represent the true beauty of existence, that all should seek to revere.
 
Sounds corny I know, but I don’t care! I have been painting on fire the last few weeks as the activities, alone time, and writing pages (as silly as that sounds), change my worldview.  I really do recommend reading this book if you are reading this. It will change your world.
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If you want to come paint with me, come find me in Annapolis painting wherever the sun shines.
 
-CJ

The Artist's Way: (Link)

​I have written almost 50 pages in the past 3 weeks. 50 pages of thoughts, hopes and dreams. It’s changing me. I have been experiencing sadness, grief, joy, profound joy, and anger. So much anger. Anger for wasted time, anger for listening to the wrong people who had jealousy and spite in their hearts, anger for all the shunned attempts to compliment and care for me, anger at myself, anger at the world, anger that I am angry. You get the picture. Anger is a sign that your body and mind are in two different places. Anger is not meant to be acted out; it is meant to be acted upon. When you are angry it's a sign that you are in need of action, hastily. Let’s learn to focus that anger into powerful energy together.
 
I have started painting and not caring about the result. I am posting everything on the web for you guys to look at. (If anyone’s reading LOL)
 
Week 3 of The Artist’s Way is full of tumultuous painful memories. Julia takes us through the entire spectrum of life, from childhood to adulthood, looking at things you may never have revisited before. It’s pretty jarring to be remembering harsh criticisms from parents, instructors, and strangers, and then writing letters to them in your daily journal. BUT, it’s pretty cathartic, and eye-opening. It’s making my brain creatively potent, forcing new pathways and acceptance of trauma.
 
You may be holding you back because of something a stranger said to you once in passing. They may not even remember this moment, but for you it’s a creative block preventing you from exuding the creative spirit of the universe.

Try the Artist’s Way, see what happens. I dare you! 

Week 2:
The Artist's Way: by Julia Cameron (Link)
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Learning how to trust yourself happens at an early age. With guidance from parents and well-meaning adult influences, we learn how to expand our approach to life to include problem solving independently. In terms of creativity, it is no different. We learn to become creative, or to become closed off from creativity from our parents, teachers, and families. All one’s life one is told Yes or No to creative decisions.
 
Kids, drawing on the walls, NO!
Or
Kids, drawing on the walls, YES! But…
 
The first response leads to a closed off, heartless wanna-be-artist. Constantly watching in on the art world, wishing.
The second response teaches children that their creative impulses are natural, but can be focused. It fosters creativity.
 
Week 2 is sort of like being told YES! But… let’s focus our drawing on to this special drawing enabled surface, instead of the wall. And here, on this stand-in for a wall, you can draw whatever you want!
Nurturing the inner artist, is also nurturing the inner-child. They go hand in hand, and I have come to deeply understand that this week.
I have never written so much in my life! Over the last two weeks I have written over 30 pages of thoughts, exercises, and art-fostering experiments. It has been almost joyous. However, I haven’t painted a single painting in the last two weeks. I have drawn storyboards, and illustrated characters, and thought of paintings, but no actual painting has occurred yet. I will be changing that with the next steps so keep your eyes peeled for more Chris Potts watercolors in and around Annapolis, Maryland.
 
This week “The process, not the product, is the focus” -Julia Cameron
 

I am at a loss for words this week.
 
The power and intensity in Julia’s lessons are immediately affecting my perception and creativity levels. I am re-living old forgotten memories, discovering a depth of meditation that is harmonizing all parts of me into one cohesive whole being, not just an amalgamation of collected hobbies & interests. She is guiding me through literal artistic therapy to restore my creative self. I’ve been drawing, painting, saying yes to doing weird things like eating raw squid salad, or buying a pool for a pet turtle and swimming together! It's been a whirlwind week, and it feels right. 
 
It's truly incredible the things I have found out about myself in only 7 days. Also, I am VOLUNTARILY writing? What…the…fuck… I haven’t written shit since college, and now I am pouring out pages a day of just random thought vomit. It feels really good, and I highly recommend the practice. It changes my whole day every time.

“How do you know you’re an artist? There’s seldom any proof, but the dream lives on”
                                                                                                                                  -Julia Cameron

I am learning to nurture parts of myself, and in turn, it is focusing my being like multiple lenses making the objective clearer. I feel…different. And I don’t know how yet, but I can feel the winds of change filling my sails and guiding me throughout Annapolis to discover new things. I’m exploring new media, painting some stuff for a children’s book, and really excited about this week’s challenging tasks.

Most importantly, I am still selling art! Four years into painting and I am selling art still! I am sold out of most of my paintings! What the hell!
 
I will leave y’all off with one final thought as we remember you need to be a beginner before you can be anything:

“it is impossible to get better, and look good at the same time.” 

​-CJ

The Artist's Way: by Julia Cameron (Link)
 
Hello again!

The first week of reading for this spiritual path has been synchronicities, and new experiences. I haven’t even made it past page 25, and this book is already influencing my creativity in ways I couldn’t foresee.

I urge you to pick it up, and give it a glance, or at least try the preview on Amazon, or something!

The Artist’s Way shares with the reader/artist/writer/whatever you do-er a feeling of shimmering wonderment at the world’s mysteries. Julia is a brilliant author and urges artists to “recover a sense of SPIRITUAL ELECTRICITY” which, being an engineer working with electronics during the day, I love.
So, for the first week getting into this book I wanted to start with the quote that caught my eye from the sidebar reading:

“In the brush doing what it’s doing it will stumble upon what one couldn’t do by oneself”
-Robert Motherwell


The sentiment is real here, and Motherwell hits the nail dead on. Julia’s initial message is to focus on removing the creative blocks we struggle with because of our own judgment of our own self-worth. Truth is, if you remove judgement from your work you can produce absolute garbage, and move on, and produce more, until you’ve produced voluminous amounts during your career. More, and more during this period you will develop your own sense of creativity, and the ability to engage yourself like a child, heading off to playland. More and more you can learn to let go of what is “good” and “bad” and just let it be “art.”

Sounds magical, and I am in for the ride. The Artist’s Way is a 12-week program designed to push you to creativity through dedicated free-flow thought and mindfulness practice. Meditation in simple terms.
 
“Accumulate pages not judgements”
-Julia Cameron


SO, on to the good stuff:
 
There are two exercises involved with daily creativity practice. The morning pages, and the artist date.

              Morning pages = 3 pages in the morning of free flow thought, and getting all your garbage out of your 4th dimensional brain, and into some sort of 3 dimensional space.
These are done every day.
              Artist’s date= Take yourself out for something fun and creative, something ridiculous you’d never normally do to escape your confines and gain inspiration
This is done once a week.

I am going to be practicing this starting next week 5/30, if you want to join me and leave comments feel free, if not, I look forward to sharing the art that comes from this practice with you anyway.

​I look forward to feeding my starving artist mind all the images and beauty that I can this week. Until next time!
 
- CJ

The Artist's Way: by Julia Cameron (Link)
 
This month's art themed reading is by Julia Cameron, espousing spirituality and faith through guided artistic meditation. I cannot wait to jump headfirst into this!

I'd like to dive into this book with you all over the next couple months. I plan to update this blog once a week and keep it going!

This book was kindly given to me by another artist as a birthday surprise. I am very grateful for the opportunity to explore new avenues to my artistic side. So far, my thoughts on the book are excitement, and a bitter distaste for my own lack of motivation. This year hasn't been a painting year for me, yet somehow, I have sold more commissions and projects this year than any year prior!

I am getting ready to start work on a children’s novel and hoping that we get some serious traction to make it into a published creature of its own right.
I know, I know.... I have only been doing this for three years so far but, look at me go!
 
Thanks for reading,
Talk to you next week

-CJ