Which Artist Are You?

I now introduce you to “FRUSTRATED”…the baffled artist.

He has no shortage of creative ideas.

He is highly talented…but success eludes him.

He is baffled because he can SEE, almost TASTE success with his art…but the spinning of his wheels keeps success out of reach.

"Frustrated"

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Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh, one of the most famous artists of all time, sold only one painting during his lifetime.
Was art a hobby or a career for Van Gogh?

Van Gogh never earned a living from his art. Rather his jobs ranged from unpaid assistant at a school to lay preacher/missionary. He never was paid as a fulltime artist, but created more than 2,000 artworks in a little more than a decade.

Was Van Gogh’s art a hobby or a career?

Would you consider your art, writing or whichever one of the creative abilities you possess a HOBBY or a CAREER?

What did you base your answer on? Whether you get paid for your what you create or not? The amount of time dedicated to your craft?

Post a comment below here as well as taking the poll:   

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The trend from your feedback was that you have no shortage on creative ideas, but the discipline and follow through needed to complete those ideas were always missing.

I’m a recovering procrastinator, and I needed to practice hard hitting, practical steps to finish my creative endeavors.

So here are 7 “In Your Face” tips I recommend:

1. Shut Up (yeah, I said it.): Stop talking about “I’m planning to…” or ” Here’s my vision…” or ” I’m thinking about launching…”. Don’t start talking until you can tell someone  how cool the last project you just wrapped up is.

2. Start Small: Don’t try to launch the book or graphic novel until you launch the short story. God teaches us that when we are faithful over the seemingly small things, He’ll set us over more. (Matthew 25:21)

3. Quit Being a Perfectionist: Launch now with what you have. Just like Hollywood, you can get better during the sequel…get the first movie going NOW!

4. Write It Down and Date It: This allows you to see what you’ve written once you get down the road and to see if you completed it. The date emphasizes if you’re wasting your time away, or better yet, if you are progressively accomplishing goals.

5. Know When You’re Most Productive…and when you’re not: If you know there’s a time when you’ll get most distracted and interrupted, find a better time.

6. Stop Working Alone: Accountability:Once you start involving others such as fellow artists, sponsors, clients, etc, it becomes bigger than you. You have others that are counting on your follow through.

7. Acknowledge Your Age: Once I began to realize that God placed me on assignment, I also realized that I had a finite amount of time to complete the mission. I’m getting too old to always be in the same place I was 6 months or a year ago with no growth to show for the time.

TAKE THE ORIGINAL POLL:

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Josh Espasandin

Some of you might see art as a way to express your emotion and feeling and all that comes from the depths of your heart. If so, you’re right, but I propose that it should not be only that. I propose that we should all challenge ourselves to create art with a brain.
“‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your MIND, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.”
– Mark 12:30

Heart and soul seems to be only one part of the equation. I believe we can all show our love for God through our art, and using our minds should be part of it.
What do I mean by creating art with a brain? I simply mean: Create art that not only let’s the audience feel but also think. Paint a picture of beautiful flowing water, but then add in a child suffering from dehydration to make people aware of the world’s small amount of clean drinking water. Write a poem on the biblical unicorn (I’ll let you research that one yourself). Give a piece of art details that makes the audience wonder, discover, and learn something new.

"Well of Moses" by Claus Sluter

Let’s look at Claus Sluter’s Well of Moses from 1395, one of my favorite historical art pieces.

At the base of the well, we have Moses and other Old Testament prophets and then angels hovering above them. At the top, there would have been a cross from which the water would have emerged from. The water would then flow from the cross and down to Moses and the others. At first glance, it’s just a fountain. At second thought, we find that the Old Testament is literally supporting the New Testament, and then Jesus became living water which even covered the sins of those of the past. It’s a symbol of God’s love over ALL generations. It’s deep. It’s genius. It made me think. What about you?

Art history lesson aside, what are your thoughts?

Do we live in a world that’s too busy to have brain-heavy art?

Could it be what this world needs?

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Why? Why do I do what I do?

Here are 10 things that I’ve expressed both in public and in private that may shed light on why we do what we do here at Art Lessons From God:

1. I believe that you were sent here to this planet to do something really important.

2. I believe that if you were never born, a lot of things would really be out of whack.

3. I believe that every thug, crack head, and homeless person has some God-given gift in them that was not put in motion.

4. I believe the last “out of the blue” idea you had was God’s voice, whether you followed through or not.

5. I believe your life is like a movie and you have only watched part of it. God’s seen it all, thus why He talks to the screen saying “Don’t be afraid.”

6. I believe that you are the key to making people do things…good or bad.

7. I believe God creates through you.

8. I believe there’s a conspiracy to stop you from doing something really important.

9. I believe there’s a conspiracy against that conspiracy to ensure you fulfill your mission.

10. I believe that you and your talent are the answer to somebody’s prayers.

Comment below if you share any of these beliefs (or even if you think I’m just a little crazy!)

Forward to a friend if you think it will help them wherever they are.

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