February 4, 2020

The usefulness of constraints

It’s easy to put limits on ourselves. To see these things as barriers that prevent us from doing what we want to do. My desk is too small. I don’t have enough time. I don’t have a ‘space’. I can’t afford to do art. I can’t draw. But barriers are only barriers if you see them that way.

Of all the mediums, why did I start with watercolour? (Apparently, the most difficult, according to oil painters).

Well, because my desk is too small (for acrylics). I don’t have the luxury of time (that oils demand). I don’t have the ‘space’ (to store artwork that takes too long to dry). I didn’t have a lot of money (to afford canvases, brushes, mediums, etc.).

Watercolour, for me, is the ultimate medium. It dries fast. It doesn’t stain my furniture (much). It only needs a piece of paper, which is lightweight and can be as big or small as your circumstances require. It’s cheap to get started. It’s portable, too.

Barriers are only barriers because we imagine them to be. If we try to use our constraints and see them as shaping us, rather than limiting us, maybe we’ll discover something that fits in with life, but still feeds our soul.

Other observations
June 3, 2025

The secondary job

Am I a software designer who practices art ‘on the side’ or is it the other way around?

May 27, 2025

Mis en place

Might I make better work if, at the end of everyday, I put everything back in its place – just like they do in commercial kitchens?

May 20, 2025

Artificial intelligence and art

Are artists under threat from generative artificial intelligence? Or is the ‘competition’ we see just misunderstood?

May 13, 2025

It ain’t gonna draw itself

What happens to an idea if I’m too scared to draw it? If I don’t feel skilled enough? If I’m just not ready?

May 6, 2025

Like a machine

Should artists aspire for robotic-like accurate and consistency like those who are the best in their sport?

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