Blog

The artist's growth is not always upwards.  Sometimes it feels like you can keep going up but sometimes you feel stuck or think you're moving in a wrong direction.  As with any journey, the artist's journey has ups and downs and that's normal.  I have accepted this fact now but in my earlier days as a painter, I did not understand this cycle of ups and downs or know how to cope especially with not-so-good times, which sometimes lasted so long.

Some artists call down times an artist block when they experience a creative drought.  They stop creating or cannot create.  I was a bit different: I have always been driven to paint and did paint regardless.  When I was down, I was just so lost and didn't know what I was trying to do in my work.  Somehow I managed to get out of each slump in the past, but how I wished I knew how to deal with the pain associated with it or sought help from someone who could give me adequate advice or guidance.

What do you do to get out of a rut?  Sometimes doing something totally non-artistic will help, they say.  Or, if creativity is not exactly lost, you might want to just change the way you work (try a new material or technique, change or clean a studio, for example).  To me, going outside to paint should do the trick because I always get positive energy from the great outdoors.  In front of the nature, there's no hiding, no pretending, no trying to prove anything.  It is the freedom and joy I can feel while working en plein air that helps me find my way again.

Recently I had a chance to spend several free days on the island of Maui between two teaching commitments there and these (below) are some of the paintings I produced in my free time.

  Road to Upcountry, Maui, Hawaii

  Punalau Beach, West Maui

  Makena, Maui, Hawaii

  Makawao, Maui, Hawaii

  Ke'anae, Maui, Hawaii II

  Ke'anae, Maui, Hawaii I

  Jodo Mission, Lahaina, Maui

  Iao Valley, Maui, Hawaii

  One of my workshops on Maui

- Join me on Facebook and follow my blog on NetworkedBlogs.
- Follow me on Google+.
- Follow me on Twitter.
- FASO Artist Websites - Easy, Professional Art Websites for Artists who Sell