Apr 1st 1-2-3: Throw Away A Lot Of Art
1: Throw Away A Lot Of Art ( 2 minute read )
On your journey to create meaningful works of art, no matter the art form, there are three general steps you’re going to want to follow.
Step 1, is to consume a LOT of art.
Seek to consume a LOT of art, and consume art that is outside of your wheelhouse. Expand your tastes. Whenever something evokes an emotion, then question what caused it, and why?
As you consume more art and expand your palette, let the information that graces your senses always flow through a critical lens.
If you listen to a song, listen to it critically.
If you watch a film, observe it critically.
Hell, even when you eat your meals throughout the day, taste it through a critical lens.
This is a simple ‘mindset’ shift that will provide you with endless inspiration, reference, and ideas.
Step 2, is to create a LOT of art.
To create great art, one must first create a LOT of art.
Some good, some bad, some in-between.
Some that contain such brilliance in their concept, all while containing such brilliantly poor execution.
You MUST create a LOT of art. You create a lot of art to get all the bad art out of your system, to learn from them, and to get one step closer to making something that will stand through the test of time.
You also create a lot of art to learn your own style. To see what you’ve done that has worked, and why. To see what hasn’t worked, and why. As well as to create a library of referential works that come from yourself.
Finally, we are onto the last step.
Step 3, is to throw away a LOT of art.
To throw away a LOT or art, isn’t to actually throw it away.
To throw away a lot of art is more so an approach to working on final pieces.
For instance, if you were writing a novel throwing away a lot of art would look like writing the entire manuscript for the novel only to remove a whole quarter of the book because it doesn’t serve the ultimate purpose of the novel.
Or if you were working on a commissioned illustration, then throwing away a lot of art would look like working on iteration after iteration only to get to the final illustration, just to realize that the piece's composition doesn’t feel quite right. So you go back to the drawing board, take what you’ve learned thus far, and apply it to the next attempt.
In short, I’d say ‘throwing away a lot of art’ is the strengthening of the muscles for intuition, perseverance, as well as learning to not get too ‘married’ to a particular draft.
Learn to persevere through a piece of work.
Learn to see its flaws, and do not hesitate to start again.
Being able to get so intimately close to your work where you intuitively know every detail and its purpose will only have as strong an effect on the consumer as you are also able to ‘throw away’ something that doesn’t particularly ‘fit’ into the over arching purpose of the piece you are working on.
These 3 steps I’ve given you are a process of Informing, Capturing, and Refining your art to have command over your works.
They will take blood, sweat, and tears to truly implement into your intuitive artistic reflexes.
But once you make this process second nature, you’ll begin to truly reap the benefits from them.
Now go consume, create, and throw away a lot of art, then make something uniquely YOU!
2: Creative Prompts From Us (ex. Write a short story, a poem, a song, or draw a quick illustration of these! Let your imagination run free.)
I. Think about one aspect from some art you’ve consumed recently that particularly stuck with you. Then create your own take on that particular concept.
II. As you work on this piece think about what emboldens the art in evoking what’s intended, and also think about what works against it. Then trim down any and all ‘fat’ from the final product.
3: Inspirational Quotes From Others
I. “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”
-Pablo Picasso, Spanish Painter and Sculptor
II. “What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?”
-Vincent Van Gogh, Dutch Painter
III. “Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.”
-Stephen King, American Author
Thank you so much for reading!