Dear *|FNAME|*,
A lot of artists get caught up in technique – focusing on getting the lighting just right, or the dimensions or the depths. All of those things definitely make a painting more captivating, however they are nothing without a strong mood.
One of the things I focus on with my art mentoring students is creating emotion in their painting.
This is how we connect with our viewers. This is how we share a piece of ourselves, our vulnerability and let others know they are not alone. This is how we move our viewers. This is how we add beauty to the world.
Even the best of us want to feel understood and less alone. Even the best of us with many happy moments have sad ones too. Your art, when you paint from your heart, shares something that you feel or love – maybe it’s a blooming crabapple tree, or the way the water moves down the stream. When you paint from emotion, somebody can stand in front of your painting and feel your energy. In this moment, you are sharing part of you and what matters to you. This is your gift and your purpose for being here.
So remember when you’re creating: don’t get lost in your head, stay in your heart for much of the process.
Here are a few tips for how to paint from emotion:
All of these modes convey emotion in your painting, but the strongest one is being aware of the energy you come into your painting space with. This will be conveyed in everything you create in this moment.
I want to remind you of something important: don’t miss out on your art. Don’t miss out on this huge part of yourself. We have this one precious lifetime to express who we are and share our humanity with others. Your art is your voice in a world that desperately needs authentic expression.
Imagine a world without art. A world based just on numbers, tasks, and negotiation. This is you when you’re not expressing yourself. It’s going through your day getting everything done, and never giving yourself a moment to breath or appreciate the goodness that surrounds your every day. I say this from personal experience – every day I work to retrain myself to feel my senses. This is the gift of living.
When you create from your heart, you’re not just making a painting—you’re leaving a piece of your soul in this world. That matters. Someone will stand before your work one day and feel less alone because you had the courage to express what was real and true for you.
There’s so much more to painting with emotion, but I hope these few tips set you on the right track today.
Scroll down and leave a comment – I’d love to hear if this inspired you or helped you in some way.
With love, Kellie