Living Your Artist’s Journey I’m Nancy Hillis of The Artist’s Journey and I’m so excited for the new year and also for the year we’ve had in 2018. I want to thank you for being here on the journey this year. Thank you for this year of living your artist’s journey. So many things have […]
The One Thing in Abstract Art
I had an ‘aha’ recently after talking with artists in our Artist’s Journey group. We’d been discussing painting for yourself, finding what you love, searching and finding your way, exploring and experimenting. [Note: I have a video for you at the bottom of this post]. I saw that each artist was stretching and risking and […]
When You Finally Say Yes To Your Dream To Create
The Call to Create When you finally say yes to your dream to create, everything changes. You’re living your life and something calls you. You yearn for meaning, a new experience, something that brings you alive. But you hesitate. You’re afraid. You feel anxious and torn. You feel overwhelmed. You don’t know how or where […]
Gestural Self Expression In Art
Gestural Self Expression in Art Every summer I teach an art workshop for Stanford physicians at Stanford Sierra Camp with Jane Lombard, MD. Creativity and self expression is essential for everyone, including physicians. Stanford Medical School and Hospital has been on a mission of incorporating art into the medical school curriculum as well as […]
Answering The Call Of Your Creative Journey
TRANSCRIPT from my interview with filmmaker Sidharta Pascual. The Artist’s Journey is similar to the Hero’s Journey. In both cases, you’re answering the call of your creative journey. You’re living your life and you yearn for something- meaning, aliveness or a sense of adventure. And then one day you finally answer the […]
Don’t Lick The Paint: What Artists Can Learn From Mozart & Other Artists
I was in rapid fire communication with my editor Yolande McLean this morning. I told her that I needed to read through the entire manuscript of my forthcoming book The Artist’s Journey again. This would be the zillionth time I’d pored over it since I began writing it eighteen months ago. Yolande’s […]
Keeping It Alive: Moving Past Repetition In Your Art
Keeping It Alive: Moving Past Repetition In Your Art Have you ever had the experience of creating a painting you love only to be afraid that you won’t be able to create a painting like that again? That it’ll be a one hit wonder?I remember years ago painting oil landscapes on panel at the Palo Alto […]
The Magic Of Expressing You In Your Art
There’s wisdom that lives in your body waiting to be released and seen by the world. For abstract artists, these truths become visible through the magic of expressing you in your art through gestural expression. Within you resides your personal signature, your own lexicon. It’s like your fingerprint or the architecture of your retinal blood […]
Embracing The Struggle In Art
Embracing The Struggle In Art An artist was experimenting in her studio with mark making when a surprising image emerged unbidden. It was unlike anything she’d created before and she loved it. The painting had arisen effortlessly and she felt euphoric. She couldn’t wait to create more paintings like this one. And that was when […]
The Power Of Simplicity & Constraint In Art
The Power Of Simplicity & Constraint In Art There’s power and potency in working with simplicity and constraint in your art Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication – Leonardo Da Vinci Multum Non Multa There’s a Latin phrase multum non multa which translates to much, not many. In employing much, not many in your art, you go deep rather than wide. You explore […]