When it comes to my artistic process, challenging myself and stepping out of my comfort zone is essential; if I feel myself getting too comfortable with a certain subject or technique, that's a red flag for me that it's time to switch things up. For example, I was thinking about how I'd been doing faces for quite some time. I enjoy painting whacky portraitures, studying the human figure and they are still one of my greatest sources of inspiration, but I felt like I'd hit a wall. I could paint abstract figures with my eyes closed and realized it was time for a new challenge to engage my mind fully in my craft again. Faces would always be there when I was ready to return to them; I was ready for something new. The question was, what would it be? I thought about this for quite some time.I then realized was that I was overworked. I'd been working so hard every single day to create more content that I wasn't giving myself any time to simply live life and take in new inspiration. I needed to rejuvenate and allow the creative juices to replenish themselves. In the back of my mind I'd told myself that I have been overworked for quite some time but I never took any action about it, so I decided to take my work outdoors and get a break from the studio for a while. The plan was simply to slow my work pace a little and to take in some fresh air and some naturistic scenes by going camping in the beautiful BC wilderness and enveloping myself in some landscape studies.
The first thing that really captivated my was how symmetrical and perfect nature can be. In the natural world you have shapes, patterns, and movement everywhere, but at the same time it is rigid, structured and has balance. That alone got me questioning what else there was out there that I'd taken for granted. It’s a hard one to explain, but the patterns and movement of my surroundings gave me the inspiration I'd been looking for. It was slow-going at first, but my sketches of my environment soon took on a totally different character as I incorporated new shapes and experiments with abstraction. I attempted to stay true to my style, but these new shapes and patterns gave me totally new ways to experiment with those color interactions. In my sketchbooks I noticed a pretty dramatic break with my old style as I forced myself into totally new territory. I could see my work develop as my experiments gave me more confidence in the new style.
As an artist and online creator, there's a very strong temptation to stick with what works. I make my living off of my art, so it's incredibly tempting to keep creating the kinds of paintings that made me well known or that get the most likes on social media. While this may be satisfying in the short term, I strongly believe that it's worth the risk to push myself to try something new that may or may not be received as well as my old stuff. Every artist secretly cares what people think about their art in some way or another. It can be daunting to try a new style and wonder how people will receive it, but I realized that in order to grow I need to learn to be myself and share what I’ve been working on. I always have my doubts as I branched into any new style, but much stronger than my doubts was my belief in the importance of being true to yourself as an artist. As Chris from one of my beloved all time favourite TV shows Skins says "Do what you love and fuck the rest!"I still paint faces & figures when I feel truly inspired to do so, versus out of a sense of obligation to generate content, but I incorporate the new techniques and methods that I learn from my sketchbook studies. I think this has helped me create much better work. I know there are probably some artists out there who have similar questions like I did about the possibility of working in more than one style at once. Sometimes it can feel like you need to stick to your lane or develop one signature style that people recognize you for. That's totally not the case! You can have success going after whatever inspires you, even if that means you paint two works that look nothing alike. The variety and challenge will not only keep you interested, but will teach you new techniques and ways of looking at the world. I always encourage people to experiment because that’s where true creativity lies.
What new direction in art are you thinking of experimenting with next? What do you think was stopping you from going for it? Let me know in the comments below! I enjoy seeing others experimenting and developing their work as it’s another source of inspiration for me!
Peace & Love
Cai Nai
Director at Prince of Cavan Creations
wagwan@princeofcavan.com
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