Celebrating Color

The latest news from Carol McIntyre's studio...

Don’t Fret! Learn Where the Creative Process Gets Sticky- Part 1

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Being creative, be it painting, writing, composing, sculpting, problem solving, etc., is something that is essential to our souls. We have to do it and for lots of reasons. As much as creating is a driving force in our lives, it is never a smooth ride. We all run into times when we feel stuck or it feels like quick sand or we bemoan, “This is hard!” Yes, it is and you are in good company. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.

Have you ever stopped to think about the common places when creatives get stuck or question their ability to continue? Or considered the general phases of the creative process? In this blog (Part 1), I will be discussing the latter question first.

The creative process has been studied by various scholarly fields for centuries. Because it is a mysterious process, creativity has always enamored us. Many attempts have been made to articulate it so that it can be better understood.

When I researched literature about the creative process several years ago, I learned that the sequential stages were first defined into only four phases.

In Graham Wallas’ 1926 classic The Art of Thought, he summarized the creative process as follows:

    1. Preparation: The mind prepares for the creative solution, which requires study and thinking intently on the subject—whether it be a musical composition, a new invention, a mathematical formula, or a business dilemma.
    2. Incubation: A germination period follows. The person steps away from the problem and takes up some form of activity like daydreaming, walking, or meditating.
    3. Illumination: Often as a flash, a brilliant idea shoots across the mind, frequently during a mundane task or while one is involved with something else.
    4. Verification: The idea is tested to determine its validity. The composition is scored; the mathematical formula, proven.

Variations of the above creative process have been developed over the last century with a few additional tweaks and language changes. Boldly, I added a stage that I thought was missing!

The Creative Process Delineated:

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How Does Your Art Make You Feel?

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Don’t we all want to improve as creatives? One of the many reasons I love about being an artist is that there is always something to learn and to improve upon. As a life-long-learner it revs my engine. Is this true for you as well?

This post was inspired by listening to a recent Nicholas Wilton video https://www.art2life.com/2019/08/18/where-are-you-looking/ It sparked me to start thinking about my practice as an artist. He begins by asking if we are wanting to improve upon or up-level our art. If so, where do we look to determine how to make these improvements?

There is a logical tendency to look at the end product for answers. After all, critiques are a common occurrence in our profession and they usually happen when a painting is completed. However, Wilton suggests that we look at the beginning of our creative process. I had never thought of this, have you? It’s a great question.art make you feel [Read more…]

What Are the 5 Phases of Publishing a Book? | Part Two

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In my recent blog post: What Are the 5 Phases of Publishing a Book? | Part One   I introduced you to these five phases of publishing a book and discussed phases one through three:

  1. Incubating and Conceiving the Idea
  2. Writing
  3. Producing
  4. Marketing
  5. Distributing and Shippingcolor mixing book, book publishing, color theory

In this post, I will discuss the last two phases – 4. Marketing and 5. Distributing and Shipping. Although the five listed steps imply a linear progression, the journey is never quite straight and/or sequential, as in any creative process. For example, in the book publishing process, marketing activities underly all of the stages, because it actually starts when the first viable draft of the manuscript has been written. This surprises most new authors.

Marketing is the most important and the most complex phase. It is a long and arduous process that is not unlike having a child. I say this because the book needs constant and consistent attention over a long period of time, particularly if your content is evergreen.

[Disclaimer:  This article describes my author experience of independently publishing a non-fiction art instruction book to be sold internationally. Off-set printing was used because color is on every page and it is a hard back so that it is durable, lays flat for better usability, and is marketable to a variety of venues, including libraries. Every book carries its unique goals.]

Phase 4: Marketing

What is marketing? It is the business process of creating relationships with and satisfying customers. With its focus on the customer, marketing is one of the premier components of business management.

Given the above definition, to write and sell a book, the author must understand that he/she is starting a book publishing business. Most authors do not fully comprehend this phenomenon, which can cause angst and frustration. I arrived in my book publishing journey having taken classes in marketing and I worked in a marketing department within a medium-sized corporation many years ago. Hence, the principles were and are not difficult for me to grasp. If you do not have similar knowledge, I recommend that you take a basic Marketing 101 course BEFORE taking advantage of the many books and online resources available on the subject of marketing books.

It is important to know who will be reading your book and whether they represent a viable market. Along this line of thinking, knowing the problem(s) your book will solve and providing solutions to this problem is also critical. If these are not completely thought out then your book will not sell. [Read more…]

What Are the 5 Phases of Publishing a Book? | Part One

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“Carol, you have written and published a book! Congratulations! How did you do it?”

Writing I Just Want to Paint: Mixing the Colors You Want! has, as many of you know, consumed much of my time and energy the past two years. As I depart the launch phase, I have been reflecting upon the process and I thought I’d share it with you. Some of you might like to hear one author’s insight to becoming an independent book publisher. The latter is sometimes referred to as “Indie.”

Readers of my blog and my book, know that clarity is foremost in my mind when explaining a concept or skill. I believe clarity is key to understanding or learning something new. I also think it is a skill I have worked at developing. Here is my attempt at explaining a complex and time-consuming process.

What are the 5 Phases of Publishing a Book?

Caveat:  I write this article solely from my perspective. I am not a book publishing coach or consultant. I have never seen the process described in phases as I have identified. My book publishing story is about writing a non-fiction book — a how-to art instruction book. I outline the phases I have experienced though many nuances and details of book publishing are skimmed, so consider this an overview.

The Phases are:

  1. Incubating and Conceiving the Idea
  2. Writing
  3. Producing
  4. Marketing
  5. Distributing and Shipping

Even though I have portrayed them as a sequence, publishing a book, like any creative endeavor, is not linear and be a bit mushy with lots of overlap. However, I think these five phases represent a model and provide a good framework to take an aerial view of the  process.color mixing, book publishing, self-publisher

Phase 1: Incubating and Conceiving the Idea

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What Role Does Color Play in Your Paintings?

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Have you ever wondered what role does color play in your paintings? Or…

What is your relationship with color?

How important is color to your artistic process and what you are trying to visually communicate?

Do you consciously step back and consider the impact your color choices have on you? On your viewers?

Or do you essentially copy the colors before you, such as a landscape, portrait, still life, without giving color much consideration? Or do you choose different colors on purpose from what you see before you? Or any combination thereof?

When starting a painting, do you choose particular colors because of a mood or message you want to communicate? Perhaps you choose the colors as you get further into the painting process and the painting starts to ‘talk’ to you. You then make more strategic color choices.

In my painting “Untethered,” the color red makes a strong statement. Imagine it in a different color and the impact it might have. Interestingly, the interpretations of this painting varies across the board, which is another topic of discussion when it comes to color — we all have personal reactions to different colors.color theory

There are more questions surrounding this yummy and complex topic of color. And there are no right or wrong answers to these questions. However, I believe they are important for painters to ponder periodically. May I suggest that these might be good questions to ask in a small art group or during a critique. [Read more…]