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:

[Read more…]

Painting Out of My Funk – Mixed Media Demo

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How do you get yourself out from under emotional challenges? Do you use your creative outlets and/or something else?

As most of you know, starting late summer I took a sabbatical for several months because I needed to Prevent a Train Wreck. This time was followed by our much anticipated vacation to Barcelona. Unfortunately, it was rudely interrupted by the theft of all of our luggage from inside of our rental car as described in Thieves Among Geniuses-Miro and Gaudi. As a result of this traumatic experience, I have been experiencing periodic mild anxiety attacks. This was a surprise me and continues to confound me. Consequently, I have not been inspired or motivated to paint, much less anything else work related.

I had intended to return from our European vacation all charged up and ready to get back to work. Ha! My psyche wasn’t ready, so I have been patiently listening to my body and trying to take care of myself. Meanwhile, what about my art? As I mentioned in my last blog post, I asked a good art friend to push me to start a couple of paintings. I did and that was Okay, but not satisfactory.

mixed media demo

This week, after a few mornings of mild anxiety attacks, I decided that I needed to do something different. Painting has almost always served as an emotionally grounding activity for me, but I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to paint! This is not a common phenomenon for me. Feeling lost like this indicated that I still needed some healing time. However, sitting around watching the snow fall (quite the snow storms this week in Colorado), wasn’t working for me.

When in a conundrum such as this, I often pose challenges for myself. I decided that I would use existing painting materials and try something I have only watched on YouTube. I would paint multiple paintings on one sheet of 22″ x 30″ watercolor paper. Here is the step-by-step process of my mixed media demo. [Read more…]

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…]

How Do I Prevent a Train Wreck?

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Have you ever tried to avoid a train wreck — not literally, but personally?

My body has been sending several unhappy messages these past few months and it’s time for me to acknowledge them. I am mentally exhausted; sleep isn’t what it used to be and there I days I wake up not wanting to do anything. I dread opening my email or trying to think of something creative to write for a blog post. These signs indicate that all is not well.

Instead of waiting for a train wreck to happen, which would force me to stop, I have decided that it is time for me to take a sabbatical. My tank is empty, and it needs to be re-charged. Writing, producing, printing, marketing and distributing my book I Just Want to Paint: Mixing the Colors You Want! has drained my reserves. I entered this book publishing journey not knowing the extent of the time, energy and money commitment required nor that it is like an elderly uncle who won’t leave.burnout, color mixing

The amount of information and experience I have taken in during the past two and half years has been like a graduate doctoral crash course. Not only do I need to take a step back to re-fuel, I think I would benefit from assessing everything that I have learned and accomplished.

Interestingly, about the time I started to think about taking a sabbatical, the World Health Organization stated that Burnout is Officially a Workplace Crisis. Its handbook International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems lists burnout as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” It is characterized by three key factors: “feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and reduced professional efficacy.” This announcement didn’t surprise me .

When I began taking stock of my emotional and physical state, I started journaling and asking myself some challenging questions, such as:

  • How did I get here?
  • How do I want to live the rest of my life (I am 68)?
  • What does joy mean to me? What brings me joy? Etc.

These questions lead me to several insights, the one that stood out the most is:

I was an artist who wrote, who became an author who paints. Ah! Time to switch back to the former.

No regrets as I love the quality and content of I Just Want to Paint! It is doing exactly what I intended it to do as stated by the many testimonials I have received such as this one from Ruth Jansson:

Carol McIntyre has done an extraordinary job taking a very complex subject and breaking it down to its simplest form, unravelling the mysteries of color mixing along the way.  Not only is this book very attractive, it is easy to follow and understand and is written in a wonderful conversational style rich with colorful graphics and photographs.

Whether you are a seasoned painter or a beginner, if you want a clear, concise, easy-to-understand explanation of how to mix the colors you want, this book belongs next to your palette.

Best of all, I found a renewed enthusiasm for painting. 

I love knowing that my book is helping to unleash the creative spirit.

Another positive aspect of I Just Want to Paint’s is that its evergreen content, which means I do not need to be the hare anymore. One of the challenges with taking a sabbatical will be to see if and how I will shut my book marketing engine down. As a person known for her persistence and high expectations, I suspect that throwing the throttle back might take some time. It will also require learning how to let go, even though it is temporary.

The good news is that I have lots of paint, yummy art materials and blank canvases to distract and re-direct me. Soon, I depart for my annual month-long stay at our remote mountain cabin, which is my sacred place.

Me in the cabin’s porch last summer hanging-out on the hammock

Fortunately, I Just Want to Paint! sales are going well. Most importantly, I have a fulfillment company that can take care of any sales that come in while I take a break.

I won’t be disappearing completely, though my appearance in your email box and online will be sporadic announcement of events and blogs as my muse moves me. At the time of this writing, I plan to take a two-month sabbatical, but is could be longer.

I do need to return to marketing my book, teaching and coaching, as I have over 1,000 books to get out into the world! Your assistance is welcome.

How might you help?

  • Continue to spread the word and tell your artists friends about I Just Want to Paint!
  • Ask your library to carry it.
  • Write an Amazon Review. Currently I have about ten and I need 25 or more to motivate the Amazon algorithm to give I Just Want to Paint! attention to people browsing the site. Please go to: https://amzn.to/2F4FWZ1 and scroll down a bit. On the left you can write, after you have logged in, how my book has impacted your painting and/or solved your color mixing problems.
  • Consider having me speak or teach at your art society or art center in 2020-21.
  • Jot down ideas for appropriate podcasts and other events and send them along to me.

Have you ever experienced burnout? What did you do? How did you recover?

With deep gratitude and appreciation, your support and understanding are cherished.

Colorfully yours,

Carol

color theory, book publishing, burnout

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…]