AristiEstes Blog

Ah, the most important tip of all!

If you want to be an artist then quite simply you have to find ways to keep making art and not stop, no matter what life throws at you. Good luck! And don’t forgot to have a bit of fun along the way…

- Kirsty Hall

It’s vital for artists to have support, particularly from the people that they live with. The importance of having people in your life who understand your need to make art can’t be overstated. They don’t need to like or understand your work, although it helps, but they do need to understand what it means to you.

Again, I know it isn’t always possible to have this support - you may be in an existing relationship with a partner who doesn’t quite get it or have a birth family who are firmly opposed to you being an artist. You can still make art in these circumstances but you’ll have to be prepared to fight your corner and that’s draining and takes energy away from your work. Sadly, I have noticed that people who end up quitting art often have families who undermine their choice to be an artist, either directly or more subtly.

I’m incredibly lucky, my family of choice are totally supportive - bemused sometimes, but always supportive. Of course, I say luck but really it was a choice - I put art at the centre of my life and deliberately picked people who support me. When I was single, the two fundamental things that anyone getting involved with me had to accept were:
1) I was a parent and my kid came first
2) I was an artist and I had no intention of giving that up for anyone.

It was always an absolute deal-breaker for me - I can be quite hard-nosed and selfish about my art when I have to be and I just wasn’t prepared to trade art for ‘love’.

- Kirsty Hall

You need to make a space for art in your life. If art isn’t a priority then it simply won’t get done and you’ll get to the end of another year wondering why you haven’t made any work.

I do know that it’s difficult: if you’re working another job to pay your bills or raising children, then finding time and energy to make art can be especially tough but you need to keep hold of the idea that you’re an artist, that it’s central to who you are and that you’re going to keep making work somehow.

You may need to work in the margins of the day - on your lunch break, on public transport, as you’re waiting for a meeting to start, while the kids are napping or when the rest of the household is asleep. When I worked in a hospital, I used to sketch the visitors to the canteen on my lunchbreak. I didn’t do it every day but I did it enough that it noticeably improved my drawing at a time when I had no access to life drawing classes. I know several writers who’ve written zines and even novels in spare minutes at work. Other artists find ways to incorporate their paid work into their art, perhaps by using it as the subject of their work.

It’s easy to think that you need vast swathes of time in order to be an artist but that’s not always the case: what you need is a steady and regular commitment. Yes, having lots of time can be great but it can also make you freeze. When I was at college I used to spend most of the day talking to people, pottering around the studio and drinking endless cups of tea and then in the last hour I’d finally get myself in gear and do some work. I’ve learnt that I tend to do much better with a limited amount of time and a deadline.

If you’ve got serious limitations to contend with, then another option is to temporarily alter your practice. If you can’t make sculpture because you don’t have the space, then maybe you can draw, if you can’t get access to printmaking equipment, then maybe you can do monoprints instead, if your oil paints are toxic to your toddler then switch to gouache. Don’t be afraid to explore the options - you’re an artist, you can surely come up with a creative solution.

When my son was small, I couldn’t even draw because if he woke up and threw me out of that creative zone, then I wanted to throw him out of the window! I decided this wasn’t an ideal frame of mind for parenting, so I switched to photography and writing - both forms I was able to pick up and put down much more easily - until he was older and I had more mental space. And let me tell you, I came out of that restricted period like a bat out of hell, I had so much stored up creative energy that it powered me for years.

- Kirsty Hall

Lantana Camara by AristiEstes

Give your brain a helping hand and write down all your ideas, not just the ones that seem immediately good and relevant. You can always edit them later and you never know when a seemingly unimportant thought will develop into a larger project. I often think that I’ve come up with a brand new idea but invariably I’ll find a single sentence in an old notebook that was clearly the original spark. New art takes time to grow, at least several years in my experience. Writing things down is a way of planting your ideas and then letting them develop while you’re busy getting on with something else - I call this process ‘composting’.

The notebook that I keep by my bed is the most important of the 5 or 6 journals and sketchbooks that I use. I wouldn’t want to be without the other notebooks because they all serve different purposes but the majority of my ideas start out in that little bedside book.

Bed is apparently where I think best but it varies from person to person. I know someone who keeps a waterproof board and pencil in her bathroom because she gets her best ideas in the bath. Someone else I know writes ideas on the steamy doors of her shower cubicle and then dashes out to grab some paper before they evaporate! Work out where you think best and make absolutely sure that you keep a way of recording ideas there.

- Kirsty Hall

This week’s featured art is only way is up by Nancy Coyle

only way is up by Nancy Coyle — View Larger

Art doesn’t form in a vacuum and it’s important to replenish your inspiration on a regular basis. Julia Cameron suggests regular Artist’s Dates, where you schedule inspirational treats for yourself and I’d totally agree. This could involve reading art books; going to the theatre or cinema; visiting art galleries or museums; taking photograph’s at a farmer’s market; going for a walk; taking a day trip or indulging in some new materials at the art shop - the key is that it should be something that nourishes and inspires you. If you’re starting to feel a bit stale or low, then try this.

- Kirsty Hall

Fire and Smoke by AristiEstes . — View Larger

Anyone who tells you that art is a wonderful, creative thing that always makes you happy is an idiot!

Annoyance, small bursts of depression and large doses of frustration are a normal part of the artistic process. It doesn’t mean that you’re no good, that you’re not cut out to be an artist or that you’re doing the wrong thing, it just means that you’re engaged with your work. Just make sure that you do have a deep core of love for your process - if you’re annoyed all the time then you probably need to reconsider your medium.

In my experience, anger and frustration usually happen right before a breakthrough and it’s a sign that I need to stick with a piece - although if I’m throwing things around the studio and yelling, I tend to take a day off! Feeling low usually happens when I’ve just completed something big - I call it The Exhibition Blues - and it’s always a sign that I need to step away from art for a while to recharge my batteries, assess what I’ve just finished and get ready for the next piece.

- Kirsty Hall

Blue and Yellow Macaw 3 by AristiEstes . — View Larger

I’ve seen far too many people, particularly at art school, endlessly struggling with a medium or form that they just don’t enjoy. Why? Art is hard enough without handicapping yourself with a process that doesn’t excite you. You need a certain amount of joy to get through all the bits that you don’t like, so don’t lumber yourself with a form that just doesn’t do it for you - it’s not noble, it’s just masochistic!

- Kirsty Hall

Colombian Ocelot by AristiEstes . — View Larger

Balance your practice by finding forms that complement each other. For example, if your work takes a long time and involves long and complicated projects, then regularly doing little pieces that can be finished quickly is a good counterbalance. It helps you feel as though you really are getting stuff done. Artists have traditionally done this by using drawing as a complement to painting or sculpture but it’s not the only option, performance, photography, writing, music or another form can also fill that need for immediacy.

Conversely, if you tend to complete works quickly, taking on a longer, more involved project can be an interesting challenge. Working in series is often a way of doing this but maybe you can think of other more unusual ways.

-Kirsty Hall

Fountain 5 by AristiEstes . — View Larger

Remember what got you into art in the first place and take some time to reconnect with that joy. This can easily get forgotten when you’re a professional artist and bogged down in promotional activities and exhibition schedules, so make sure you also schedule some playing time. Taking classes in a different technique or trying out an exciting new art material can be a good way to access what Buddhists call ‘beginners mind’ that wonderful state where everything is exciting and fresh.

- Kirsty Hall

Eagle by Travis DeLongchamp — View Larger

I love this image. Good background and the focus is perfect. The birds eye is extremely intense.

Prices for Eagle begin at $16.13, subject to change.

Handyman on a Horse by AristiEstes . — View Larger

You don’t have to share your whole process and every piece of art you make. It can be nourishing to keep a private sketchbook or make little test pieces that you don’t intend to share. I have a couple of sketchbooks that I don’t usually show to anyone. Apart from anything else, we all need a place where we feel emotionally free to make bad art without worrying about an audience!

- Kirsty Hall

Red by AristiEstes . — View Larger

Combining photography with the passion of hiking, biking and mountain climbing can result in the most incredible photographs imaginable. Whether it’s ice climbing in the Rockies, with your camera bag packed safely away, until you reach the summit where you have a breathtaking panoramic view of the frozen earth spread out as far as the eye can see. Or a leisurely springtime hike up a flower carpeted Pocono hillside with your camera close at hand to catch that pheasant or covey of quail. The outdoors and photography are a perfect match.

If you’re a week-end photographer who can’t wait to get out of the city and become one with nature, there are countless opportunities that will allow you to fulfill your desire to “get away” and get that “shot of a lifetime”.

Consider those who are lucky enough to live in Seattle, Washington where you can leave work on a Friday afternoon and be standing on the majestic and rugged coastline, removing your camera and tripod from their bag in time to be setting up to focus on one of the most beautiful sunsets on earth. The next morning, while enjoying your first cup of coffee, you could be snapping pictures of the Grey whales which migrate north along the Washington coast between February and April every year.

Or maybe mountain scenery is your first love and you are fortunate enough to live in the Yellowstone area of Montana were the wildlife is phenomenal. Grizzly, coyote, elk…. big horned sheep playing on the mountainside. Buffalo grazing peacefully, as they must have a 100 years ago. This is truly Big Sky Country where you can catch a glimpse of a graceful eagle gliding silently through the trees. These are pictures most people can only see in a magazine, not through their camera lens on a brisk autumn morning.

Remember it’s important to research not only where you’re going to be photographing and what camera equipment you’ll be using, but also the bags, backpacks and pouches to which you entrust your valuable cameras, lenses, tripods and accessories The touring bicyclist needs to invest in a dry sack in the event he encounters inclement weather, but the young photographer hiking through the Sierra Nevada, in search of the various species of blooming cactus, probably would be in need of the backpack with room for her water bottles. Look for quality, durability and functionality.

Whatever your passion, wherever you call home. There are beautiful pictures waiting to be taken. That horse pasture you are fortunate enough to pass on your way to work every day. Stop; take a good look. I bet you’ll see a terrific photograph. One you’d probably be in awe of if you saw it in a magazine. So pack up those camera bags and keep your equipment handy. You never know when that one perfect picture will appear.

- Suzanne VanDeGrift

Stone Rose by AristiEstes . — View Larger

Prices for Stone Rose begin at $33.96, subject to change. 

Lincoln_F by Morgan Howarth — View Larger

There was an ImageKind post the other day about the rule-of-thirds and this is an image that definitely uses that rule but in such an unobtrusive way that it is not obvious to most people. A fantastic photograph.

Prices for Lincoln_F begin at $33.96, subject to change.

Floating Decoration by AristiEstes . — View Larger

Prices for Floating Decoration begin at $33.96, subject to change.