Charlie Kirkham

Do you often find yourself pursuing so many different projects that nothing gets done? Me too!

Here’s are strategies I’ve found that make life less creative scattergun and more professional artist.

1. Braindump into an old sketchbook 

Sketchbooks might just be one of the world’s best inventions. A place to doodle, jot down ideas, sketch (as the name suggests) and more. Use your sketchbooks to dump down any ideas as and when they come, and if you’re having a particularly scattergun-like moment, use this space to get every idea down prior to trying to clarify ideas.

2. Revisit previous braindumps 

When you revisit ideas that inspire you, even if they led you down a different route last time, you can discover new ideas. Time can make a big difference to whether you want to focus on something now that you previously discounted.

3. Filter out the noise

What is the theme that keeps cropping up?

Narrow down your ideas to what is the most important to you out of all the ideas that you have created. Looking through your sketchbooks, is there a common thread throughout?

This will allow you to utilise as many of your brilliant ideas as you can. It will give your practice a thematic focus, helpful if you still want to play with media and techniques.

This way, you will find something that you can begin working on a piece from. Yes, as your work develops as will your ideas, but getting your idea down to something narrow to begin with is key in allowing you to begin. 

4. Set blocks of time aside to focus on ONE medium

When every piece of artwork is in a different medium it can be hard to show them as a cohesive body of work. Set yourself the task of using just one thing, be it watercolour, pencils, biro or oil paint and use that one medium for six weeks.

Why six weeks? It’s enough time to see if you like it and to boost your skills, but not such a bit commitment that you can’t achieve it.

5. Create next to your creations

If you want to build a body of work that converses well with itself, it helps to build that body as one. Hanging your artworks up together as your working reminds you of the colours, themes and media used previously.

EXTRA Top tip: be a scattergun in the studio but curate curate curate the public facing content!

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REFERENCE LINKS

Tips to improve concentration – Harvard Health