Preface

Truth

The truth is colour blind;
it does not see man or woman; race or creed;
it is not found exclusively in a particular religion or philosophy yet when spoken the truth resonates deep within your soul.

Ego

The ego is the great liar! It wants you to believe that you are not perfect and that you need to have more but the truth about you is this:
You are not what you have;
You are not what you do;
You are not what people think of you;
You are not separate from everyone else;
You are not separate from what you need to be happy.
You are whole and perfect exactly as you are.
The day you believe this truth
is the day you will the master of your destiny.

The Rules sound so simple and yet they are truly difficult to master.
Why? The answer is as simple as the rules are. We all like to live in a comfort zone. The comfort zone may not even be working for us and in fact cause us a great deal of grief in our life and relationships, but it’s what we are familiar with so we hesitate to change. We resist changing what we are doing simply because we are used to doing it that way and we justify what we are doing by saying that it’s our habit.

It is the nature of Humans to develop habits. Habits are Natures way of keeping us safe, it starts from the time we are tiny babies and realise that if we cry out we will get a reaction. It doesn’t matter if we are hungry, lonely or in pain. We make our need known and we have it met, nothing changes over the lifetime of a Human just the need and the solution to getting that need met.

Along the way we develop an expectation that if we do “X” then “Y’ will occur. Unfortunately the variables of a situation will change or sometimes an individual that we are expecting a reaction in our favour from doesn’t quite respond the way we would like them to.

This is when problems start.

When expectations are not met then the people who are interacting become confused. This confusion can result in one or more of several things.
1. Hostility or anger (This is not fair, what is your problem)
2. Defensive posturing ( It’s not me it’s them)
3. Low self esteem ( It must be me, I’m not worthy )
4. Separation from the situation (leaving, walking away either temporarily or permanently)

Think of a time when you entered into a situation that didn’t go the way you expected it to go. What was your reaction after the first feelings of confusion? When this happened a second or third time, did you say to yourself -
“Maybe this approach isn’t working and I need to change it” or did you say
“I don’t know why I even bother it always turns out this way. I’m just not good at it”? “They don’t understand”

Most of us will fall in to the second option and for a very valid reason.
For a lot of other people this solution to a problem works perfectly fine, so it must be us. If only I was, smarter, taller, shorter, more talented, less controlling, a man, a woman, I would be able to do this and do it well. You become used to failing and come to expect it. You now have developed a “Failure Habit”.

Still confused? Don’t worry you are not alone. Let’s look at the rules one by one and see if it can start to make sense.

Rule #6

Rule #6 – Creativity needs the company of creativity

Creative Sympathetic Resonance

Have you ever wondered why it is that when you go to an artist’s workshop and spend a day or several days with a group of artists that you find that your abilities seem to skyrocket? Suddenly you find that you are full of ideas and inspiration virtually everything you try comes out golden and even when you make mistakes you instantly seem to know what went wrong and how to fix it. When the workshop is done and you are back in your own space the same brilliance that you had at the workshop seems to leak away with each passing day until you are back to starring around the room looking for something to jump out at you and move you to create.
Conversely have you ever wondered why even though you have the perfect space set up in your home or a studio away from home you find yourself tidying up and organizing the room instead of creating your art? The phone rings and the slightest thing will send you in the opposite direction. You suddenly remember the laundry needs done or you need something at the store for dinner.

The reason for this is simple: Creative Sympathetic Resonance.

What is Creative Sympathetic Resonance? It is simply the science of similar vibrations, or sympathetic vibrations. It is not new age mumbo jumbo but science pure and simple. When objects of a similar or sympathetic vibration are near each other they start to vibrate in strength and harmony together. Piano tuners have taken advantage of this science for centuries. A tuning fork is struck and the cord which is attached the key vibrates all the others stay still. The piano tuner will then adjust the cords until the correct string vibrates at the correct key. It is the same thing with everything in the universe, everything vibrates.
Quantum physics now with the help of the electron microscope can see down to the level of the very molecules that we are made up of and what they found was that at that level everything is vibrating. Each object that they examined vibrated at a different frequency.
So before I put you to sleep with all that science stuff what does that have to do with an artist anyway? Simply put artists vibrate at a similar frequency when they are in a place where they are exercising their right brain or in other words being creative and when we are together that vibration becomes stronger. The stronger the vibration the more freely the creative energy flows through you and around you. The more freely the energy flows the better your art.
It is for this reason that when you are painting with other artists whether outdoors or in your studio you feel more in tune with that part of you that is driven to create. The longer you are in the vibration the stronger the energy comes to and through you the stronger the energy the better your art.
So don’t create your art alone! Don’t believe the crap your ego is telling you that you need solitude to do your best work or working with other artists is distracting because it is just that, crap! Your ego is not always your friend remember Rules #2, 3 and 4!
If you want your skills to soar then call up your painting buddies, put a pot of tea on, get as many creative souls as you can squeeze in your space and start making art!

Excerpt from: The Rules for Painting & Life
By
Sandra Taylor/Hedges

Dear Readers,

For years I have been teaching art classes to both novice and seasoned artists. During that time I have seen a pattern form in the evolution of each artist and although it started as a list more tongue in cheek than serious I soon found that the "Rules" for my painting classes became a standard of teaching that each of my students clung to. So by popular demand I am now putting the rules to paper and explaining the reasoning behind each of them.
Over the next couple of months I will be looking at each of the rules in further detail but not always in any particular order so stay tuned to this blog for more details. I invite your questions and comments as we discover the art of what works and what doesn't.

Rules for Painting…
and life


1. There are No Rules (Just really good advice)
To quote Monet, “I neglect the rules of painting in order to paint what I feel”

2. If it works, Keep Doing it

3. If it’s not working, Stop Doing it !!!!

4. Get a Second opinion
But only from someone you trust to tell the truth

5. Knowledge doesn’t guarantee results
The secret is make your art, good, bad or indifferent make it!

6. Creativity needs the company of creativity
Feed your need to talk about and make art with other people who need to talk about
and make art. Experience the phenomenon of symbiotic creative resonance.

7. Challenge yourself, and you will grow
Take a step outside your comfort zone!

8. Creativity needs exercise daily

9. If you think you know it all, sorry you don’t!
Every day of your life there is something new to learn.
There is no age limit on acquiring new skills or knowledge.

10. Believe in your dreams!!

Sandra Taylor/Hedges
Copyright 2006 by Artist S. Taylor