David Limrite-Artist, Coach, Mentor, Teacher

A stack of all new pieces ready to go to the show in SLO.

" What you should be confident about is that you are a legitimate human being with the right to be and the power to create"

~ Eric Maisel

Have you ever told yourself, "MY CREATIVITY MATTERS".

Did you believe it? Would you believe it more if someone else told you that your creativity matters?

It does, you know. No matter who you are. It does not matter whether you are an active professional, a self identified artist or a creatively inspired person.

It is important for you to realize and accept this. If you don't, it can make any meaningful thing you create seem less than. It can make you feel less than. Creating something new, unique, beautiful, powerful, spiritual, thought provoking, dramatic, shocking or even decorative is hard enough without not believing in yourself and your ability to generate ideas and create them.

Your creativity has to matter to you before it matters to others (viewers, critics, gallery owners, buyers, friends, family). Why should your art matter more to others than it matters to you? You have to care deeply about what you are creating before others will care about it.

I am not talking about individual paintings that you create. I am not saying that you have to love everything that you make. I am not saying that you can't feel frustrated, angry, timid, disappointed, stuck, confused, indecisive, reluctant or just plain uninspired from time to time. You can even hate what you are currently creating.

What I am talking about is a much bigger picture. I am talking about being committed no matter what. Showing up in your studio on a regular basis and staying put until you have given it your all, no matter what.

I am talking about having the conviction to create the kind of art that deep down you feel compelled to create and doing what you know you are supposed to do. You are meant to create work that is meaningful to you in some way - regardless.

Intention, courage, passion and clarity of purpose are a few of the things required in order to be able to create meaningful work. Choosing ideas, subjects and/or projects that are personally meaningful to you are essentlal. Perseverance, discipline, persistence and resilience are also helpful.

Fear, lack of focus, self-doubt, lack of confidence, indecision, reluctance and being non- committal can certainly get in the way if you let them. The key is to not let them. Choose to not let them. Take charge of your creativity. Choose creativity.

The key to meaningful creativity involves clarifying your goals, making a plan, committing to the plan fully and starting to act on it with all of your heart and mind. Right now!

For me, action is a cure-all. Action quiets fear (among other things). Getting out into the studio and working hard is the elixir. Most of the time when we are struggling with fear, self-doubt, lack of focus, indecision, lack of confidence, reluctance or being non-committal, we do the opposite. We do not go into the studio to work. We shy away from working at all costs. We cannot get far enough away from our paintings. Instead, I urge you to get out into that studio and paint. Face those fears, etc. If you will just allow yourself to show up and begin painting, even if you don't feel like it, and paint for at least 30 minutes, you will find that most of the time, you become totally into it, excited and thankful for the opportunity. All of a sudden, 4 hours have gone by.

Works for me, every time. And the more that you are able to get out in the studio - the more that you are able to show up - especially when you are not feeling it - the more and more confidence you will gain, which in turn, will allow you to begin to realize and believe that your creativity matters.

Try to spend less and less time being fearful, self-critical, and doubtful, indecisive and distracted, and, instead, spend more and more time creating.

I feel so strongly about this, which is why I named my new program:

YOUR CREATIVITY MATTERS Private, in-studio, one-on-one critiques, insights and guidance for visual artists.

My goal in this program is to help you create the kind of art that you want to make and are destined to make. I help artists seek practices that will enhance their creative development. My ultimate goal is to motivate artists towards inspired action.

More and more artists each week are taking advantage of this unique opportunity and they are loving the results.

Next time, I will talk about the kinds of questions, discussions and feedback that have been going on in some of the YOUR CREATIVITY MATTERS sessions. In the meantime, find out for yourself what this personalized program has to offer you by heading over here to check it out.

Best, David