Welcome - join me in exploring my art practice!

Hello and welcome! I'm glad you made it. This blog is going to be a place where I unpack what I am working on and thinking about as I make my art - my art practice.

I would like to invite you along with me on my honest art journey - not just the successes, but the failures too, and especially my learnings along the way.

Mindfulness

You've probably experienced something similar, but when I sit down to create, my attention is drawn out of my head and into my body - What am I hearing? What does the air feel like? What am I feeling?

During the day I find it easy to ignore what is going on within my body, but I can't ignore these feelings when I create. My art helps me slow down, calm down, and simply be in the present experience. This is one of the reasons I love being a creative!

Genuineness

I don't know about you, but for me at the start of my journey, sharing something that I had created felt like exposing the innermost part of my being to potential ridicule from others. Over time, sharing my art work has been a way for me to become more comfortable with my genuine self. Although it is sometimes easy to get caught in the trap of social media, these platforms have allowed me to be comfortable in my own skin. Let me explain.

Prior to making an art account on Instagram, I did not show my art to ANYONE. It never saw the light of day. And believe me, I'm not exaggerating - just ask any of my family and they'll tell you just how closed off and self-conscious I was about my art. And that was such a shame, because no one got to see that side of me - the creative part of me that notices the afternoon light shining through the tall grass, or the still moodiness of a misty morning - the part of me that thinks 'ooh! I'd love to paint that'. Whether of not people liked or approved of my art, once I crossed that barrier of showing my art work to strangers, I felt more free to be myself and more confident.

Patience

If you have created art - especially with coloured pencils - you will know that it can be SLOW. I used to want to rush through the slow stages of the process but now I value the slowness. I find that as I allow myself to take my time and slow down, I start enjoying the process for what it is and appreciating just how much of myself I am pouring into my work. No one else can represent something exactly the same way as you can - and I think that is what makes art so continually captivating.

These experiences are just some of the pure joys of being a creative, and essential to my art practice. If you'd like to join me in this journey, consider following me on Instagram where we can create a community of practice.

@nadiawilsonart

nadiawilson_art@outlook.com