Summary

Marsha Hamby Savage, an artist, emphasizes the importance of stepping out of one's comfort zone to foster artistic growth, drawing inspiration from various sources, and being open to the evolution of one's work.

Abstract

Marsha Hamby Savage advocates for artists to explore beyond their comfort zones to enhance their creative development. She shares her personal routine of reading and engaging with online content to find inspiration, which often leads her to pursue new artistic directions. Savage believes that inspiration can strike suddenly or develop over time, and it is crucial to act on these moments of insight. She describes her process of painting without a specific end in mind, allowing the artwork to evolve organically, and discusses the challenge of knowing when a piece is complete. Savage also reflects on the value of revisiting unfinished work with fresh eyes and new skills, illustrating her commitment to continuous learning and growth as an artist.

Opinions

Savage values the importance of diversifying one's artistic endeavors, such as landscape artists painting people, to encourage growth.
She finds inspiration through reading in the morning, whether it's newsletters, Facebook links, or articles on Medium, and emphasizes the need to limit this activity to avoid getting sidetracked.
Savage suggests that inspiration can be a sudden spark or a gradual process, and she maintains a document of quotes to capture and revisit inspirational thoughts.
She describes inspiration as an intuitive force that guides her choice of artwork and encourages jumping into a project with just the ideas in her mind.
Savage believes that not having a finished product in mind is acceptable and that art can develop from abstract marks on a canvas without the need for references.
She views the process of reworking unfinished pieces as a learning opportunity, even if it means deviating from one's comfort zone.
Savage encourages all creatives, not just artists, to step out of their comfort zones to enhance their craft, whether it's writing or painting.
Reflecting on her own pastel painting, she admits that sometimes less is more and that it's important to focus on the central elements of a composition.

Exploring Your Inspiration

Pastel painting beginning of people at a festival — photo and painting by author Marsha Hamby Savage

Getting out of my comfort zone is vital to my growth as an artist. You should do the same. If you paint people, then paint the landscape! I paint the landscape, and that is my comfort zone.

What is it that you do, and how good are you at getting out of your comfort zone?

How do I start my day?

I read first thing in the morning and have coffee time doing so. I look through the various newsletters that come into my email or peruse the links that I find on my Facebook news feed. Or I go into “Medium” to see if something resonates with me.

I’m never disappointed and have to choose wisely. If I am not careful, I can easily get sucked down that online hole for hours. So I try to choose only two articles before taking care of the items on my schedule.

That means I have three places I automatically look for reading material online. I am a “bookaholic,” but I save reading a book until nighttime.

So what inspires you?

Something you read can be the catalyst for jumping up immediately and following that train of thought. Or maybe you continue reading and make a list, write down quotes or links to an article.

When I do not stop immediately, I lose the initial inspiration from what I read. But, I will say I have a document where I list “quotes” that hopefully will jog that inspirational memory.

What do you think inspiration is?

A bolt of lightning in your mind giving a strain of thought you need to follow?

I have thoughts of something outside my comfort zone. Maybe it is something I have thought about before but not how to proceed, and what I just read is a link to begin.

Heading to the studio and choosing a panel or canvas… maybe already started but with some kind of intuition telling me which to do. And, just jumping in with no reference other than what is in my mind is an inspiration for me.

More work done on the pastel painting — photo and painting by author, Marsha Hamby Savage

Not knowing where your efforts will take you is a crucial element. I believe we do not need to have a finished product in mind.

As an artist doing a painting, I may have nothing more than marks on a canvas without them being representational. Pulling ideas and images out of those marks without a reference is not as easy as it sounds.

The images you are seeing are a pastel painting in progress. I have many that reach this stage you see above, and then I am not sure if I have taken it further than it really needed to be.

Getting out of my comfort zone by painting people is a critical element of my journey. This should be up to the level of my art. If I don’t like it, it never gets finished. I learn something every time I do this.

It may be months or even years later, I will pull one out of the bin and try to work on it again. Why? I have learned more!

Just by picking up my brush or a stick of pastel and applying it to the surface, I am learning more.

Get out of your comfort zone!

Do it whether you are an artist and doing paintings or a writer creating blog posts, newsletters, articles, or a potential book.

The pastel painting with changes, and sitting to be worked on again — by author and artist, Marsha Hamby Savage

Here is my opinion on the “in-progress” pastel painting I have shown you. I should have left it like the first or second image. I like those better than the ones you see just above this paragraph.

I will probably wipe and blur some of the many distracting details. They are not crucial to the main focus … the three people and the two dogs centered in the composition!

Why not … I need to get out of my comfort zone!