Anything that Motivates or Inspires You to Make Your Own Artwork is Good!

Dear friend,

A practical life idea: anything that motivates or inspires you is a good thing!

Never stop making your own artwork!

eric kim black and white street photography hanoi-0012086-EYE ERIC

eric kim black and white street photography hanoi-0012213-2-PICK

eric kim black and white street photography hanoi-0012176-PICK HANOI

eric kim black and white photography hanoi-0010454

eric kim street photography hanoi - old woman

eric kim photography-0009403-cindy project O

eric kim black and white photography hanoi-0010386

eric kim black and white photography hanoi - monochrome - ricoh gr ii - 28mm-1070769

I think one of the best ways to live a more fulfilling/happy life is to never stop making your own artwork.

The difficult thing is staying motivated/inspired to keep making new art.

Don’t let others super-impose their artistic taste upon you

Unfortunately in modern society, there is elitism in art. There is ‘high brow’ art, and there is a lot of racism/classicism in art.

For example, why is it that European art is more respected than African art?

Why is it that people look down on hip hop music, whereas they venerate old-school European ‘classical’ music?

Any art which inspires you is good!

My practical suggestion:

Consume more artwork which inspires/motivates you to make your own stuff!

For example, whatever audio, visual, film, video, etc which stimulates you to create is good!

Avoid artwork that bores you

George Condo x Kanye

I think we all have an eclectic taste that we must continue to cultivate.

For example, I find a lot of inspiration in old-school cinema (Akira Kurosawa, Stanley Kubrick), but mostly find myself bored with all the flashy-new films in cinema today.

Yet, I get the most inspiration in music from really new stuff– I prefer modern hip hop from the old school stuff. For example, a lot of new music from MIGOS, Kanye West, PUHSA T, interests me more than the old-school hip hop (Tribe Called Quest, etc).

For artwork, I find inspiration from everywhere. I love the artwork of Michelangelo, traditional Roman statues (The winged victory), Andy Warhol, George Condo, Jean Michel Basquiat, Picasso, etc.

I love painting, photography, cinema; it is all good to me!

Don’t put boundaries on where you find inspiration

-blue-red-circle-humble kendrick lamar composition screenshot11metropolis movie copy

eric kim composition kendrick lamar humble

gaussian-blur-humble kendrick lamar composition screenshot2metropolis movie

There is an infinite pool of inspiration you can draw from. Don’t discriminate!

Find inspiration from poetry (The Illiad by Homer, or the poetry of Horace), or hip hop music. Find inspiration from conversations you have with kids or strangers on the streets. Find inspiration from digital and analogue art.

Become a ‘full stack’ artist– build your audio strength (start making your own music/beats). Build your visual skills (start drawing, sketching, painting, making sculpture, making photos, making films). Build your verbal skills (poetry, freestyle rapping, or writing poems).

Stuff you can make today

USSR. Leningrad. 1967. Poet Joseph BRODSKY on the roof of the Peter and Paul Fortress.

USA. Reno, Nevada. 1960. Set of “The Misfits”. Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller in their suite in Renoís Mapes Hotel after a dayís shooting.

The Gaza HOPE Orphanage is operated in part by UNRWA, 70 boys ranging in age from 7 to 13 learn a variety of useful trades from refugee instructors.They learn to cobble their own shoes, and contribute the surplus to the camps.

USA. Walker, Kentucky. 1965. A poor mother and her children.

IRAN. Shiraz. 1956. Veiled Muslim women and caged cockatoos (wives of one man).

GB. ENGLAND. London. Publisher Eveleigh NASH at Buckingham Palace Mall. 1953.

Practical suggestions:

If you’re new to music, just make your own beats via ‘loops’ in Garage Band. Super simple.
If you’re into photography, start making your own “moving picture-stories” by making photography slideshows in iMovie.
If you’re interested in film, cinema, or video– just start recording your own videos and mini-films, and upload them to YouTube!
If you’re interested in rap/poetry, just write some lines and post the lyrics to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or your own blog.
Make your own blog, and treat it like a public sketchbook/visual diary. Build your own wordpress.org website with bluehost.com or 1and1.com. More info in my Photography Entrepreneurship Course on Udemy.

Alternate between making stuff and finding inspiration from other artists

Leonardo_da_Vinci_-_Virgin_and_Child_with_Ss_Anne_and_John_the_Baptist-6

Leonardo_da_Vinci_-_Virgin_and_Child_with_Ss_Anne_and_John_the_Baptist-5

Leonardo_da_Vinci_-_Virgin_and_Child_with_Ss_Anne_and_John_the_Baptist-3

Leonardo_da_Vinci_-_Virgin_and_Child_with_Ss_Anne_and_John_the_Baptist-2

Leonardo_da_vinci,_The_Virgin_and_Child_with_Saint_Anne_03

Leonardo_da_vinci,_The_Virgin_and_Child_with_Saint_Anne_02

Leonardo_da_vinci,_The_Virgin_and_Child_with_Saint_Anne_01

I think having a ‘barbell’ approach to art is good:

Spend time making your own artwork
Spend time finding inspiration from other artists

When you don’t have the energy, motivation, or inspiration to work on your own artwork, alternate– study the artwork of the master artists of the past.

Then when you re-spark your passion and find inspiration from the other master artists, go back to making your own art!

Keep this cycle (positive feedback loop), and you will never get bored in life!