Strive to Create Beautiful Art from a State of Pure Joy
The world doesn’t need another tormented artist. Strive to create from joy, with a lust for life—to go out there, observe, and make something beautiful out of the everyday. The act of creation itself, extracting and abstracting reality through photography, becomes a way to embrace the world with courage and curiosity at the forefront.
Why Does This Matter?
It’s easy to see negativity in life and in the world itself. It takes more curiosity and courage to find beauty in humanity, nature, and society. The city can often feel bleak and dull through the lens of a tormented soul. You’ll hear constant complaints about the simplest things: the street being too crowded, an event being boring, or the light not being good enough.
But to combat this negativity, we must return to a childlike perspective. The camera becomes an excuse to get outside, to wander with a blank slate, and to see beauty in the mundane. By embracing life and exploring with a sense of wonder, the world can become a tapestry of patterns in nature and human behavior, waiting to be discovered and uplifted through art.
The world needs more beautiful art. It needs to see life through the lens of a pure soul filled with joy.
Life Isn’t About Being Happy
We often hear that “life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows,” and that “the struggle is real.” While true, I believe that creating art is best done from a state of joy. If you’re feeling down or uninspired, maybe it’s best to hold off on creating. To transcend in our work, we should strive to create from the highest, most curious state.
The old romanticism of the tormented artist? It’s no longer cool. Let’s make smiling cool again! Let’s create new work when we’re excited, when curiosity fuels us. It’s easy to feel animosity, but it requires courage to remain optimistic.
“The goal is to never be bored of photography itself. Life may be boring, but when you wander with a camera, everything becomes beautiful again.”
If You’re Unhappy, Focus on Your Physiology
I find that the antidote to unhappiness is fitness and physiology. When you focus on health, everything else seems to fall into place. We’re in control of our destiny and fate if we set time aside to exercise, get good sleep, and eat well. These habits cultivate joy and create the physical energy needed to approach life with curiosity.
Hormonal balance and physiological well-being go a long way in influencing our state of mind. The point is, before creating new work, focus on your physiology. From this state of strength and clarity, we can create beautiful art from a state of pure joy.
The World Is a Canvas
Photography is a superpower. The world itself becomes an open canvas for exploration, where we are not confined to walls or the four corners of a frame. Through photography, we can augment reality and create new worlds in fractions of a second. By observing life closely, we find that every detail, even the smallest, becomes part of our story.
“Life is on the street, outside the window, in physical, embodied reality.”
Some practical ideas for creating in this state of joy and curiosity:
- Photograph only using macro mode: Dive into the tiny, often overlooked details.
- Use automatic functions on your camera: Embrace a carefree approach.
- Photograph along a body of water: Water grounds us and invites reflection.
- Walk 75% slower than everyone else: Notice textures, colors, and patterns you’d otherwise miss.
Follow Your Curiosity
As a creator, approach each day with curiosity and courage. Go out with a blank slate, free of expectations, and let the world surprise you. Treat the world as a canvas where you can make sense of chaos, frame out the ordinary, and capture beauty in what others may pass by. This is where the magic of art lies—in creating from joy and seeing everything through the eyes of a curious child.
Follow the light, enter the Zen zone of the unknown, and fuel your lust for life through pure, childlike curiosity.