looking at art like a child

I recently had the pleasure of spending a day at my studio with my two young daughters. It was an amazing and enlightening experience to watch the raw flow of ideas just transpire onto the canvas, and gave me pause in thinking how we spend our lives trying to grow up only to then fill our days searching for the fountain of youth. In the search for your inner child you can find: Classes, Approaching Art Like a Child. Articles, 50 Ways to Think Like a Child, Design Thinking and the Beginner's Mind, and Creativity and Original Thinking - Act Like a Child. Books, Painting from the Source: awakening the artists' soul.

These articles and books all shed light on the art of thinking outside of the box; of cleaning our lenses and looking at the world around us with the same sense of wonderment that children experience; of tapping into our senses to really touch, hear, smell, and see the textures and layers around us. There is a beautiful world around us that we often take for granted as we get older and in that aging process we often miss some incredibly inspiring elements that can be integrated into our lives, and our art.

Remember that cliche of stopping to smell the flowers? Well, while you're at it, take in the texture, color and shape of the flower. Draw outside of the lines. Squish play-doh between your fingers. Get messy. These elements are likely the ingredients to that illusive fountain of youth.