Find Your Artistic Voice: The Essential Guide to Working Your Creative Magic

One of the first tips my former agent, Lilla Rogers, gave to me was that I should give myself assignments when I didn’t have paid work; I should use the time I had to make the kind of work I wanted to get hired to do by clients.

I am someone who draws and paints nearly every day, sometimes multiple times a day, even when I’m not “working” (I also draw when on vacation or at night while I’m watching TV), so taking a few weeks away from my art supplies and studio was a big mental shift.

For Tharp, the blank space, and the mystery and the challenge that come with more spontaneous acts of creativity, are exciting.

As you make that list, name all the things about each artist’s work you idolize. Do you like their use of color? How they render figures? Their use of line work? The shapes they create? Then,

are already making art full time, scheduling can help you make sure you’re allotting time for experimentation (and not just paid projects). If you

I forced myself to go outside into nature, to museums, and to places that inspired me. l brainstormed new ideas, made lists of things I was interested in, and delved into books and films in my

Concentrated, regular practice leads to the fastest growth.

be conscious of how you are transferring those influences into your own work. Always ask, “How am I transforming this influence into something of my own? How am I innovating?”

Kate: One branch might be an interest in a certain style of illustration. Another branch might be this movie that has stayed with you for five years. Another branch might be all the cool things you collect from thrift stores. Another branch might be a particular interest in a period in history or weird experiences you had as a kid. And then you put