Photography by Israa Aziz, 2022
1. CREATION TO ME SIGNIFIES FREEDOM. When I paint, I feel completely free—artists should embody and strive for freedom.
2. INTENT is everything! What is your intention behind your creation? What message or feeling do you want to get across? Why are you painting in the first place?
3. Question everything. What lens are you—or someone else—looking through? What are some possible biases or shortcomings because of this? Why are rules emplaced? Whom are they benefitting? What would happen if you carved your own path? Art is a tool to set up new questions and open possibilities; make the most of this.
4. Your human body is a vessel; feel all there is to feel. Art expresses what it is to be human; embrace all of it. Surrender to existence.
5. Establish LOVE as your guiding force and focal point in which you return to over and over again.
6. Go out in Nature as much as you can… Mother Nature is an intelligent, loving creatrix—she will benefit your practice more than you will know.
7. Find inspiration in everything: films, photographs, stories, trees, people, trips, nature, constellations, music, silence. Don’t fret about whether that will render your art kitsch. Rather, this will empower and enrich your art. You’ll find yourself incorporating aspects from the world at large.
8. When you first put an idea on paper, don’t get too critical, instead nurture it like a seed growing, water it and love it every day.
9. Every moment is a learning opportunity! There is always knowledge awaiting to unravel itself. Speak to strangers, investigate new avenues, explore other cultures, languages, ways of thinking, and live through each present moment. This will expand your mind and practice.
10. Trust and enjoy the process. It is sacred.
11. The meaning of your creation may reveal itself with time.
12. Paint, scratch, pause, start over, try, and fail. The more your practice, the better.
13. Let your Self Flow and become one with your creation.
14. Recharge by grounding yourself in nature, drinking water, breathing deeply, and absorbing the Sun’s warm rays.
15. It’s okay to have phases of not creating—your body and mind may need some time to rest.
16. Your whole Life affects and feeds into your art—make sure you attend to the needs of every level of your existence.
17. Spend time in solitude as this is how you get closer to Spirit (within).
18. Art is a means of recording consciousness at a particular space in time. Be fully here, present, right now!
19. Document as much as you can as this will become a mine field for future projects.
20. These are by no means rules; you create your own rules and subsequently break them.
21. There are no boundaries!
22. There is always something new to create.
23. Stay true to your vision, give it time. Listen what others have to say about your art while holding space and respect, however, don’t let it overpower your own intuition.
24. Getting discouraged is a total waste of time! Don’t compare your work, or your self, to others. Move beyond dichotomies—good or bad.
25. Play is key. Return to your child like–self/connect to your inner child. Let go of rigidness. As Eileen Agar writes: “Life’s meaning is lost without the spirit of play. In play all that is lovely and soaring in the human spirit strives to find expression. In play the mind is prepared to enter a world where different laws apply, to be free.”
26. CREATE, CREATE, CREATE!