Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Calla Donofrio. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Calla, so happy to have you with us today. You are such a creative person, but have you ever had any sort of creativity block along the way? If so, can you talk to us about how you overcame or beat it?
Inevitably every type of artist faces creative blocks at some point, including myself. But there are two main things that I’ve found can help prevent it from happening.
The first is to get to work! Even if you don’t have much extra time to dedicate to your creative pursuits, making it a regular part of your life will help keep that fire alive. I find that ideas and motivation only come WHILE working. Do not just wait around for inspiration to strike or it may never come. And if you’ve been away from your creative projects for a while and don’t know where to begin, finishing something that you already started in the past will help to ease you into things and get you back on track. So never toss a half finished project, because you may figure out how to finish it later on.
The second thing is to always be searching for and collecting things that inspire you. This gets easier all the time with the internet. You can search endlessly for imagery, videos, text and music that may spark ideas for you, and you can save them to a blog, Pinterest or something similar to refer back to when your creative well runs dry. Whenever I feel I’ve run out of ideas, I look back on my archive of saved reference material and 100% of the time I am able to get new ideas to work with.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a fine artist living in Los Angeles who has shown my work at The Tate Modern, Salmagundi Club of New York, California Art Club, as well as galleries all over the globe and collaborated with musicians worldwide. I’ve worked in different mediums in the past, including collage, CGI, watercolor, and drawings on paper, but am currently working in oil painting, applying a modern conceptual approach to traditional old master painting techniques. Inspired by contemporary film, photography and fashion, as well as medieval Christian artwork and music, I create work that addresses human suffering and feelings of helplessness in a world that is both grotesque yet inexhaustibly beautiful.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three things that have been most helpful in my development as an artist have been organization, discipline, and drawing skills. Here’s my advice on the best way to develop these things.
Organization: We each only have a limited amount of time in our lives. And making art takes a great deal of time, but so do all of life’s other demands. So the more organized you can be, the more you can take advantage of and utilize the time that you do have. It helps to make lists of things you need to do, set deadlines for yourself, and keep a schedule of things you want to accomplish, then stick to it. This goes for creative projects, but also tasks on the professional side that will help you fund your projects and get your work out there.
Discipline: It can be easy to plan a day of creating art but then find yourself wanting to just sit back and relax or do something else once the time comes. People romanticize what art making must be like, thinking it must be very relaxing and zen. But in reality it is a lot of hard work. It’s important to have the discipline to keep chipping away at your projects and see them through, no matter what. If you want to be an artist you need to commit to do the work, whether you’re in the mood or not. Having a routine can help with this, so you’ll be used to it being a regular part of your daily life.
Drawing: If you’re interested in becoming a representation painter, the most important thing to learn first is solid drawing skills. I cannot emphasize this enough. I once heard a saying that went something like “it takes 30 years to learn to draw and an extra two days to learn to paint”. A solid grasp of drawing will allow you to understand the forms you are painting in a way that you never will otherwise. You should take classes on the fundamentals, but the only way to really learn drawing is through many years of practice. So draw as much as you can.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
Being a professional artist can definitely become overwhelming at times. You handle everything yourself from producing work, documenting it, marketing yourself online, keeping your website up to date, applying to opportunities, going to art openings and events, networking and meeting clients, packing and shipping work, the list can go on. Sometimes you will inevitably start feeling overwhelmed or burned out, and that’s understandable. The first step is to be able to recognize when this is happening: Are you feeling stressed and constantly tired? I find that when this happens it’s very helpful to practice yoga and meditation, exercise, and do things in nature. Incorporating these things into my daily life also help keep me feeling more grounded and relaxed and prevent me from getting overwhelmed. It also helps to talk to or spend time with friends or your partner. Expressing how you’re feeling and knowing that they’re supportive of you can help immensely. Especially if they’re also artists, they know all too well the challenges you’re facing. And also know when you need to take a break. As a small business owner it can be very difficult to fight the urge to work 24/7. But sometimes all you need is one day of doing other things, whether it be going out and doing something fun, eating good food, taking a day trip, watching movies, or just resting. Taking just one day for yourself can help you recharge and feel like you can take on your workload with more ease and enthusiasm.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.calladonofrio.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/calladonofrio
- Facebook: facebook.com/calladonofrio
- Other: Other links: bio.site/calla
