The Artist's Road Painting the World's Beautiful Places

Welcome to The Artist's Road A home for creative people with a passion for ART and TRAVEL. We believe that more artists in the world is a good thing!    Whether you are a professional, amateur or simply want to learn how to paint, The Artist's Road gives you encouragement, professional art instruction tutorials and lots of valuable tips to help you in your creative development and travel adventures. With over 150 articles from which to choose, we hope you'll find the Artist's Road to be an indispensable resource for your creative life. To become a Member of The Artist's Road, click here. Join Us  On the Road in 2012! Workshops 2012                April  30 - May 4          Charleston, South Carolina                                                      plein air oil                 June  11 - 15                Ghost Ranch/Abiquiu and Santa Fe,                                                      New Mexico                                                      plein air oil                September 16 - 21       Susan K. Black Foundation,                                                      Dubois, Wyoming                                                      watercolor and pastel                October 22 - 26             Charleston, South Carolina                                                       plein air watercolor  Click here for more information. Enjoy this week's free Artist's Road Perspectives Creativity Perspectives No. 69 Starry Night                              Vincent van Gogh     (PD)    Second only to language in the hierarchy of advanced survival skills must be the ability to imagine something that does not yet exist, and then make that dream into something solid and real. Just look around you as you read this, and try to find something in your house or office that at one time was not just a dream in somebody’s head. Barring plants, minerals and those things of the earth itself, everything around us is the product of a creative imagination at work. This ability is apparently blown into all of us at birth, is sometimes called abstract reasoning outside of the art field, but nevertheless is the same thing. Businesses could not survive without it and everyone probably engages in small acts of creativity everyday without being aware of it. It is a skill which can be used as a force for good or for evil with equal efficiency, but history suggests that the positive use of creativity is the natural order of things.    We are born dreamers, and we have the power to direct our dreams to create a world to our liking. Throughout history, for good or bad, the most successful people have always been those individuals who realized this power and used it fearlessly to create a new world which never existed before. The late Steve Jobs is but one example of the contemporary dreamers who used this ability to turn their private dreams into a world-changing reality. He did this even when those around him often claimed the task was impossible.    So it is with artists and creative people of all stripes. Creating something that never existed before, even if it is only within our own personal world, is our job description. It is our reason for being and we believe that by sharing our efforts publicly, we serve the greater good, despite cultural and economic signals to the contrary. Economic support for what we do is useful, but not a measure of the value of our ideas. Historically, culture often lags behind the ideas and efforts of the artistic community. How could it not?  Ideas move at the speed of light across the synapses of the brain, and giving physical form to our ideas need not take long. The key for all of us is to keep dreaming and imagining and believing in our vision, no matter what. We are the privileged ones, whose daring role it is to look at the disparate part of the world and “connect the dots” into a new creation. This takes some courage, and discipline. Fear is the enemy, and fear is the only force that can limit, and sometimes kill, creativity. We cannot allow fears of criticism or failure or economic losses to enter our studios and interfere with our creativity. We must carve out a sacred space or time within which we can be temporarily free of these fears and concerns, so that our imagination can be free to wander and dream. We have found meditation to be a powerful tool for sweeping the mental clutter into the corner so that we can walk around in our imaginations. Our art has improved because of this discipline. It is always the first 30 minutes of any day.    We welcome your comments. New Member Content This Month Understanding Oil Painting Mediums An Interview with Colley Whisson                                    Learn with the Artist's Road: Step-by-Step Painting Demonstrations in      Watercolor, Pastel and Oil Step-by-Step Painting Videos in      Watercolor, Pastel and Oil Voices of Experience      Interviews with Prominent Professional Artists                                         Travel with the Artist's Road: In-Depth Travel Articles and Videos Remarkable Painting Locations Painting Workshops                                   Gear-Up with the Artist's Road: Going Mobile - Essential Gear and      Materials Checklists for the Traveling Artist Artist Abroad - Top phrases in French, Italian, Spanish      specifically for artists                                    Take the Artist's Road Home: Members receive 15% discount Tools for your painting Prints for your walls Portfolio Editions for your table Want to know more about The Artist's Road?  Simply sign up to receive our free weekly email postcard Perspectives, in the right-hand column. Each week Perspectives brings you interesting and informative new insights into the world of painting and art. "Thanks for The Artist's Road, a constant source of inspiration."                                                                                                                                   - Marilyn N. "This is an amazing site. I am such a beginner, you inspire me."                                                                                                  - Chris R. "You guys are an inspiration.  An inspiration to old artists, young artists, and far more importantly, people of all ages . . . "  -  Ken B. Copyright Hulsey Trusty Designs, L.L.C. (except where noted). All rights reserved. No portion of this article may be copied in any manner for use other than by the subscriber without permission from the publisher.

Become an Artist's Road Member Today! Click "Join Now" below. Then follow the instructions on the left-side of the following page and click "Next" to continue. Email Password Remember Me Join Now Forgotten Password Not Ready to Become a Member Yet? Subscribe to Our Free Email Postcard "Perspectives". Enter your email address below. New Member Content Understanding Oil Painting Mediums Voices of Experience: Colley Whisson The Ultimate Still Life Table Voices of Experience: James Gurney A Painting Trip to the Lowcountry: Charleston, SC  The Educated Palette The Artist's Guide to Digital Cameras Part II-Histogram 10 Easy-to-Access Painting Spots in Rocky Mountain NP The Perspectives Archive Free Content Perspectives - weekly postcards Step-by-Step Watercolor Demo: A Votre Sante A Walking Tour of Ventabren, France A Gallery of Lowcountry Watercolors Artist Profiles Workshops 2012 Workshop Schedule A Mini-Tour of Venice A Mini-Tour of the Dordogne Adventure and Inspiration in Glacier National Park The Artist's Road Store Don't get towed away - use our Artist at Work laminated card for your car window. (Comes with suction cups). Arm-chair travel to Italy with our e-book, Tuscany - A Plein Air Painting Adventure, and check out our tips and guides for the artist/traveler, and some of the tools and other products that we use in our own art and travels.  We only offer things for sale in our Store that we enthusiastically believe in. About Us We are artists, authors and teachers with over 35 years of experience in painting the world's beautiful places. We created The Artist's Road in order to share our knowledge and experiences with you, and create a community of like-minded individuals.  You can learn more about us and see our original paintings by clicking on the links below. About Ann     About John  Hulsey Trusty Studios We are also guest contributors to the Plein Air blog at Artist Daily.