The act of daydreaming can have unexpectedly positive benefits for your creativity. Take an example; as you’re seated under your tree shade, different bird species singing beautifully into your ears as you’re sipping on a beer while fantasizing about your kids playing in mud, with a gentle harmless drizzle. This might not feel very productive, but there is, actually, a lot more going on inside that skull of yours when your thoughts wander towards the seemingly mindless.
You should not sit in front of your computer 20 consecutive hours a day because you’re supposed to come up with a certain design concept, no matter how urgent it is. Allow yourself a break and interact with the world out there in a different atmosphere, whenever you feel stuck. Your comeback will always be in full vibration. Mark my words!
Here’s a live scenario, starring ‘yours truly’; as I was foraging the internet for ideas and materials to use on a project, l landed on a request from PARALYM WORLD CUP ART, calling on artists to register and participate in a global competition that was themed ‘DANCE’. I gushed out ‘F-words’ after learning that submission would only be in 4 days – no time! But deep down, I felt strongly that I would win this competition. Plus, there’s never enough accolades in one lifetime.
“You should not sit in front of your computer 20 consecutive hours”, Tom Kanyike – Creative
So, I had to go for it.
I didn’t panic, even though I knew I didn’t have time. And, needless to say, producing a piece of realism on canvas does require a considerable amount of time, due to detail. My approach, given the circumstances, was to use the interplay of acrylics for sketching, because its fast-dry, and with oil paints on top to give it a brilliant finishing.. Wet-on-dry
I dedicated the whole first day to generating concept, ideas and composition. To do so, I grabbed a chair, sat at my balcony, with music through my headphones and launched my mind into space. I fantasized so many things. Then, the idea came to me – MAGANDA TRADITIONAL DANCE.
Why Maganda?
Well, at the back of my head, I knew that a lot of people in the world out there did not know about this exciting dance; from costume, down to the sheer execution of it that brings to life art, joy and celebration, while showcasing the rich culture of Buganda, a very popular kingdom in Uganda. So, I had to educate and fascinate the international community about this dance, with a couple of brushstrokes.
But even as I was migrating the idea onto canvas, I didn’t do that at once. In most cases, during the day, I’d work on it a bit and then take time off to fool around with my gangos, grab a beer or play some snooker. I didn’t have time, alright, but I also needed the breaks to be able to produce the piece that would win the competition. It’s during the breaks that I’d continue to visualize the ideas and then come back to the canvas later to apply them. Application (or painting) is the easy part, so I’d sometimes do it throughout the night.
Eventually, I was able to finish and submit my piece on deadline day. Took it to the wire!
Lucky enough, the initial submission was to be online, in soft copy, so it didn’t matter whether the piece was wet or dry yet. The hard pieces would be later delivered to Japan one week after submitting the soft copies, by which time, my dancers would have dried!
I emerged winner and scooped myself a MIMI YOKOO AWARD and a few other nice things, in recognition for my creativity. I’ve applied this approach for all my work at CTA Space, including graphics. It’s pure magic – abracadabra!
Tom
