Tips for developing your creativity
1. Kick everyone out of the room
It doesn't matter what kind of project it is, we are all influenced by other people. If you are working on your car or mowing the grass you may hear your father saying "you're doing it all wrong!"
As an artist you may have an old professor, teacher, other artists, critics inside your head giving you all sorts of advice or criticism. You have to get those people out of the room because it can get crowded very quickly. Creativity is the power to CREATE not Re-create. When we get caught up in trying to create what other people think we should create then we lose our edge. You are special and unique. There has never ever been anyone else just like you. Don't rob the world of what you have to offer for the sake of pleasing the crowd.
2. Embrace failure
Failing means you actually tried something. The only true failure is to do nothing. I have witnessed several people staring at a blank canvas liek they were paralyzed. I think people have a fear of creating something mediocre. We all want to create some great piece that people will flock to see.
This is what I do: I encourage people to paint on something that they can afford. Stretched canvasses are expensive. There are a lot of alternatives out there like different papers that hold up to various paints pretty well. You can also buy canvas paper or canvesette which has the same texture as a regular stretched canvas. Doing this allows you the freedom to fail many many times. So buy and lot of paper and screw up!
Jack