The Myth About Creativity. Are You Born With It?

Creativity Is Inside You, You Just Don’t Know It Yet

I always hear people say they would love to learn to paint but that they are just not creative.  Well, you know what?  The fact that you are interested in this subject means that you probably are creative, you just don’t know it yet.  Today I’m taking a look back at my journey of creativity in order to prove my point.

My Story

I never really considered myself to be very creative. At school I was good at things like maths and science so I pretty much figured that I was more inclined towards academic pursuits and that I was not born with a creative “gift”. My mother always assumed that I would attend university and begin a career in a “worthy” profession.   Art, I was told, was not the pathway to a good job.  I believed what my mum said, as kids tend to do, but I took art as a subject in high school anyway because it was fun.

I didn’t do that well in art class.  My perfectionist nature meant that I couldn’t work fast enough to complete any of the artworks on time and I wasn’t free-spirited enough to create the type of work they were looking for anyway.  Pretty soon I stopped going and, needless to say, I failed art.

After completing a one year commercial course at college I worked for many years as an office assistant, a secretary and then as a bookkeeper.  I could not get passionate about any of these occupations.  Nevertheless I continued on in these types of jobs for many years.

Art Found Me

We did quite a bit of travelling in those days and I enjoyed taking photos, mostly inspired by my love of nature. However, I realised that the photos I was taking never really captured the essence of the places I’d been. So it came to me that I needed to paint them. I enrolled in a painting course at the local community centre.  We worked at our own pace which meant I could take as much time as I wanted on each artwork.  The instructor, a lovely lady named Janey Emery, was very generous with her art knowledge and would share all she knew as she demonstrated each painting. I learned a lot from her about painting and about how to teach painting.

This type of learning was perfect for me and I soon thrived at art.  Less than a year later Janey suggested I start exhibiting my work.  I nervously started entering my paintings in community art shows. After a couple of tries “Forest Walk”, the second painting I had ever had framed, sold!  (The first one still hangs on my wall because I could not bear to part with it) I cannot describe to you the feeling I got that day.  You could not wipe the smile off my face for weeks.  Never had I felt so proud of myself.  It was like a natural high.  I was hooked. Then, just like an addict, I had to keep the thrill going so I sold more and more work. When I won my first art prize in 1999 that just lifted me up again to a whole new level of confidence.

My Lightbulb Moment

Now from this point on in my art journey, my creativity (which I still didn’t really think I had) began to show itself in more and more ways.  I continued to paint but started trying different subjects, mediums and techniques.   Then it dawned on me that many other things I like to do are also creative. Practical things such as gardening, sewing, knitting and even cooking . So I finally discovered that the creativity had been in me the whole time. I just had to let it out.

Sometimes Life Gets in the Way of Creativity

When my husband, an airline pilot, lost his job in September 2001, we had to move to the other side of the country so he could find work.  There was no time for art.  I worked three jobs at the same time. We then ended up buying a juice bar which I was to run.  That started off okay but soon went downhill when our major competitor opened a store 3 doors down from us.  It was a terribly stressful time and I remember thinking at the time how much I hated my life. 

Eventually, both the competitor and I went out of business. Luckily, by this time my husband was working again. I then decided that I could earn just as much money staying at home as I did in the juice bar (zero). So I chose to retire from work for a while.

Once You Find It, Creativity Never Leaves You

My children were grown by this time and I soon began to feel that my life needed a bit more purpose so I started creating again. This time it was to be mosaics.  Marketing and selling do not come naturally to me so, although I knew I had a great product, it took me a long time to find success with my online mosaic business.  Like everything else, success comes from investing the time and effort to learn.  So that’s what I did.  I have now sold well over 1000 mosaic house numbers and signs.

Painting was something I also continued to do but because I was busy making mosaics I had to make sure to schedule in the time to do it.  This is when the joy of painting came back to me.

Around 2015 I painted a street piano for our town. After that I was approached to teach acrylic painting by a local art studio.  I found that helping people to improve their painting skills gives me a lot of joy and I always feel so proud of their successes.

What I am Doing Now

In 2019 I decided that online teaching was the way for me to go so I enrolled in an online course to learn how to create online courses (ironic). This required me to draw on almost every skill I have gained in my working life and it was an enormous learning curve. I now have a successful online course business, Blue Beach House Art School, where I help people to develop their art skills every day. The fantastic feedback I receive from my students about the way I teach online warms my heart and makes me feel very glad I chose this path.

The Point of This Story

I started off with a belief that “I am just not the creative type” but life has taught me otherwise.  If I had not taken that first step in learning to paint I might still be plodding along in my office job, never really having felt any sort of real sense of accomplishment.  I would be left feeling very unfulfilled.  I might never have gained the confidence to get up in front of a class and teach painting. Probably, I wouldn’t even be putting this story out there in the world.

When I look back over my life I realise that the creativity was there all the time. I just didn’t know I had it. My love of things like gardening, sewing, knitting and cooking should have been an indicator to me. If you are the type of person who enjoys these simple pleasures then I am willing to bet that you too have what it takes to become an accomplished artist.

Today, I feel very grateful for the wonderful life I now have and, unlike before, I often think “I love my life”.  

My greatest wish is that everyone could feel as happy and fulfilled as I do, no matter where you are in life’s journey.  That is why, when someone decides to start a new chapter in their life by learning to paint, I want to be there to help them as much as I can.

Still convinced you have no creativity?

Why not have a go at my Simple Seascape Acrylic Painting Mini-Course . It’s a short course that contains a heap of learning as well as a demonstration on how to paint a small wave painting. You will soon see that stunning seascape paintings are possible for everyone. It’s easy, fun and a great way to get started without making a big commitment.

I also have heaps of free art-learning resources that you can use available on the Blue Beach House Art website.

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