The Artist's Journey: Bold Strokes To Spark Creativity

by Nancy Hillis

Have you always dreamed of being an artist?

You’ve tried it in your free time but you’re nervous to take the plunge. Self-doubt causes you to hesitate and procrastinate. Whether you haven’t worked up the courage to pick up a brush and make a mark on the canvas yet or you’ve got a closet full of languishing, half finished paintings, you're probably Is this impractical? Will I be judged? Do I have what it takes to be an artist? How do I get started?

This is where The Artist’s Journey comes in.

You’ve got paintings inside you waiting to be expressed. You know that, while you could keep repeating what’s worked before in your art, this is a kind of soul death.

You want to experiment, take risks and explore a deeper self expression.

You want to wrestle down your self doubts and inner criticism and finally create the paintings of your dreams- paintings that wow and astonish you.

You want to express YOU in your art.

You don't want to play it safe anymore. The worst thing you could do as an artist is to not experiment. Art is about exploring wonder and the unknown, the terra incognita of the soul.

Painting is a mirror. It brings up everything, especially fear and yearning.

It's time to express onto the canvas the art that lives deep within you

Slay self doubt and say YES to your artist's journey.

Overcome your fears to live your deepest life.

Explore, experiment and create the art of your dreams on your inner journey of creation and self expression.

Paint with confidence and finally express YOU in your art.

The Artist's Journey written by artist, author and Stanford trained existential psychiatrist Nancy Hillis, M.D. is an inspirational exhortation with psychological and philosophical underpinnings, to move you closer and closer to your deepest self expression in your art and life.

If you want a comprehensive, clearly explained, psychologically sophisticated map and self-help guidebook for your creative self-expression, start here with The Artist's Journey.

The time to say yes to your dream and create your art is NOW

Start your journey of self expression today. Scroll up and click BUY NOW.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Self Help, Inspirational, Writing, Psychology

146 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 27, 2019

About the author

Nancy Hillis, MD lives in Santa Cruz, California. She's an abstract artist, author, existential psychiatrist and founder of The Artist's Journey courses, workshops and presentations. Do you want a free training on the #1 Secret To Creating Paintings You Love and 4 Traps That Get In The Way? Go here: https://artistsjourney.com

Nancy blogs about the inner landscape of artists at https://nancyhillis.com.

Trained in psychiatry at Stanford and fascinated with all things creative, Nancy enjoys interviewing artists about their creative process.

When not painting or teaching, Nancy loves to play her cello, hike with her partner Dr. Bruce Sawhill, or listen to her daughter Kimberly sing Puccini's O Mio Babbino Caro and other operatic arias.

Reviews

[Diz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is more about the mindset of creating than about painting itself, so a lot of the advice here could be applied to almost any creative activity, which broadens the appeal of this book.

However, the book is tied deeply to the author's website, so every now and then will plug the website by saying that you can learn more about whatever the chapter is about by checking out a video on her website. I usually read when I'm in bed or outside the home, so it was a bit irritating. Besides, if I wanted to watch videos, I would have gone to YouTube rather than picking up a book.

[Linda Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

No how-to, no art photos... just psychology type advice for artists from a SF Bay Area artist and psychiatrist. Interesting! I found this book to be often vague in a scholarly way, with enough practical advice to make it worth reading for anyone who wants some insight into the life of art making.

The author's experience delves into literature and philosophy and comes up with a mix of ideas that pertain to artistry, such as the most important concept of all: trusting oneself. The goal is the journey, not some specific point in time. Get in the zone and drop the self-deprecating mental chatter. Feel free to be YOU on canvas and don't force yourself to paint things you're not feeling. These are some of the ideas I found in the book.

I read this book for the 2019 PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt #26: A book that’s published in 2019. It seemed the book was written to introduce us to the author's pricey course with the same title, found via her website. Over 600 dollars? Wow. Not for me. She's got other art courses too.

She's an abstract artist and I'm not into that type of art. If I were to take an art course it would teach a different style of art and would not be that expensive.

I'm giving this book three stars because it provides a few clues to a life of happy artistry. I didn't think it was especially well-written as it was a bit repetitive and seemed padded. I think the author could produce a better book if willing to give it more time and editing. More examples and anecdotes would help. The Kindle formatting wasn't great either - with huge chapter titles taking up two pages.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book refers to painting but I think it can be applied well to any art. I liked the advice. Wish there had been more exercises.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A practical and inspiring call to create original, astonishing work. Highly recommend.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h07ujch70l4...


(You can view the chapters and blurb here, as well as find out about the author.)

Nancy Hillis has produced something rare in the cacophony of reads available for contemporary artists and creatives: an intelligent, practical and inspiring call to create original, astonishing work that will connect.

The first thing you see is a mesmerising field of marks and an oh so divine colour palette on the cover. Enough to get any art lover intrigued and naturally any painter will be drawn to the work of a fellow creator. As an abstract artist this had me from the get go. No surprise there. Yet this book is surprising. It contains only text! Beautiful, clear, calmingly composed text.

Very cleverly done, this is not an image packed - look what I can do - storefront from any other painter. You’re not distracted by an onslaught of visuals. Instead Hillis’ vault of lived experience and learning is laid out, simply yet powerfully, with essential breathing space for you to reflect, note and sketch. Neither is it a technique driven manual; there are plenty of those on the bestseller lists already. And it is not a cliched academic dissertation either, though I promise it can make your mind open as much as your heart sing.

Her carefully thought through exercises and multitudes of examples hold interest. There are examples from psychology, literature, science, poetry, maths, the classics and, of course, inside the studio. Her voice is one of experience and encouragement, expertly woven to have you believing that you too are ready and can create your best art and life. A clarion call that is engaging, encouraging and offers you immediately usable scores of wisdom and ideas.

Writing in an intelligent yet accessible manner, Hillis invites you to experiment, explore, enjoy and ultimately express uniquely in your work. She will guide you - if you allow her - to make your most meaningful and astonishing work to date. Because Dr Nancy Hillis is a professional artist and Stanford trained existential psychiatrist, she’s uniquely qualified to address the predominant and universal challenge of creatives - how to get out of our own way.

[Gerry Darlington · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to be an artist.

Wow! It is truly inspiring and it encapsulates everything you need to take your own artist's journey. Thoroughly engaging. Nancy pulls you in, leaving you knowing you must take this journey to become yourself and all you are capable of. Most of all, it grants you permission to be your best, be yourself and live your own life on your own path. Amazing.

Although the book focuses on abstract art, for me, the lessons learned are applicable to any form of artistic or creative expression. You will end feeling able to say, "I am an artist." I know I am now.

[Angela Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s finally here! I follow Nancy on Instagram and was so excited to receive my copy of “The Artist’s Journey.” I sat down to immediately begin devouring it and as I began to read, I felt equal parts, terror and relief.

Terror because I have a feeling I’m about to do a deep dive into a new part of art-making. And relief, because I want to go deeper and can tell she gets the resistance and is the person to help take me there. She gets all of it, the process and the avoidance of the process. It’s like reading my own diary as she talks about the perils of being an artist.

So far her book is much-needed encouragement to keep crawling through the unknown. To find what I am certain is waiting for me on the other side of the willingness to be brave and do it anyway.

Nancy is a psychiatrist and artist and has interesting dialogue about how the two are connected. I love her writing voice as well as her rich, heavily-marked abstracts. I am into chapter 3 already and excited to continue. Nancy offers online courses too, which I am now seriously considering. Looks like she will be my new guide to “terra incognita,” as she likes to say. Yay!

I fell in love with “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron years ago and still refer to it today. I can see “The Artist’s Journey” becoming a new staple of my creative library. 😊

UPDATE: I finished and loved it. I will go back to read again and again. I did the free online video exercises and they were also really helpful. I loved trying out a new approach to the canvas. Thanks Nancy!

[Alison Lilly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Considering the educational background of the author, this book was surprisingly anti-intellectual and at times downright hostile to the idea that studying technique and developing your skills in your chosen medium can be as fulfilling and exciting as “looking inward“ to “find your true self.”

One of those books that constantly asserts that everything you need to know already lies within, while secretly hoping the reader doesn’t ever stop to wonder why they should even bother reading the book then? Either the claim is correct, in which case you don’t need this book. Or it’s not, in which case you really don’t need this book.

I’m not convinced by the book’s premise that navel-gazing is a good substitute for intellectual curiosity, in art or in life. Or that “finding your true self” in itself — divorced from an earnest engagement with technique and a meaningful connection with community — will really result in anything particularly original or transformative. This seems like a book for people struggling with deep insecurities about their creative side and needing a lot of hand-holding and reassurance. It’s not much use to folks who have already grappled with those insecurities and are mostly just excited to get on with the work!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Ms Hillis truly gets her point across with this nice short book in the manner of Steven Pressfield’s books, however, it is a good book that could have been a great one. I feel it is a missed opportunity. The obviously erudite author limits herself to presenting good quotes about glazed over ideas that could have been explored further and more deeply. There were moments I was truly inspired being familiar with the thinkers/artists/authors quoted, but the possibilities are lost to those who are not familiar with them in favor of a more simple “self-help” approach. The exercises are good ones and not putting images in the book was a smart decision supporting the idea that we must seek our own voice not influenced by others. Had this book been better fleshed out in combination with good exploratory exercises, it could have been a staple in any creatives person’s library.

[Mountain Learning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful read with excellent, helpful, instructive advice on how to get unstuck and out of a fear-based rut.

Also, I found this description hilarious: "It’s daunting—like going into a chi-chi restaurant in San Francisco without sufficient funds, hoping to pay for the meal with a pearl found in the oyster you ordered." There were moments of brilliance in the book.

One thing though. I find the description of the book on this goodreads page misleading. I think the description here of the Artist's Journey reads like an infomercial by a snake oil salesman and cheapens its message. It doesn't give a glimpse of the ecstatic tone and tenor of the actual book, which may be why not more people have enjoyed the book; they may have been expecting a different kind of book based on the goodreads description.

[Judith Favia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only Useful for Abstract Painting

While there are several “experiences” that may be generally applicable, the author is really only talking to artists who paint abstracts. Although she begins by addressing the journey of all artists (writers, videographers, etc), nothing in this book is even slightly applicable outside two-dimensional media. As a book artist, this was very disappointing - as if she could not widen her vision to make her points applicable to other art forms.
Also she spends an enormous amount of time talking about the mysterium of art, the magic and internal journey. Interesting at first but descends into repetitive blather by the last chapter. She also loves the word “raw” which appears over and over. She does live in Santa Cruz California, so the new age stuff is in the air there.
Bottom line: if you are a painter who wants to work in abstracts, borrow this from the library and skim. Not a worthy investment for artists in other mediums or styles of painting. And definitely not a book on creativity.

[Sherin]

Inspiring/motivational

First I'll say what I liked: I liked the writing style of this book. I liked how she described things and how she spoke of different subjects related to the personal experience of art. Her words were motivational and they inspired me to want to try new things with my art. She also made me think about other aspects in my life and in general I guess she gave a lot of food for thought basically. I rated 4/5 because the title and description is somewhat misleading in that this is actually a book focused on ABSTRACT art, which I'm actually not really interested in. But, even though I'm not interested in abstract art, I was still able to enjoy the book because it was more about the journey of art and life in general, and it can apply to other kinds of art as well as abstract art. It's worth reading if you need some motivation and like reading a more philosophical perspective with references to things like Jungian psychology and analogies to books like the Odyssy.

[Dave Weiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was not exactly what I expected but it was still very good. It delves into an area of creativity that I really like but have been hesitant to take on, namely abstract art. Without knowing me at all, Hillis speaks to pretty much every area with which I struggle and has inspired me to dig deeper. The book has frequent links to video content on her website for further teaching on each chapter as well as seemingly useful exercises to help the reader grasp the content. What is really helpful is Ms. Hillis is a psychology professional. This allows her to really chip away at some of the resistances we face. I have promised myself that I will revisit this book at a less busy time so I can delve deeper into the exercises and the additional material. This is a well written book on a very interesting topic. I highly recommend it, especially if you have an interest in creating compelling visual art.

[Helen Lemus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiration for Creatives

It even has practice exercises.

The author Nancy Hillis teaches others to lose their inhibitions and find the truth of themselves within to create art that is real. Much of this book reminded me of Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, but this book spoke directly to cracking open the prison walls of the inner silencer, that hateful beast that talks all creatives out of being honest in their work. While Cameron's text tackles all the process of creative exploration, Hillis inspires when talking about trust. I liked the happy language that she uses to describe this process. She uses quotes by Mary Oliver, John Keats and many others to support her arguments.

The Artist's Journey would appeal to stuck creatives or those needing a little nudge into getting to work.
This edition seemed to have some broken hyperlinks which is why I didn't give the five stars.

[Reneesarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book as part of a bookclub associated with Angela Fehr's Heart Led Landscape painting class. I found the book to be alright, and for some people I am sure it will be inspirational and just what they need to move forward on their artistic journey.

For myself, I would have benefited equally from going to read some of Mary Oliver's poetry once again. I should offer the disclaimer that I worked for over forty years in the field of psychotherapy, so the references she mentions about research on creativity are already familiar to me.

While I am not interested in creating the kind of abstract painting the author creates, what she has to say about creativity is valid whether or not the reader wants to paint in the way she paints.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this skinny little book in eformat which was no problem because there are no illustrations of any kind. The author directs the reader to online videos in relation to some of her concepts. Nancy Hillis MD has pretty good credentials for this material. She describes herself as an "existential psychiatrist" and states that her purpose in life is to help people tap into their innate creativity. She herself started out with sculpture but switched to abstract oil painting so her suggestions are best applied to that medium but can still be helpful for all artistic endeavours. There was nothing new here and other people, like Canadian artist Angela Fehr who recommends this book, provide the same encouragement but in a more appealing manner.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this author and I have a fundamental disagreement about the nature of reality. She spends a lot of time quoting Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Camus, and the Odyssey. I spend a lot of time thinking about the thinking of Descartes, Luther, and Calvin...and artistically speaking, I think Michelangelo is superior to any modern, unthinking abstract that seeks to enlighten without knowledge.

I also think this book is poorly organized, and that probably has a lot to do with the author's ideas about reality as well.

[Gerri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is by a psychiatrist, writing about art. It is interesting a lot of the things that she says in terms of trusting yourself and the process echo what I have learned in one of my art classes. It is a good book if you are looking for reinforcing the idea of being able to create. A relatively short book with links to her videos. I don’t know yet if those are free or paid, as I haven’t checked those out yet.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to chapters for the past few months while driving and felt inspired. At times i dreamt of turning off the road to retrieve my art journal and release everything holding me back from discovering more of myself.

Each chapter could be a personal date night. Activities accompany each psychological exploration to unlock inner potential. A very powerful read. A “let loose” vibe is woven throughout the book and you depart feeling invigorated and curious to discover!

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Artists’ Psychology Session OK

This is an easy & interesting read that dials down the artist’s fears & blocks. As an artist myself, Hillis stated many revelations that I can personalize to take my work up a notch. Thank you! Hillis approached it all as an abstract painter, which I am not, so much of that I skimmed. Her many quotes & references from literature to connect to the psyche of an artist’s mind at times seemed stretched thin. Overall a worthy read, though.

[Patsy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, this is the worst book I've ever read that tries to get others inspired to creative art intuitively! Her videos are even worse. I have done a little bit of abstract art, but I honestly like to still think and go slower, not throw scribbles and marks haphazardly onto paper or canvas.

But if that is your thing, maybe what she does will work for you. Good luck!

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this book does have some value. I found the discussion about fear and trying to be brave to create. So advice on how to do that,was pretty good. Having said that I,felt the abstract art she was speaking about did not interest me at all. Along with her stories along the way didn't help. It's a quick read found my self scanning when the stories came up.

[Adventure Hermit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Advice for any Artist - not only Painters

At 51 and in need of an artistic reset - I needed to be reminded of much of the great advice in this book. As a father with young creative daughters. - actress/painter respectively - I’m getting them each copies to get ahead of their creative futures. An excellent read!

[Robin Arnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very heady and I'm not sure it's as practical as the author thinks but she probably knows her audience better than I can guess. I expected to take some inspiration to apply to my media which isn't necessarily painting. (It could I suppose.) Anyway, in the end I decided not to continue her other books in the series. I think it's my age. I'm beyond this.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy the content and the reference to on line help, however, I wasn’t impressed with having spent 20$ for a book that tuned out to be a sales pitch for 600$ in art classes. I do like abstract, that’s my preferred style, and I enjoy the author’s work.

[LaTrecia Raffety · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful and truly inspiring

I soaked up this book from page one, and wrote many passages down in my journal. The videos going through Nancy's process of making art are worth watching repeatedly. Very much recommended book for creatives.

[Jennifer Sills-mcclellan · Rating 3 out of 5]

.

I expected art practices in a workshop format. What I read was a lot of inspiring quotes and psychiatric references. Still, I am impressed. This was an interesting read. I won't be applying any of it to my paintings. Nevertheless, I did write down some memorable quotes.

[SW Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written book by a terrific teacher. I've had the pleasure of studying with Nancy Hillis. Her classes encouraged me to trust myself, to play and experiment. This book is one I'll keep close and read over and over again. It's a great reminder to keep showing up, regardless of fears.

[Christine Maleport · Rating 5 out of 5]

Art therapy

I enjoyed the insight of working abstractly. I will be trying these exercises. I was looking for a book on art therapy as I’ve been thinking about per suing it lately. I’ll have to keep looking, but this book I’m sure compliments art as therapy.

[Wendi Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

very repetitive

Every chapter felt like a rehash of the chapter before. Trust yourself. That’s what the book has to say. Great advice but ai didn’t need to hear it that many times over several chapters.

[Linda Brighton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

I have been through this book twice. The 1st time, it's Jungian psychology really spoke to me and got me going. The second time, it helped again as the Trust Yourself resonated more.