The Artist's Journey: Bold Strokes To Spark Creativity

I have been a closet painter for years while working as an RN. After retiring I started painting full time and struggled with self-criticism. I have heard that when the student is ready the guide will appear. Nancy Hillis and her new book are my guide. I have taken classes from her and agree with one reviewer who complained about no pictures in the book but Nancy does provide a link to free videos. This book is about painting from who you are as an artist. Since this is a journey of self it is for the reader to determine their marks and path and Nancy provides the map to find your own buried treasure within. Each artist is unique and Nancy helps guide the way. The combination she makes available provides a gentle supportive road map to creating with joy. I paint abstracts so added a recent image titled "Genesis" based on her teaching and support.

It’s finally here! I follow Nancy on Instagram and pre-ordered my copy of “The Artist’s Journey.” It arrived today and I must say, I am enchanted. 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. 😊

If you've ever approached a blank support --be it canvas, paper or panel -- with fear in your heart and the certainty you'll never find the right marks, notes or words, this book is for you. Nancy takes you by the hand and shows you the way. She is uniquely qualified to do so. I took one of her on-line classes two years ago. My work improved, my spirit soared, and though I still get butterflies every time I enter my studio, I know I'm not abnormal, a phony, or a fraud. Just a creative spirit in search of a beautiful thing.There are exercises throughout, and wonderful videos you can access. All were beneficial, but one swept me off my feet. As an art historian and former museum curator, I recognize "the signature" of many well known artists, but I failed to recognize my own. Until I did the exercise on page 33 and discovered that my marks are also unique -- the same gestures and squiggles and wiggles appear throughout my abstracts without my knowing. They've always been there. They're "ME!" Nancy Shaw

She repeats the same messages over and over, paint every day. Well everyone says that. Nothing new here. No clear step by step process.

This book was a disappointment. Easily read in an hour. The book is basically an advertisement for the author’s video workshops and classes. I’m sure the author has extensive training and experience; her workshops are expensive( well over $1000) and not everyone can afford them. Don’t waste your money in purchasing this book.

With lyrical prose The Artist’s Journey takes the reader on an exciting adventure of overcoming the internal roadblocks to creativity by increasing vulnerability and learning to trust the true self.Nancy’s keen use of literary knowledge coupled with practical exercises in each chapter helped me begin to move beyond my fears and into my art in a whole new way. A way that cares less about what others think and more about what is true to who I am and what my soul longs to create. I look forward to seeing how The Artist’s Journey continues to shape my growth as an artist!Leigh Hudson

Reading The Artist’s Journey, by Nancy Hillis, has re-opened the door to the knowing of a joy and absolute freedom in painting that I had thought was lost to me forever. I happened upon that joy in my very first painting class in college, only to have it totally obliterated at the end of the next semester by a devastating spirit-crushing critique of my paintings & of my non-potential of being a “real artist”. Now, 49 years & many detours later, I read in The Artist’s Journey that a “real artist” is “someone whose work “comes from inside you, from your own source”. I feel extremely grateful, and profoundly hopeful.I have permission now to go beyond my beliefs that I must perfect my skills before I go full out as an artist: “You must trust yourself, this is more important than any amount of technique or theory.” Wow, I’ve waited a long time to hear that, and I feel excited to put it into practice. Already, I have experimented with the “Ugly Painting” exercise. I found myself painting quickly & freely, producing a dark & moody painting completely different from my usual style, and yet surprisingly strangely beautiful in its own way.I am looking forward to the other exercises and the online videos (super bonuses!), and to explore the infinite possibilities within the limits and constraints of a stable structure that this book describes. Reading this book has inspired me to renew my commitment to “fall in love with painting again” and to “create alive and wondrous paintings”.I recommend this book to any artist, at any stage of the journey. It provides inspiration, questions to ponder and reflect upon, and completely practical exercises and activities. It promises to be a trusted companion and mentor along the way.

Great text and an interesting, engaging and original approach developd by this artist-psychiatrist, definitely worth reading if you are on a creative journey, and struggle with your relationship,to your art, inability to see it clearly, and self criticism. Buying the book is much cheaper than enrolling on one of her courses. There are many good ideas, such as that your ugly paintings are the most important as they contain the seeds of your new direction. Although the book has an attractive square format like an art book, in fact it does not contain any art at all and there is absolutely masses of unused white space on every page. It is a much smaller book than it looks. It does spend a lot of its very limited text on referencing videos on her website that you cannot in fact see, because these are mainly part of paid courses and you cannot access most of them. Her approach is very interesting but she is not as generous as many artists who give a lot more information away.

After reading so many books on 'how to get unstuck as an artist', 'overcoming creative block', 'finding your way forward' etc. I've never actually got any further forward in real terms: still stuck, still finding it hard to work out why it's all so difficult, still not producing the work I really want to be producing and still feeling like I haven't properly even got off the ground yet. I was encouraged by reading the reviews to think maybe this book was the one that would actually really help, and it was - the difference in the way I'm working is amazing. I agree with other reviewers that the lack of illustrations is a plus point. Although there are other books out there with beautiful examples of their author's work, which are inspiring to read, it's actually easier to find your own way with this book because although there are practical exercises to follow, there are no examples to distract you or make you start comparing your work to other people's and either losing heart or losing your way. This book is much more about making progress by actually doing; no overthinking, no unnecessary steps - just straight to the heart of the problem and then onward into making the art you always wanted to be able to make.

After reading all the glowing reports on this book, it’s hard to know where to start. Firstly, the book goes hand in hand with a website that (presumably) helps you to understand some of the psychobabble that the book is littered with. I’m sorry, but if I’m spending £15 on a book, it should tend alone not require me to access most of the content online. It’s clearly aimed at the abstract artist who is creating from within, rather than more visually realist firms. There’s a lot about ‘learning to trust yourself’ but not much help in understanding how. She uses terms like “make six marks - these will be your marks”. Well, yes, but what does that actually mean? No illustrations are given to show what she interpreted as ‘marks’. Or how about this extract - “this is where it happens, a meeting with the ineffable, the mysterium at the intersection of the unknown known”. Look, I’m an amateur artist struggling with who I am and what I want to be - this philosophical discourse isn’t really helping. Sorry - two stars at best.

This is an inspirational book for any artist, amateur or pro, who is suffering from 'artist's block', aka 'resistance'. Nancy Hillis is both artist and psychologist and uses both skills to help us identify what stops us from making art as well as what to do to overcome the block. A book to go back to often.

This inspirational book shows the extent that Nancy Hillis understand the power of encouragement and gives even experienced artists permission to experiment and challenge themselves to reach deep into their psyche, beyond physical representation to find their voice. A fantastic read and guide! Thanks Nancy