#creativegrowth

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I used to think I couldn’t paint.

I tried for years. I’d spend 10, 12 hours on a piece… and still feel lost. The colors were there, the effort was real, but something always felt off.

What changed everything wasn’t a fancy brush, a new app, or a tutorial. It was learning this:

Good painting = clear values and solid shapes.

That’s it.

I started doing black & white value studies. Just two values: black and white. No opacity. No pressure sensitivity. One hard-edged brush. No excuses.

Suddenly, my work started to read.

When you limit your tools, your brain steps up. You’re forced to make decisions. To simplify. To see.

If a painting works in black & white, it’ll work in color. If your shapes are clean, your forms will make sense. Value is more important than color. Always.

Want to level up?

Start with 10 black-and-white studies. Use strong lighting references. Stick to one flat brush. Squint. Zoom out. Repeat.

this is the second time i’ve received this message in my inbox, so i feel it’s necessary to address it because frankly, this accusation is absurd. i’m certain i’m not the only writer being accused of using chatgpt or some form of ai to craft my stories, and while i can’t speak for others, i’ll clarify my own position.

when i began writing stories on wattpad back in 2017, i was far from skilled. i was also quite young, with a vocabulary that reflected my middle school self. later, i started writing on tumblr in 2021 and officially on this account in 2022. at that time, i was still in high school, and my writing was undoubtedly rough around the edges, which is evident in my earlier works. however, as i progressed into university, the growth in my skills became increasingly apparent.

through my coursework and education, my writing style has naturally evolved becoming more polished, articulate, and coherent. yes, my stories now have proper grammar and flow better, but that’s a testament to growth, not automation. while some might find similarities in storytelling structures, that isn’t because of ai; it’s simply how creative minds often process and develop ideas.

furthermore, i am a psychology major, a significant part of my academic work involves learning how to articulate and convey ideas effectively. when it comes to crafting one concept for a broad audience, there’s only so much I can adjust in terms of wording and setting before certain elements start to feel repetitive. storytelling, much like academic writing, often requires structure and clarity, and if that results in some overlap in phrasing or themes, it’s a reflection of the process, not a lack of originality.

Beautiful and necessary reflection. Sometimes, creating comes with discoveries, and when we embrace creativity and its creation, there are no rules, no norms. I work with creativity, and it took me 37 years to understand that I am creative and that my creativity is always with me. It is my work, and I am passionate about it. I love, I love being creative; it is part of me, it defines who I am. It means knowing that any task, any goal, any decision I make, I will approach in the most unique, unexpected, and almost impossible way to prove that the impossible does not exist.

Creativity is something delightful, like playing with time and letting yourself go. I feel sorry for adults who have killed their creativity, but I am not here to talk about them. I am here to talk about myself. I am here to explain and tell you that being creative has no set time, no set day, no specific moment. People think and believe, in a society shaped to make them believe, that creativity has a schedule, deadlines, values, or lack thereof, making them believe that creativity lives in a box you must open, use, and close.