The Artist's Journey: Bold Strokes To Spark Creativity (The Art Of The Possible Series Book 1)

But the thought behind Nancy's theory is to learn to understand yourself and what makes you unique. This includes learning to trust yourself and even use those fears and doubts you have in your paintings. She teaches that you first have to know yourself but go deeper, allow yourself to remove those emotional roadblocks that are there to allow yourself to uncover what could be inside that you can put onto the canvas. IT is this inner dialogue that you need to have dancing with yourself with the mindset that it is OK to explore and play. Nancy calls it: facing your fears, and learning to trust what you are experiencing to allow that part of you that you might have once abandoned break free. It is allowing yourself to play. I found Nancy when I was recovering from the death and long illness of my mother and being there as she took her last breath. Losing my mother was huge for me as she was my best friend. Experiencing her illness (Dementia) and losing her slowly over a period of 6 years seemed to engulf me and create a lot of emotional blockage that I feel was seen in my paintings. I needed to as she says “allow epiphany through inner dialogue” to free what was inside my soul to come out onto the canvas. I decided to take one of Nancy’s classes to start chipping away at this blockage I felt I had. Let me say, this does not happen overnight, but for me, it felt like it was almost that magical. I used some of the inspiration in loosening up and painted a very large painting called “All I Wanna do is Dance.” It was unlike any piece I’ve even done before, but I let go of all reins and took those inner passions and put them onto the canvas. Just like the dancing, it was MY BODY, it was my strokes, but done in a way I did not know I could. The painting was incredible. I put it in my art studio and sold it for $2,500. Twenty five hundred dollars That’s the power of learning her techniques and what her techniques can do for you as an artist. Nancy says as artists we can get stuck repeating what has worked for us in the past. We get tired and our painting becomes forced. BUT then the key is to create work that comes from what is truly deep within us. I feel we all have a moment when we realize we want to go deeper down our personal path as an artist and she teaches us that we have that ability to create our own voice. She says even to “Invite Fear Into the process!!” Nancy has you do exercises like having you create a mind map of “your minds reoccurring motifs.” She teaches that it is ok to create ugly paintings and to accept them and they are all a part of our growth as an artist. In fact the thoughts in a rejected painting have something to teach you. I feel you will be a different artist when you finish her book.

I found some inspiration when reading Artist Journey. I’m a big procrastinator and collector of art supplies. This book has inspired me to fill up my watercolor papers and start a new with designs that just come off the top of my head.

I am a life long painter. I studied painting. I studied the masters. I did not stop painting through the years of raising my family. In the past 10 years I began to watch my paintings becoming more abstract in nature, they were moving away from the representation of what I saw. I was beginning to paint how I felt what I saw. That is not an easy transistion to make. I leads one into new territory, who you knew yourself to be is changing before your eyes. When a friend shared Nancy Hillis' book I began reading it with some scepticism. Being a bit of a know it all even in unknown territory, I read over the encouraging words letting them touch me ever so lightly....I have heard them so many times. But that is it. There isn't really much new to say to someone who needs or seeks courage to move forward, to go deeper, to open to the unknown in oneself. So, Nancy hits the nail on the head again and again. She has some concepts that she coins in her own words that are not confusing. If you need pictures of how to do this - this is not the book for you. This book leads you directly into your own doing. Your own making. You are supported to trust your own responses. The videos that Nancy offers were very worthwhile. They can help you to discover that abstract expression in paint is a FELT experience, not a head thing. The most valuable part of her message for me were the exercises called "starts" - activating the surface and making the marks that are my signature. I have actually not returned to the book since beginning them. It is all I want to do for now. Six each day. No thinking. No over fixing. Pure response. My response. For the beginner, I feel Nancy's discussion of the basic ins and outs/ ups and downs of the creative life journey are very helpful. For the experienced painter who still has something to learn, Nancy's presentation will point to new doors waiting to be opened- inside of you. She shares what she has discovered through her own creative journey with heart and precision. She does this without making the book into a popular and superficial "how to" book. I think her work in the realm of therapy colors the context and content of this book with deeply felt respect for the vulnerability of our search for truth, our own truth. When one sees the light of self knowledge and self love come to light in another person...well, I imagine she has had this experience with her clients. She has helped guide others to their light. As a result of her experience, as an artist and a psychiatrist, Nancy Hillis has written this book as a very encouraging, experienced friend who could easily be the mentor you are looking for. Trust yourself and give it a go. Ultimately, freedom awaits.

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.

I love Nancy Hillis, her work, her support and online workshops. I got this publication because she has such a powerful message. Perhaps I was just expecting more from the book but I was disappointed due to the lack any visual references. There are no painting samples or examples of any art in this book. I was expecting more in terms of a quality design. The front cover is awesome with one of her paintings, but the visuals end there. The pages look photocopied, and the top of each page has a narrow margin, and most of the pages are filled up with white space rather than text. The design of the book is lacking and uninspiring. If you want pure Nancy, you got it, she's in there, supportive and encouraging, but I expected a more polished design and layout of her wonderful message. I hope if she reprints she'll redesign.

Hi Nancy, I have watched the videos you shared in the Book Resources, and yes, I have begun your book and am really loving it! I am an ordained pastor in the United Church of Christ. I am also a Gestalt Pastoral Care practitioner, have a book of my own LIFE IN POETIC PIECES, available on amazon.com, and your book and videos are fitting in very nicely with my art immersion that Spirit has me enjoying. I set up a website on FASO, [email protected] is the email for that. I have a couple of abstracts on my website, and would appreciate feedback. I'm currently working on an acrylic series "Beach Scene". It's 5 8x10" studies of the same scene in 5 different style, including abstract, thanks to your teaching. This is much fun! Thank you for your assistance and joy. Hopefully I'll sell something soon. (Last year a sold a watercolor, and I've sold in the past, yet now I'm working toward more possibilities of making that happen. Blessings! Kristin Aardema Faigh

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. 😊

I just want to thank you for your book and series of short films on painting. I am halfway through your first book, and have already started a daily painting routine, that is bringing me great happiness. I feel like I have been looking for so long for someone to tell me the words that you have, that it's okay to make ugly paintings! I have thrown away so many of them, some I really regretted later on. I would patiently wait until my husband went away on a trip, and off to the dumpster I went. It was freeing, ridding myself of the ugly paintings, watching them be flung into the hideous heap. However, after finding and reading your book, I can now see where it would have benefitted me to hang on to them. I have for so long just wanted to paint abstracts but never knew how. You are the only person that has shown me exactly, and very simply just HOW to do that. I thought it was hard. I feel like falling to my knees, and weeping, all of these years I have wasted telling myself I wasn't good enough, or educated enough to make them so why bother. You have no idea how much inspiration, direction, and joy you have given to me. This book will be carried around by me everywhere.

Me gustó todo, como está dividido, sus explicaciones siempre basadas en las experiencias de la autora como psiquiatra, su gran gran conocimiento del arte en general, sus consejos. También me encantó que no tenga imágenes (sus obras se pueden ver facilmente en internet). Es para leerlo varias veces, ahondando en cada capítulo. GENIAL

I liked that the book is focused on finding the own, unique way of expression through art and is not filled with author’s paintings. It’s really valuable to understand the elements which contribute to finding your way as an artist (instead of just imitating others). I think the book is particularly helpful for self-taught artists or people not having the chance to have a proper professional education. The combination of book and videos (suggested in the book and available on author’s website) are in fact helping to get easier into experimentation mood and get courage; basically this combination makes the book so useful

At first, I was disappointed there were no images in this book until I realised there were video links to go with it. The exercises and videos in the first few chapters, inspired me to let go and bust out some of the best work I have done. Can't wait to read the rest and the other books by Nancy 🙂

Is niet wat ik ervan verwacht had. Nogal saai en veel uitspraken van andere om het boek te vullen. Ook de video’s van Nancy die je kan bekijken zijn voor mij meer dan ondermaats. Een dikke teleurstelling dus. Hopelijk zijn haar andere boeken interessanter. Dit boek raad ik in ieder geval niet aan.

I loved the book that encourages to trust yourself as an artist, delve deeper into ourselves and create new enthusiasm and energy in painting. Loved it! Also they have a lovely community on Facebook. I highly recommend it.