We often associate the people that create with artists or musicians. But as humans we are all creators of something. We are creating at work: a new program, a new process, a new environment. We build friendships, pursue hobbies, and create a life that’s uniquely ours.
This year, we watched the creative process up close as Anderson Resident Artist Davy Fiveash produced a new body of work, inspired by Jacquelyn Anderson, and reimagined through his own artistic vision.
What unfolded was a journey of how a painting takes shape. It is rarely linear and often requires sheer courage to release it to the world. It begins with inspiration, a story takes shape, ideas are sketched, color is applied, and finally the finished piece makes its debut. What we see is a beautiful piece of art, but the story it holds is so much more, and much of it has nothing to do with paint.
Be Inspired
The journey always begins with inspiration. The thing you notice before you know. Small details that draw you in, creating wonder and interest. It plants a seed of an idea that slowly grows and builds. There’s an excitement, a curiosity, that wasn’t there before.
This can also look like a problem you just can’t shake, a concept you notice that keeps coming to the surface, or that voice that keeps telling you, there has to be another way. That’s when you know it’s time to listen, explore, and ask questions.
Tell Your Story
Storytelling is one of the most human experiences we share. While art doesn’t always apply language in sound, the story exists. It’s likely deeper than anyone can imagine. It conveys pain, doubt, joy, moving us through emotions we may not be conscious of.
In business, the story shapes your brand. During creation, a story begins whether intentional or not. This is where you dig in, then when you think you’ve gotten to the bottom layer, you go a little further, uncovering a truth that resonates on a deeply human level.
Sketch It Out
Every idea meets its first real test the moment it becomes tangible. The shape rarely matches the picture in your head. That gap is where the real work begins, and where your self-critic shows up right on cue. One internal voice creates, while one critiques. Every creative act asks the same thing: quiet the self-critic, or learn to use it.
Make the attempt again. Step away, then return. Keep going even when the spark starts to fade. The work carries you past the point where inspiration runs out.
Some sketches start on the back of a napkin, others are mapped out digitally. You play with your approach, your solution, you run into unexpected roadblocks and find yourself down a path you didn’t expect. Determination and drive push you forward until you know it’s ready. As you create, you keep measuring it against your vision. Eventually the inner voice stops comparing and starts trusting what’s in front of it.
Apply Color
Color can bring the work to life, yet color can also become muddy if you force it. The self-critic re-emerges in full force. Doubt and criticism are loudest and you have to know what to listen to that will benefit the work, and when to let go and push forward. It’s so easy to walk away, telling yourself it wasn’t meant to be… but what if it’s great?
Self-doubt is universal. Knowing when to keep refining and when you’re overworking something is a fine line. Revisit the story, your inspiration. Does it still hold true? Quiet the critic, listen, let yourself uncover the answer. Let your north star be the truths you keep finding in the process. Your north star isn’t the finished piece. It’s the truths you find getting there.
Step Back
Nothing about the process asks more of you than this moment; where courage matters most.
It may not be finished to you, but it’s time to release it into the world. Equal parts vulnerable and brave, you hold your breath as the world takes it in.
Davy’s pieces began as a handful of old photographs: Jackie’s own images of Arches National Park. By the time the canvases were finished, that red rock and open sky had passed through every stage: noticed, named, sketched, colored, doubted, and finally, released. What started as someone else’s memory became something entirely his own.
We may not all be artists, but we’re all creating something: a business, a life, a next chapter. We all know the impulse to pull back when the work doesn’t match the vision and the courage it takes to push forward anyway.
Reality has a way of rewriting the vision. What comes out the other side is often better, tested by every doubt you pushed past. Let it go before it feels ready. Nothing gets made any other way.