Allow some warm-up time each day to stimulate your creative flow. A pianist does keyboard exercises. A gymnast stretches. An artist needs to loosen up, too. It takes a few minutes to shift from the real world into a creative mode.

You owe it to yourself to make your creative development a top priority.

Get in touch with yourself. The fountain of creativity begins with the stream of conscious thought flowing inside you. Open the floodgate and creative ideas come rushing out.

To tap into that natural creative spirit, recapture your childlike enthusiasm for everything around you. Work with the reckless delight of a child.

Don't dwell on your mistakes. Set achievable goals: a confident line, effective use of values, interesting shapes, exciting texture.

Whatever direction your life takes, your underlying themes remain. Discover and explore your themes to open the way for rich creative development.

Creative expression is not just a means of getting attention, although some have approached art that way. Think of art as a way of connecting, of sharing your insights with others.