Preface

I had the privilege of speaking to a nonartist group about the power of art and leading them in a watercolor exercise. After the lecture, a man in his 60s approached me. He was visibly moved, nearly weeping. He told me: “I was in prison in my 20s, and they sent me to painting class. But the thought of art terrified me, and for the whole two weeks of the class I never even picked up the paintbrush. When I think about all the absurd risks I took in my life as a criminal, I just can’t believe I couldn’t take risks as an artist.”

This story is profound for many reasons, but I think it’s all about identity. Making a choice to, say, rob and assault someone proves the robber’s deepest conviction that he is the kind of person who needs to take value forcibly from someone else in order to have worth or to assert physical dominance to create an “impression.” That person is asserting his belief that that’s all he has to offer. People take those kinds of risks willingly (to devastating consequences), but being faced with the generative and nonviolent act of creativity can be terrifying. That’s because making the choice to push past fear of failure and make something is embodying the powerful idea that you have something worthwhile to say.

Though this book is about color and painting in particular, it’s important to emphasize that creativity includes so much more than just visual art. We need creativity in literally every area of our lives. The basic function of creativity is releasing old solutions and generating new ones. Creativity is at the root of the scientific method, all kinds of technological advances, and every breakthrough, large and small, in every human effort—ranging from parenting to surgery. This book invites you to joyfully welcome and nurture your generative powers. You were born to be creative. It’s one of the most essential human endowments. My ex-con made his first painting that day.

Opening up to the creative possibilities that call to you is risky. Your first attempts will be wobbly, like a newborn horse. But carry on, because you have something worthwhile to say.