The Groove 199 - Three Indispensable Qualities of Living Creatively
THREE INDISPENSABLE QUALITIES OF LIVING CREATIVELY
Elizabeth Gilbert wrote in Big Magic that “a creative life is an amplified life. It’s a bigger life, a happier life, an expanded life, and a hell of a lot more interesting life. Living in this manner—continually and stubbornly bringing forth the jewels that are hidden within you—is a fine art, in and of itself.” In other words, a creative life, no matter what you do, is worth pursuing.
Most people who dare to live creatively share similar traits. Georgia O'Keeffe, often referred to as the “Mother of American Modernism,” is one of them. She occupies a special space in the history of art. Born in 1887 in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, she made more than 2,000 paintings, hundreds of drawings and watercolors and dozens of sculptures over a career that spanned 75 years, where she remained mostly independent from any art movement, pioneering something that was distinctively hers and uniquely American.
Her works, especially her iconic flower paintings, have not only transformed American art but also reshaped the way we perceive the world around us. I don’t think Andy Warhol would have existed without us first having Georgia O’Keeffe. Here are three qualities that were deeply present in the way she lived her life:
Show Us What You See
Georgia O’Keeffe photographed by Alfred Stieglitz in 1918.
In a world full of distractions and external influences, honing in on your own perceptions fosters a sense of individuality and innovation, essential for creating work that stands out and makes a lasting impact. If you don’t create work from your own perspective, there’s a missed opportunity to show us your unique point of view.
Nobody else sees things exactly the way you do.
In the beginning of her career from 1912 to 1915, O’Keeffe focused on pure abstraction before shifting to landscapes. After moving to New York in 1918, following the invitation of art dealer and photographer Alfred Stieglitz, whom she would later marry, she began painting big bold flowers, up close, occupying the entire canvas with magnified details in intensely saturated colors. Nobody had done anything like it before.
“A flower is relatively small… You put out your hand to touch the flower - lean forward to smell it — maybe touch it with your lips almost without thinking... Still in a way — nobody sees a flower; really it is so small —we haven't time - and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time. I'll paint what I see — what the flower is to me - I will make even busy New Yorkers take time to see what I see of flowers.”
New Yorkers took the time and they did see those flowers, and Stieglitz sold O’Keeffe’s paintings like hot cakes. Within ten years of relocating to New York City, she had become the highest-paid female artist in the United States.
As you ground your work in your personal observations and interpretations, people can notice the subtleties and details that others might overlook, thereby enriching your work with layers of meaning, emotion and a completely different perspective.
Own Who You Are
Georgia O’Keeffe, Series 1, No. 8, 1918. Oil on canvas.
When people fail to own their identity and embrace who they truly are, they risk losing the essence of what makes them irresistible to others.
O’Keeffe wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to live and develop a career in New York, but she wasn’t going to conform to what people expected from a midwestern female artist. Three years after her arrival, O'Keeffe posed nude for Stieglitz and those images were exhibited at his gallery, "291," side-by-side with some of her own paintings.
The exhibition caused quite a stir, as the juxtaposition of O'Keeffe's abstract and nature-inspired paintings with the highly personal and revealing photographs led many to draw connections between the two. This fueled interpretations of O'Keeffe's work through a lens of sexuality, which she often resisted and found reductive.
Her decision to focus on flowers, a subject often dismissed as trivial or feminine, was a bold statement in itself. O'Keeffe took something traditionally associated with domesticity and beauty and elevated it to the realm of high art. Her flowers are not mere decorations; they are powerful symbols of life, growth, and the inner workings of nature.
O’Keeffe taught us to avoid suppressing our true selves to fit into a mold that was never meant for us.
Those who look for external validation over internal authenticity may achieve short-term acceptance, but often at the cost of long-term fulfillment and self-respect.
Know When to Pivot
Georgia O'Keeffe, Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1, 1932. Oil on canvas.
When you are honest with yourself, you also know when it's time to let go. This awareness enables timely transitions, preventing stagnation and freeing up energy and resources for new opportunities.
Georgia O'Keeffe painted her last significant flower, The White Rose, in 1957. After this, she increasingly shifted her focus to other subjects, particularly the landscapes and architectural forms of the American Southwest, where she chose to spend the last 37 years of her life. By the late 1950s, O'Keeffe had largely moved away from the floral motifs that had marked much of her earlier work.
One of the primary reasons O'Keeffe stopped painting flowers was the persistent misinterpretation of her work. Many critics, particularly male critics of the time, interpreted her large-scale flower paintings as expressions of female sexuality, seeing in the petals and folds of the flowers the symbols of female anatomy. This outlook, while reflective of the Freudian influences on art criticism at the time, was something O'Keeffe vehemently denied. She insisted that her work was not intended as a symbolic representation of sexuality but was about the beauty and power of the natural forms themselves.
Another reason O'Keeffe stopped painting flowers was her natural progression as an artist. Throughout her career, she sought to challenge herself and explore new subjects and styles. After painting so many flowers, she felt she had exhausted what she wanted to express in that series and was eager to move on to new themes.
Georgia O'Keeffe, Pelvis Series, Red with Yellow, 1945. Oil on canvas.
O'Keeffe's decision to stop painting flowers also speaks to her integrity as an artist. She refused to be pigeonholed or to continue creating work that was misunderstood or misrepresented. Instead, she followed her instincts and passions, allowing her work to evolve and grow over time. This commitment to her own vision and her refusal to be defined by any one series or subject is a key aspect of her enduring legacy in the art world.
If you have a true connection with your surroundings and with yourself, you can avoid the pitfalls of prolonged effort in unproductive areas, embrace change with confidence, and redirect your focus toward endeavors that align with your evolving needs and aspirations.
Pursuing a creative life and bringing forth your unique vision is profoundly worthwhile because it allows you to make a meaningful impact that only you can offer. Ultimately, the most profound contributions come from those who own who they are and let their authentic selves guide their path.
PS: I will be away for a couple of weeks and will resume The Groove the first week of September.