Please forgive us the dodgy pandemic internet connection with this chat.
Why do you create?I create to connect with myself. I create as a form of learning about myself. What do I like, what don’t I like and how does what I create resonate within me. It also allows me to share bits of myself with others in a more intimate way.
Tell us about your journey to become an artist.My journey didn’t involve art until later in life. I never take art classes in high school or had any sort of formal training. I gave birth to my first son at a young age and jumped right into motherhood working hard to fit myself into all the boxes that society told me a mother was supposed to fit into. I felt lost. Three kids later, the creative call grew stronger and I started to dabble in scrapbooking, makes pages of life’s adventures. Soon I was into card making. Being able to create something from your heart and send it out to loved ones really made me happy. After my daughter was born, a friend I had met on Instagram introduced me to art journaling and I went WOW what is this?! This I could love! I continued to follow the excitement of my creative learning, exploring different mediums and forms of art and that’s when I found my passion for portraits.
Tell us about your journey to claim the title artist.Because I am self taught, I allowed the stigma that I wasn’t classically trained (as in not having gone to art school) keep me from calling myself an artist. Then one day, I looked up the definition of an artist in the dictionary, which is :
“A person who produces paintings or drawings as a profession or hobby” and I was like.. Oh my goodness- I AM an artist.
Imposter syndrome is a big struggle and I think a lot of us wrestle with it, but that first moment you tell someone you are an artist and you believe it— even if for a moment— that’s powerful magic right there! Now we just need to find a way to bottle that up, not just for ourselves, but to encourage and support everyone in owning their creativity and embracing it fully. Because really, EVERYONE is creative and we can all call ourselves artists.
What is it about making art that stirs your soul?I think the connection that I feel when I create really stirs my soul. What I mean by connection is the flow that you get into when you create, its hypnotic pull is almost addictive. Making art is also a call back to self. When I get lost in the day to day and all the emotions, struggles and chaos, there is this sense of freedom in letting go with paint. I think it’s also the time that I can really listen to my inner self. What does she have to say and how does what she feel translate itself onto the canvas. It sounds like a lot of thinking haha, but really, it's this magical flow that connects your intuition to the brush.
What currently is inspiring you?SO many things inspire me right now! How things relate to each other is one of them. How the breeze stirs the leaves in the trees and how can I take that feeling, that emotion it stirs within me and translate it into a portrait. As humans we feel so deeply and yet there never seems to be enough words to express those emotions. I’m also really drawn to triangles right now so symbols and how the symbols effect us and why they stir emotions within us is something I’ve been exploring. Music also really inspires me, it always has. I’ve been collaborating with my friends Michelle and Jenni on this Music2Art2 project where we art journal to a certain song. Finding new music and hearing why a song means something to someone inspires me. It’s all about the stories, the stories that make us who we are inspires me.
What does your creative practice look like?Before the pandemic, I was in the studio daily. I would get the kids off to school, grab my cup of tea and head into paint. Since then I’ve had to be a bit more flexible with my time. Learning to take each day as it comes and finding ways to express my creativity outside the studio, maybe through cooking dinner, or chalking with my kids on the back porch has really taught me the importance of seeking out alternative ways to nurture my creative spirit.
How do you keep your creative practice fresh and inspired.Inspiration is ALL around us. You can even find inspiration within the mundane daily tasks. One day I was doing laundry and there was this shirt that had all these colors in it and I was like Oh I love that color combo and I used it in my next painting. The imagery I get when I read books inspires me, or movies (we’ve been watching a lot recently!) always fill my mind with amazing ideas. The magic is all around us, you just have to be open to see it. ;)
What sort of creative walls do you hit?Oy. Creative walls. Boy do I get them! I think one of my biggest walls is my inner critic. When she starts yapping I shut down. Sometimes I don’t feel creative at all and it’s a struggle. It’s easy to beat myself up and say, well everyone else is creating why aren’t I?
What do you do to move through them?Well with the inner critic, I’ve found that stepping back from what I’m doing and asking myself why I am feeling the way that I am helps. Asking yourself questions and being open to the answers is so important. When the inner critic chimes in I will say, Ok Erin- You are not feeling frustrated with this painting for the reasons you think you are. I’ll step away, maybe get another cup of hot tea or journal about what I’m frustrated with and then when I come back to the painting it’s like I see it in a whole new light.
It’s easy to beat ourselves up for not doing things either. We live in a society that constantly preaches the importance of being productive. In the past I would have painted a portrait and then immediately felt the need to jump into the next one. My frustrations grew when things wouldn’t go as planned and then I would see other artists having no problem just whipping portraits out. Now, I step back, focus on my own journey and realize that I need some processing time after a painting. I LOVE the painting process and when the process for that one painting is over, its almost like I feel this sense of sadness. Which I know sounds weird, and up until recently I totally thought it was too! Haha.. But really, that pause for me now is a time of reflection. What had that piece been telling me. What did I learn about that painting and when I say learning I don’t just mean like, technically, I mean emotionally and spiritually, what did I learn about myself. Its all about connection and I’m ok with those times when I don’t feel like creating. I used to tell myself I was being lazy, but now I know it to be my reflection time. Allowing that time gets me revved up and excited for the next project. It’s really all about finding what works for you and not getting caught up in what everyone else is doing.
How has your process evolved?I used to sit down and think I had to paint something start to finish in one sitting. Maybe it was the lack of time and feeling rushed or maybe it was that everyone else seemed to be creating “quick art” and I somehow needed to too. But now I am much more open to see where the layers take me and if something takes me days or even weeks to complete, I’m ok with that. I feel a lot more open and flexible with my process and trust in it.
What do you wish that you had known at the beginning of your creative journey?Oh such a good question! I think that one of the main things that I wish someone had told me was to keep on your own pathway. It’s easy to get excited and get caught up with what other artists are doing and we lose sight of what we wanted to do for ourselves. If all your friends are painting landscapes and you want to paint animals, then do it. If all your friends are painting faces and you want to paint faces too, then do it. Don’t let where someone is on their your journey intimidate you or make you feel like what you have to offer or what you create isn’t good enough because EVERYONE is creative in their own way and has their own story to tell by how they explore their creativity. And boy if I had known that back in the beginning I would have saved myself a lot of heartache and depression ;)
Do you have a self care practice?I do! I think that implementing self care into your daily routine is so important for your well being on a whole. I get up early in the morning so I can have some quiet time before the rest of the house wakes up. During this “quiet time” as I call it, I sip delicious hot tea, meditate, journal and even do some reading if time allows. I love reading and learning! I also love making my own salt scrubs for the shower and treating myself to handmade lip balms, tinctures and of course crystals! I might have a slight addiction to them now. ;)
Do you have any creative rituals?Before I start anything creative, I’ll brew up some hot tea. I like to quiet my mind, either through meditation or mindful breathing. I also love putting a record onto the record player, its all about the music baby! Putting that needle to the record is like me telling the universe— I’m ready to create!
Where can we find you?You can find me over on Instagram I’m @erin.decoste
I also just got my new website up and running, erindecoste.com.
I created the whole website myself which was a huge labor of love and nothing I ever thought I would be capable of. So I’m really excited about that!
I also have a youtube channel where I put a lot of process videos: Erin DeCoste and I’m also have a facebook page Erin DeCoste Happily We Go.
