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Am I An Artist Or Am I just High?
Us creatives are all too familiar with famous artists, musicians and writers exploring drugs to enhance their work. We’ve watched movies about it, we’ve talked about it and some of us might have even thought about dabbling in the taboo world of taking drugs to unlock our creative senses.
Hollywood movies glamourise it (Limitless, anyone?) and singers glorify it. We're almost taught that there are certain drugs that would take our work to a whole different level. The question is, how many of us would be willing to take artistic experimentation to that place in the name of creativity?
I’m no stranger to putting myself through weird shit for the sake of my art. I once saw an article about an artist who took 13 different drugs (at different times) and whilst feeling each high, painted an inspired self-portrait. There’s only word for it – TRIPPY. Here's one he did when he was off his nut after 1/2 gram of cocaine:
Anyway, it inspired me. I, like many other artists before me (and many after me, I’m sure) wondered what my art would become if I took drugs. Would I paint like Picasso? Would I draw like Da Vinci? I was dying to know. Fast forward a few months later and I was popping pills for the sake of creativity. I was rolling joints, eating shrooms and sniffing powder all so I could feel the power of the great artists who travelled the same road and arrived at greatness.
I created a piece of art whilst I was tripping and my mind was blown. Each drug took me to a different place and the paintbrush in my hand had a mind of its own. My pencils danced onto the canvas and I created some beautiful stuff. It felt amazing.
A few weeks later I sat down to start a drawing but all I could think about was the effortless art that the drugs unleashed out of me. It felt weak doing it sober. Passionless. Damn, I thought. Am I a good artist or am I just high?
In case you're wondering about those self portraits, here's the link: http://bryanlewissaunders.org/drugs/
**Don't try this at home. Or do. Your call (just show us your work afterwards)**
