Night time is a good source for artistic inspiration. A lot of artist-type people have said this is when their ideas really begin to pop when they are lying down trying to go to sleep. Actually some of this comes even when you are asleep, when you are in that stages 2 or 3 of sleep when you are not completely out but consciously you are. Something happens here in this stage of sleep like the portals open or some weird thing. At this stage your brain is slowing down, paring away the events of the day or any lingering worries you may have on your mind. The brain is preparing to clean house of unwanted thoughts and store other important thoughts, engagements or events into your long-term memory. The brain never really sleeps but it rests and does housekeeping when you are not distracted by outside visual and auditory stimulation; this is why sleep is so important.

You probably have a lot of inspiration floating around in that head you don’t even know you had. But the brain is saying aha, let’s bring this idea to the forefront so you can work on it the next day. This doesn’t sound too farfetched does it? Sometime the idea comes so hard you do wake up. This is the time to jot down as many details as you can from the “message”. I used to keep a pencil and notepad by the bed just for such occasions. I read recently where the brain forgets most of what you dream in under ten minutes after waking. So don’t depend on remembering these details to notate the next morning, they may be gone.

Night is a good time and so is early morning for capturing inspiration. It is your own mind’s way of capturing and pushing forward information that is lurking in your head. Some people work better in the early morning when they are refreshed. If it is a struggle to stay awake at night to think and plan its best to do it at a different time. A good example is this commentary. I began this writing last night I was tired as I had been up really late the night before. So I saved the half written document to the desktop and came back this morning to finish. It’s a good thing I did as it was full of crazy grammatical and typo mistakes. So don’t push yourself if you are tired, nothing much will be gained then.

Keeping a note or sketchbook of any kind to record thoughts and ideas is good practice. If you look at all the notebook entries Leonardo da Vinci made you will understand. Leonardo knew the value of keeping those notes and that is why he did it Who knows, 500 years from now your notebook jottings may be as famous and precious as his are. All kidding aside it is good practice to keep a sketchbook. You can go back years from now to chart your progress and/or retrieve those ideas you had that never materialized. The good stuff is still there, you just have to develop the concepts.

If you are tight and seemingly non-productive with new ideas and concepts just relax. Being up tight and frustrated will not allow those thoughts to come through. As I said, just relax and let your body hear your inner voice and vision and then respond to it. If it happens at night or even early morning, or if you are driving in the car or standing in line somewhere, be receptive. Listen to yourself. Listen and answer in the best way you know how through your art work.  Keep a notebook journal!!!!