Tim Burton

By Lisa Peck, ASID
Like him...dislike him...one thing no one can deny is that Tim Burton is creative with a unique vision. How did he develop it?
Go with your strengths. Explore your emotional life. Be child-like. Be present, be meditative. Spend time sleeping, spacing-out, dreaming, looking...this is the most valuable time you can spend.  These are some of the insights I have gleaned from watching interview with Mr. Burton on Charlie Rose.
A Mastisse exhibit made Tim think about the search for seeing things in a simple way. Expressing yourself with a child-like spirit. And he speaks often of not listening to teachers and others who try to impose a more adult approach to art and drawing.  He says..."as children, all the drawings made by children are fantastic...they all seem to have the creative spark and then somehow as they get older they become convinced that they are not creative." from Charlie Rose interview.
"I remember, I was at Cal Arts and I wasn`t a good life-drawer; I struggled with that realistic style of drawing. And one day I was sitting in Farmer`s Market sketching, and it was this weird, mind-blowing experience. I said, `Goddammit, I don`t care if I can`t draw, I`m just gonna draw how I feel about it.` All of a sudden I had my own personal breakthrough, and then I could draw, and satisfied myself. I`ve had very few experiences like that, and I`ll never forget it."
What I like about what Tim Burton has to say on the subject of being creative is that if you stay true to yourself. Spend time on your creative pursuits then you will be creative. By listening to your inner voice you will find the unique solution.
Enjoy some drawings that show this how Tim Burton stays true to his vision...