Play has been pushed to the margins of modern life — dismissed as a distraction from real work, a waste of productive time, something you grow out of. But for artists, play isn't a break from the work. It is the work. Here's why protecting time to play makes you a more creative, more original, and ultimately better artist.
Play Got Pushed Out — Here's How It Happened
Despite being an instinct as old as humanity, play has been steadily squeezed out of adult life — particularly in the West. The Industrial Revolution prioritised efficiency and output. The dot-com boom doubled down on measurable results. Play demands time and intention that don't fit neatly into a productivity framework, so it gets deprioritised. But that's exactly the wrong call. Making time for play significantly improves ideation, creative thinking, and the quality of what you make. The belief that play takes time away from work ignores the fact that play is often where the best work begins.
Playfulness is best understood as a mode of thinking — one rooted in curiosity, discovery, and imagination. It isn't the opposite of seriousness. It's a deliberate, process-focused approach that increases intrinsic motivation and keeps creative energy alive. If you want to understand what being a working artist actually feels like, play is right at the centre of it.
What Play Actually Does to Your Creative Brain
Play ignites passion and guides you towards more original, meaningful work. Creativity is frequently defined as the capacity to generate original, relevant answers to problems — and play is one of the most reliable ways to get there. Whether it's role-playing, building, storytelling, or just messing around with materials, play opens up possibilities that direct, goal-focused thinking closes down. When people engage through hands-on experimentation and prototyping rather than grinding toward predetermined outcomes, the dynamic shifts completely. More ideas surface. More risks get taken. Better work gets made.
Playful Artists Make Better Work
Playfulness as a personality trait gives artists a real edge. People who approach their practice playfully tend to have more adaptable viewpoints, stronger observational skills, and the ability to reframe problems in unexpected ways. They see connections others miss. They're less precious about failure. Playfulness brings humour into the work, stimulates creativity, and offers distinctive angles on difficult problems — all while actually enjoying the process. That's not a soft benefit. That's a strategic one.
Play also builds better creative collaboration. When group work is anchored in a shared playful activity, communication opens up, energy is mutual, and humour surfaces naturally. Play acts as a buffer against stress and anxiety — both of which are creativity killers. If you've ever wondered why more art isn't funny, a big part of the answer is that artists stopped giving themselves permission to play.
Reducing Stress and Boosting Mood
Stress and creativity are in direct conflict. Play resolves that. Joy, vigour, and excitement — the emotional outputs of play — have real long-term creative benefits. Play naturally reduces stress, fosters relaxation, and brings happiness back into a practice that can otherwise feel heavy with expectation and self-criticism. An artist who plays is an artist who keeps going.
How to Bring Play Back Into Your Practice
Some of the world's most innovative companies — Google being the most cited example — have built play directly into how they work. The point isn't ping-pong tables. It's the principle: when play is embedded in the work itself rather than kept separate as a reward, the lines between work and play blur in exactly the right way. For artists, this might mean making something with no intention of showing it. Trying a medium you've never used. Making something deliberately bad. Following an idea that seems ridiculous. The 10 ways to stay creative post covers more practical ways to keep this going day to day.
Why Funny Art Is the Most Playful Art of All
Play is motivated by intrinsic motivation — the pleasure and fulfilment of doing something for its own sake, not for external reward. That's exactly what funny, humorous art comes from. It's work made because it felt good to make, because an idea was too enjoyable not to follow. Mixing humour and pop art is one of the most playful creative acts going — it refuses to take itself too seriously while still saying something real. If you want to start collecting work made in that spirit, the guide to collecting humorous art is a good place to start. And if you want to see what play looks like in practice, browse the paintings collection.
Play isn't something you grow out of. It's something the art world told you to leave at the door. Time to bring it back.
To find out about my new artwork please join the mailing list.