For anyone who has ever sat in front of a blank page and wondered where to begin.

Art of Attention

Rebuild focus. Trust your creativity. Discover what is trying to emerge.

For artists, creatives and curious minds who know they want to create, but struggle to begin or continue.

Art of Attention is a practical course for artists, creatives and curious minds who want to build a deeper relationship with their work and themselves.

Most creative struggles are not caused by a lack of talent.

They are caused by distraction, inconsistency, self-doubt, comparison, overthinking, and the difficulty of beginning.

For years, I thought I was learning how to draw.

What I eventually realised was that I was learning how to pay attention.

Art of Attention is the result of a journey that has taken me through drawing, painting, filmmaking, writing, teaching, travel, and years of Vipassana meditation.

Along the way, I discovered that creativity is not simply about making things.

It is about learning to notice.

Notice what inspires you.

Notice what keeps returning.

Notice the themes, questions, memories and ideas that are quietly asking for your attention.

This course is my attempt to share the practices, exercises and insights that helped me build a healthier, more sustainable relationship with creativity.

It is designed not only to help you make better work, but to help you develop greater clarity, consistency and confidence in your creative life.

Who This Is For

Art of Attention is for people who want to deepen their creative practice, strengthen their attention, and reconnect with curiosity, observation, and meaningful work.

This includes:

• Artists

• Sketchers

• Painters

• Illustrators

• Photographers

• Writers

• Filmmakers

• Designers

• Makers

• Creative beginners

• Experienced creatives looking for a fresh perspective

If you've ever found yourself thinking:

"I know I want to create, but I struggle to begin."

"I feel disconnected from my creativity."

"I have ideas, but I don't know which ones to follow."

"I feel there's something deeper in my work, but I can't quite see it yet."

then Art of Attention may be for you.

Through simple exercises and practices, you'll learn to develop attention as a creative muscle, gather richer creative material from everyday life, and discover the themes, ideas, and questions already trying to emerge through your work.

What You'll Learn Inside Art of Attention

The Five R's of Attention

Return

Learn how to calm distraction and bring your attention back to the present moment. Attention is a skill. Like drawing, it improves through practice.

Receive

Develop deeper observation through simple attention and drawing exercises.

Train yourself to notice more deeply.

Most people look. Few people truly see.

Reveal

Discover the hidden themes and recurring interests that are already shaping your work.

Learn to trust what is trying to emerge.

Many of our best ideas arrive through exploration rather than planning.

Remember

Turn photographs, sketchbooks, travels, memories and unfinished ideas into creative evidence.

Discover the clues already present in your work, interests and experiences.

Your creative life is leaving evidence.

Repeat

Build a sustainable practice through small actions repeated over time, even when life gets busy.

Creative confidence grows through returning.

Does this sound familiar?

• You have photographs, sketchbooks, unfinished projects, and ideas everywhere, but no clear next step.

• You keep starting and stopping your art practice.

• You sit down to create and feel pulled in ten different directions.

• You compare yourself to other artists and begin doubting your own path.

• You wait until you feel inspired before beginning.

• You know creativity matters to you, but life keeps getting in the way.

The problem is not a lack of talent.

The problem is a lack of attention.

And attention can be rebuilt.

Through Art of Attention, you'll learn to:

✓ Notice more deeply

✓ Strengthen your attention and focus

✓ Gather richer creative material from everyday life

✓ Reduce creative overwhelm and self-judgement

✓ Trust your instincts more confidently

✓ Build a sustainable creative practice

✓ Discover what is already trying to emerge through your work

Through simple attention and drawing practices, you'll learn how to slow down, observe more deeply, and reconnect with the creative life that is already waiting beneath the noise.

These exercises strengthen attention, memory, confidence, and creative momentum, helping you build a practice that feels meaningful, sustainable, and uniquely your own.

You do not need more discipline.

You do not need a perfect studio.

You do not need to wait for inspiration.

You simply need a way back in.

Art of Attention gives you that way back.

These ideas have already been tested

Through workshops, classes, one-to-one teaching, and years of creative practice, these principles have helped artists reconnect with their creativity and build confidence in their work.

What Others Are Saying

Sarmed's teaching helped me slow down and observe more carefully than I ever had before. Emily

"This is a no-brainer. I’m using these exercises on every trip."

As an artist, I thought I already ‘knew’ how to see. But these drills showed me how shallow my attention had become. I’m using them on all my travels from now on. I want my sketchbooks filled with memories I can feel and remember at will, not just photos.

Roberta

"My new sketchbooks are now getting filled quickly."

The exercises completely changed how I approached my sketchbook practice.

James

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Art of Attention for?

Art of Attention is for artists, makers, writers, designers, and creative people who feel distracted, overwhelmed, stuck, or disconnected from their work.

It is especially useful if you have unfinished projects, sketchbooks, photographs, ideas, and creative ambitions but struggle to know what to focus on next.

No experience is required. Curiosity is enough.

Why does this works?

Most creative blocks are not caused by a lack of talent. They are caused by scattered attention.

Art of Attention helps you rebuild the ability to focus, observe deeply, and trust your own creative process.

Using simple exercises based on observation, drawing, memory, and reflection, you'll strengthen the skills that sit underneath all creative work: attention, curiosity, confidence, and consistency.

The goal is not to force creativity. The goal is to create the conditions where creativity can return naturally.

How long do I get access?

Lifetime access.

As a founding member, you'll receive access to the current course, all future updates, additional lessons, exercises, workbooks, and resources added to Art of Attention as it grows.

Buy once. Keep it forever.

Do I need to be good at drawing?

No. Art of Attention is not a technical drawing course. The exercises use drawing as a tool for observation and attention. Beginners are welcome, and artistic skill is not required.

What if I cannot attend live?

Art of Attention is a self-paced course, so there are no live sessions you need to attend. You can work through the material whenever it suits you.

Is this suitable if I have ADHD or find it hard to focus?

Yes. Many of the exercises were developed specifically to help people gently rebuild attention. The practices are short, practical, and designed to meet your attention where it is rather than demanding perfect focus.

Who is this not for?

Art of Attention is not a technical drawing programme or a shortcut to mastering artistic skills. It is for people who want to deepen observation, rebuild focus, and reconnect with their creative practice.

What if I've fallen out of practice?

Then you're exactly who this course was made for. Art of Attention helps you return without guilt, pressure, or needing to feel inspired first. The goal is not perfection. The goal is knowing how to begin again.

How is the course structured?

Art of Attention is organised into five stages: Return, Receive, Remember, Reveal, and Repeat. Each stage contains short lessons, practical exercises, and reflections designed to help you rebuild focus and reconnect with your creativity. This will reinforce your methodology every time someone reads the FAQ.

The Story Behind Art of Attention

Sarmed Mirza is an award-winning British-Asian artist, educator, writer, and BAFTA Scotland New Talent-nominated filmmaker based in Scotland.

His work has been exhibited across the UK, including at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh as part of the Society of Scottish Artists Annual Exhibition. He has been a finalist in the Scottish Portrait Awards and has had work selected for the second stage of the John Moores Painting Prize.

Although his practice spans drawing, painting, filmmaking, writing, and teaching, the question at the heart of it all has remained surprisingly consistent:

How do we learn to pay attention more deeply?

For much of his life, Sarmed struggled with the same challenges many creatives face today.

Too many ideas.

Difficulty focusing.

Projects started with enthusiasm and abandoned halfway through.

Periods of momentum followed by long stretches of uncertainty, distraction, and creative paralysis.

The challenge wasn't a lack of creativity.

It was learning how to direct attention, return to what mattered, and build a creative practice that could survive real life.

As his attention deepened, something unexpected began to happen.

Ideas that once felt disconnected started revealing relationships to one another.

Memories, travels, recurring subjects, personal stories, and creative interests began forming patterns.

Rather than searching for a style, Sarmed discovered that a visual voice was already emerging through the work itself.

The more closely he paid attention, the more clearly he could recognise what genuinely mattered to him, both in the outer world and within himself.

Learning to trust that process became one of the most important creative lessons of all.

Through years of artistic practice, writing, teaching, travel, and meditation, he became increasingly interested in the role attention plays in creativity.

Why do some ideas stay with us while others disappear?

Why do certain images, memories, places, and questions keep returning?

And how can we learn to notice them before they disappear again?

Over time, these questions evolved into the Art of Attention Framework: a practical approach to strengthening focus, deepening observation, trusting the creative process, gathering creative evidence, and discovering what is already trying to emerge through your work and your life.

Rather than chasing style, direction, or inspiration, Art of Attention helps people recognise the themes, questions, subjects, and patterns that naturally keep returning. Over time, these become clues that reveal a unique voice and way of seeing.

The goal is not to force creativity, but to create the conditions in which it can emerge more naturally.

Today, through Art of Attention, Sarmed shares the exercises, practices, and insights that have helped him build a more meaningful and sustainable creative life, and that have helped many students reconnect with their creativity, confidence, curiosity, and sense of direction.

Attention is one of the most important creative skills we can develop.

To draw is to see twice.

— Egon Schiele

I paint as a way of looking for myself in the world.

— Amy Sherald

Currently In Development

Art of Attention is currently being developed.

Every guide, exercise, lesson and framework is being built from real experience, tested practices and years of creative exploration.

If you're here, you're already part of the journey.

Thank you for your interest.

I'd love to share what emerges next.