One of the most common things I hear from artists is a struggle with motivation and creative block. We all have good days and bad days, myself included. There are plenty of days I'm just not feeling it. So what do I do, particularly as a professional artist with bills and deadlines? Let's talk about it 🧑🎨
Struggles with motivation and creative block are things most artists will face at one point or another. It's okay to need a break or rest, and I encourage it. You have to take of your mental health and physical health. However, one thing I've learned from experience is that it's so easy for a day to become a week. A week becomes a month. A month becomes a year. A year becomes a decade. Fast forward to our later years, and we're talking about how we used to be an artist and don't know why we stopped or where exactly we lost it along the way 🥲
The hard truth is that if you're seeking motivation from external sources like a feeling after visiting an art show or watching an inspirational movie, it will always be fleeting. When you can't find motivation, you may need to create it from within. If you're not there, yet, that's okay. You can get there. A skill that would be wise for artists to develop, and one I had to develop over the decades, is disciplined consistency. If you can learn to do the work when you're feeling a little less than your best, or far from it, it will carry you great distances 🔥
There are going to be days we feel more creative than others. As I mentioned before, there's nothing wrong with a little refresh. However, if you've been away too long, at some point you just have to start doing the thing. So how do you do that? What I often recommend to artists, is warming up the creative muscles the same way you would warm up the body for exercise. In fact, there a good reason that fitness is my other passion (that, and cats). What you may need to do to break your creative block, is stimulate the creative muscles. Because this can be overwhelming, what I suggest is starting off with something light and low pressure. You can do something like doodle, prep a canvas, mix some colors, rearrange your work space, or watch some art vids. Not everything needs to be stressful and high pressure. This may seem like so little, but it is something, and little steps add up to great distances. The next time you're stuck, give this a try. It may just get you back to your groove 🖼️
I don't have all the answers or know THE way, I just know A way based on my experiences. I've put myself through art school, had over a hundred exhibitions, and sold over a million dollars of art. I show with galleries across the country and have a column in Painting World Magazine. Now I try to share my journey to help lighten the burden of others on their own. You can check out many more tips on my blog. I also have a ton of artist support videos on my other channels. You can find them on my LINKTREE 💙