How to Overcome Creative Blocks and Get Your Painting Mojo Back
It happens to every artist from time to time… You’ve finished a body of work or you’ve taken some time off of painting or perhaps the feeling comes from out of the blue, but you find yourself stuck. This is an unsettling feeling! Artists can start having irrational thoughts like, “I’m all out of ideas,” “This proves I’m a hack—I’m washed up!,” or “I’ll never make a good painting again.” These kinds of thoughts can lead you down a dark spiral of fear and despair.
But there is hope! Once you acknowledge and normalize the experience of a creative block, you can try a long list of ideas that can break you out of that block and help you to bounce back even more inspired than before. Here are a few suggestions:
Flip Through Old Sketchbooks
If you’re anything like me, you have years and years of old sketchbooks tucked away. Not only is this a fun walk down your creative memory lane, you can come across a lot of interesting ideas that you never fully pursued.
For example, let’s say you thumb through an old travel sketchbook, and you notice that you were fascinated by architectural elements like curlicues on columns or fancy molding. Seeing these sketches may reignite your excitement for this subject and get you playing around with them in your studio. Who knows—your next series may be based on these elements!
Do Studies
Studies are a very important part of our painting practice, and yet there is never an expectation that they will become a finished work of art. When you make studies, you take one idea—a type of line work, a color combination, a subject such as a still life—and you do a whole bunch of variations on it.
Studies take the pressure off. You’re just experimenting and hoping to find some surprising and inspiring insights. The point of studies is to do a lot of them without immediate judgment. That’s exactly what a painter who’s lost her mojo needs—a judgment-free, experimental, focused creative task!
As you reflect on your studies, you may see signposts that can direct you to the next step. For example, you may find one study that excites you a lot, so you’ll decide to do ten studies that are similar in style. You’re on the path to a fulfilling new series!
Relax (and Learn) by Swatching
Some artists love to make color swatches, while others wonder, “Who has time for that?” Well guess what—when you’re stuck in creative block, YOU have time for that. And it may be your ticket out of your block.
Making swatches can deepen your relationship with your supplies. Commit to swatching all the art supplies you own. When you come across a paint that has decomposed due to age, toss it. What a good way to get a good feel for what you own and to clear out what is no longer in service. As you do this, notice what supplies are exciting you. Are you discovering a long lost love in some of your art supplies?
You can also make swatches by mixing paints together. Not only does this increase your color mixing skills, but it can also help nudge you toward a fresh color palette that’ll get you excited to paint again. You can also make mixed media swatches to experiment with your supplies: try this pen on that color and then draw on it with that crayon. Do it again and again until you find some combos that turn you on.
Do you need help with color mixing? Or perhaps you’re wondering how to create your very own limited color palette to strengthen your painting voice? My 12-step Ultimate Color Liberation Guide will give you the confidence you need to create and select colors for your abstract painting.
Give Yourself Permission to Make “Junk”
Nothing will block you faster than the feeling that you need to make great art or face failure. Reflect on why you enjoy painting in the first place. Is it the sensual aspect of it, like the sound of the brush on the canvas? Is it a feeling of freedom? Let yourself create art that you have no intention of sharing (perhaps no intention of even keeping) and revel in the experience of it. This will reinforce the concept that you are a painter because you love to paint, not for a specific outcome. It’s like me at the swimming pool: I swim for the refreshing feel of it, not because I have perfect form or how I’d fare when compared to others. I just do it for the love of it.
When in Doubt, Clean Your Studio
One final tip for you: Cleaning your studio can be a real mood-booster. Like the swatching, you may feel like there’s never time for a studio deep clean. But this is the perfect time! Showing love for your studio and your supplies will give you a sense of accomplishment and appreciation for what you have. And a clean studio can make room for inspiration to come in!
Remember, It’s Temporary
Keep in mind that every artist has ups and downs. It’s the same as a field that is planted, grows, and is harvested—and then has a period of rest. You can’t plant the field again and again nonstop without depleting the soil. Your “blocks” can be the perfect opportunity to fertilize your creative soil for the next season of growth.
Caryl