[ How to Deal with Artist’s Block ]
The term “Artist’s block”, aka creative block is very familiar to both traditional and digital artists. Creative block is when you cannot think of anything new to create. In easy words, you run out of creative ideas. Being an artist, I go into this block phase now and then. It is frustrating to me. As I am not a professional artist, I don’t have to create something in a deadline. So, in my case, the block isn’t that bad. But if you are a professional artist and you have no creative idea, then my friend it is a huge problem. So, then I googled a lot, read blogs about this creative block phase, and how to deal with it. I came up with some tricks that helped me and might help you all too.
Take A break: You know “a watched pot never boils”. When you are constantly trying to think of something new and you are trying hard, you are putting pressure on your delicate brain. Give it a chill. relax, take a break, go on a walk, or watch an episode of your favorite series. Clear your mind, be relaxed. Eventually, you’ll be able to think more creatively.
Taking inspiration: “Good artist’s copy, great artists steal”- Pablo Picasso. It’s not okay to copy someone’s work. That’s unethical but it’s okay to steal. By stealing I am not telling you to steal the painting, Duhhh! We all need inspirations. There are millions and millions of artworks of Jesus. That doesn’t mean that everyone is a thief. When you are going through this creative block, try to look for ideas. Follow art journals on Instagram, Facebook. Look out for art pieces on different platforms. For every artist, Pinterest is a great place for getting inspiration. Take inspiration from someone else’s artwork and recreate that in your style. Find your INSPIRATION!
Going back to the roots: Every artist has a unique style. Style can be based on anything. It could be a medium like acrylic, pencil, charcoal, watercolor, ink, etc. It could be the colors you prefer to work with or the genre like portraits, landscapes, still life, historical events. You need to find that one category that you are most comfortable in. Once you find it go back to that. I work with pencil, charcoal, watercolor, acrylic but when I experience the creative block phase, I always go back to ink. I will draw eyes, faces, or do a bit doodling to get myself relaxed and overcome the creative block phase.
Get organized: To be productive and creative you need to have an organized place to work in. Start organizing your workspace. It will help you to have more access to everything that you have and can work with. Clean the space and throw away unnecessary things. This way you will feel more organized in your work area and be able to think more creatively.
Memory lane: You can go through your old artworks. It will help you to get inspired and create new ideas. You can also go through your old photo albums. This way you can think about that funny incident that happened with you in third grade. Everything can be an inspiration. You just need to dig deeper into your mind.
Lastly, never stop creating art. It’s okay not to be unique, it’s okay to make mistakes and it’s okay to create something that’s not good enough. What not okay is, not doing what you love. So, go on, draw something, and shine on.
Author: Saiyada Sultana
Photo: Internet