How To Flourish Creatively (And Kick Art Block's Arse!)

-Any artist, designer, writer or other creative has struggled with Artist’s Block at some point. It often comes (for me, at least) when I finally have to time for freedom (ie, no university projects or commissions.) I finally have the time to draw for myself, to draw for FUN! Except, nothing's coming out right. And that's if I can actually think of something to draw. I've spent far too much time staring at paintings I've spent hours on, yet still inexplicably hate. At lot of the time, it's linked to self-doubt, that feeling that nothing I draw is good enough which never really goes away. (but you do learn to smother it.)

Here's a list of some techniques that I have used when trying to cope with that awful feeling.

• LOOK AT OTHER ARTISTS.
• Not just other illustrators, but designers, fine artists, writers and even musicians. Go to galleries and exhibitions. Submerge yourself in art and DON'T compare yourself to them. Your voice is just as worthwhile as theirs. Remember that art is subjective - someone else will hate what you love, and love what you hate!

• LOOK AT ARTISTS WHO AREN'T AS GOOD AS YOU
• This might seem a little mean, but they don't have to know! It can give you a confidence boost if you're struggling with self doubt and comparing yourself to others who are 'better'. If they can do it, with their wobbly lines and overly bright colours, so can you! You're probably not as bad as you think.

• FORGET THE RULES
• Psst. The box isn't real. Break the rules. Draw with your toes. Use twigs instead of brushes.

• ASK QUESTIONS
• "What if I just did this..." is a favourite of mine. As is, “Wouldn’t it be hilarious if…”

• GET MESSY
• Just cover yourself in paint, clay, grass - play around with the materials. BE WILD

• FORCE A DOODLE
• This is a technique I learnt in Summer School. FORCE IT. Just start scribbling until something comes out of it. It doesn't even have to be good. Mistakes are GREAT.

• KEEP AN IDEA JOURNAL
• Keep a sketchbook, moleskine or notebook and don't give yourself any pressure to make it look good. You're the only one who has to make sense of it. Write lists, mindmaps, draw cats when you're waiting for the bus, scribble down ideas and what you dreamt last night.

• TAKE A NAP
• My personal favourite! Sometimes anxiety builds up and I get angry, frustrated and just have to give myself a time out. Also, your subconscious starts to think more creatively in the initial stages of sleep, so set an alarm for 15-30 minutes and start thinking about your problem. When the alarm goes, you can write down your ideas (and then turn the alarm off, roll over and go back to sleep for 4 hours)

• PLACE LIMITS ON YOURSELF
• Use a limited colour palette, only use solid black shading, don't use any lines, only draw in negative space. Give yourself the hardest challenges you can think of, and then figure out how to solve them.

• COMBINE DISTINCT IDEAS
• What are your two favourite things? Dinosaurs and chocolate? Design some chocolate-themed dinosaurs! Easter eggs that hatch into dinosaurs -- actually, that's pretty good. Don't steal that. I should use that.

• DON'T TIE YOUR SELF-WORTH TO YOUR CREATIVE OUTPUT
• This is one of the hardest ones and is something I'm still learning to do. Listen to feedback, but if you value yourself through how many 'likes' your new painting gets, you'll always be disappointed. Don't worry if someone else is drawing 5 new things a day and it takes you a week to make one painting. Everyone works at different speeds, has different routines and different ways of coping!

• BE POSITIVE AND CONFIDENT
• aka Fake It Til You Make It. Look for the parts of your drawing that WORK. You got the hair perfect! Maybe the legs are a little wonky, but look at that hair! It's GREAT!

• GET ORGANISED
• Use the time when you aren't feeling creative to get your other work done. Sort out your schedule, reply to emails, ship items from your shop, do your taxes, write a blog post... Whatever you need to do, now is the time to do it!

Try all of these, pick and choose your favourite, have a play and don't worry about mistakes! Don't give up, have a cry if you need to, take a break and don't panic. Creative Block sucks, but it is a natural part of being a creative person.  I'll close up this post with a lovely quote I found about creative processes.

One reason that people have artist’s block is that they do not respect the law of dormancy in nature. Trees don’t produce fruit all year long, constantly. They have a point where they go dormant. And when you are in a dormant period creatively, if you can arrange your life to do the technical tasks that don’t take creativity, you are essentially preparing for the spring when it will all blossom again.— Marshall Vandruff

  

Hopefully these little tips will help you out, or give you a starting point if you're struggling with inspiration. Don't worry about making mistakes or not making it 'pretty'. Anything you make is wonderful cos YOU'RE the one who made it! 

Kit ♡