Once you are ready to start working again you will know
instinctively. All artists go through periods of “creative blockage”; It’s normal, but after one of those episodes there are ways to stimulate ideas and get the creative juices flowing again.
Visit your local library and check out books that cover materials,
techniques and topics that are unfamiliar to you. If you are a watercolor artist, why not try oil paintings for once? If you paint large acrylic abstracts, would it be possible to try soft pastels on a smaller scale? What results could you achieve by doing something completely different than what you are used to?
How about trying collage or mixed media work? Take photos of
your neighborhood, family or friends. Local attractions,
the countryside, the seashore, the city. Manipulate your photos
on your PC and print it as digital art. Use the images, whether they are natural or manipulated as collage pieces. It is so therapeutic to cut pieces and glue them together. Use a variety of materials to finish your work.
Instead of going straight back to normal scale paintings or drawings, why not create some miniature pieces? How about the greeting cards? White card stock “blanks” are very easy to obtain. How delighted family, friends or clients would be to have a unique hand-painted card.
Try drawing for once instead of painting, if that’s your usual medium, or vice versa. Fill a sketchbook with quick little sketches. You could even time yourself. Maximum three or five minutes for each sketch.
When you’re ready to go back to full size, try loosening your
technique, again setting a time limit for each job
you create. With a deadline to meet, you will speed up and relax. Try not to be precious with your art. Be quick and brave, see what happens.
Paint upside down. Start a new piece, then in the middle, turn the paper or canvas 90 degrees. This is a great technique for summaries. Use new colors, let them flow into each other. Splash the colors onto the wet surface. If you want, you can rotate the job one more time to finish. What a great way to create “happy accidents”.
Paint or draw to music. Use only your emotion to make marks on the surface of your support. Play your favorite rock, pop or classical music, let the melodies and rhythms wash over you and influence the evolution of your artwork. I often paint for Brian Wilson’s ‘Smile’ … and boy did I get inspired!
What about painting with your left hand if you are right-handed and vice versa? Trying to do representational work on your weaker side will produce art that will remain yours, but will have an entirely different advantage. Challenging and a lot of fun to do … if you have the discipline!
Finally, once you are back to normal, remind yourself of all the artworks that you have successfully created. How appreciated you are by your customers. Read their testimonials. Feel that glow again when you realize that your creativity block was only temporary and there are fans waiting for you to throw a wonderful new piece of art into the sand.