I was playing with my 5 year old son, Joaquin a few weekends ago. We were painting easter eggs together. I had a thought pop up because I wasn’t sure what to paint on the egg. It occurred to me to ask his opinion on creativity and art. “Joaquin, is making art hard?” to which he quickly replied without skipping a beat, “no, dad art is easy!”. Such a simple and direct response from an expert. FYI young children are expert artists, because they have limited grasp on language they use creativity to help them communicate what they are feeling. Which is the basis for all art, its experiential. He is right though. Making art is easy, but what makes it hard is when we think about making it. Have you ever tried to start a piece of art by trying to think about what to make? It’s maddening isn’t it? You just had a great idea on your commute home or in the shower and now it’s gone or at least the feeling behind it is. Whatever led you to that idea has scurried off into the darkness of your mind, seemingly gone forever. So why do we experience these creative dry spells? Why is it almost impossible at times to come up with an idea that gets our blood rushing and brushes ready?
FYI young children are expert artists, because they have limited grasp on language they use creativity to help them communicate what they are feeling.
I’ve been painting for almost 12 years now. Not a whole lot of time when you compare it to many artists. When I first started creating, I was a kid. I drew from comics simply because it excited me to see my favorite heroes come to life, birthed from my own pencil on paper. It was invigorating. As an adult that process was similar once I began painting. It's always like that when we have a passion. At the beginning it’s all about playing and trying things. We don’t have many goals or aspirations beyond just creating our favorite things. Somewhere along the line we lose that energy and it becomes replaced with thought. Thoughts that lead us to feelings of anxiety and fear. I don’t know exactly when that happened to me but I know when I realized it did. The first sign was when I lost my passion for running the art gallery and art classes. The love for it fled and what was left turned my creative passion and business into a ball and chain. Ideas came to me less and my energy to try and conjure them left me feeling exhausted and hopeless. I shut down my gallery and my own art business soon after. The time I spent between then and just recently allowed me the time and space to explore myself and my creativity (or the reasons I choose to create).
I shut down my gallery and my own art business soon after. The time I spent between then and just recently allowed me the time and space to explore myself and my creativity (or the reasons I choose to create).
Here is what I learned during that time to avoid creative ruts:
Get in touch with your emotions - All great art is inspired by emotions. The better you get at recognizing them the better you will be able to communicate them visually.
Spend time in curiosity - Creating art is not transactional. You can’t aim to create something unless you’re inspired. Dive into your interests, especially the ones you had when you were 16. That’s an excellent place to begin.
Trust your taste - You can’t make art you love unless it’s made through the eyes of your own taste. We all have preferences cultivated over years of developing our own sense of likes and dislikes. Get to know yours and how you apply it to your art.
Take breaks - Creativity comes easiest when you are open to receiving it. A sore back, a headache, or even frustration can quickly block creativity. Take breaks by walking away or call it a day when you’re clearly working on fumes. Replace it with self-care.
Spend time with other artists - Community always allows ideas to cross pollinate and evolve. Many master painters (like post-impressionists) spent their spare time with each other. Discussing art theory and important topics of their era. This is how you learn about the art world and where you fit in it.
I spend a lot of time doing all these things intentionally. There are many more things you have to do in order to keep your well of creativity full but these, for me at least, have become necessary in order to stay happy with how, why, and what I create.