Overcoming Artists Block (Part 1) -

Home
>
Creativity
>
Overcoming Artists Block (Part 1)

Overcoming Artists Block (Part 1)

How many times does an artist stare down at that blank piece of paper thinking "What on earth do I paint - Where do I put my first mark?" More often than you would imagine! It happens to all creative people actually, from visual artists, designers, poets, through to musicians and writers.

When this situation arises, you are in the grip of creative block. When you wrack your brains to come up with ideas but just can't seem to. There may be contributing factors to this state, such as tiredness, depression, environmental, physiological or psychological issues. On the other hand you could just be experiencing a period of simple low creativity.

When this happens there are a few things you can do to restore your creativity levels at will, however what you must not do is worry or fret about it. If the worst comes to the worse and you don't seem to be able to produce any work, simply regard the period as a 'holiday' or a rest. Your creativity level WILL rise again. In the meantime, utilise the time spent not creating to do positive things anyway.

Research other artists' work. Visit galleries or surf the net and see what other people are doing. Join artists' chat rooms or visit message boards or forums where you can exchange ideas and views with other artists. Just talking to other creative people can give you a real buzz! You might even make some new friends in the process.

Spend the time you are not actually producing art, by increasing your marketing efforts. Send postcards to galleries, research upcoming local art fairs or events where you could possibly take a booth to sell your art. Have some leaflets or brochures printed up all about yourself and your work. Take a couple of days out of your schedule and do a local neighbourhood leaflet drop.

Update your website or online portfolio. You may think it's already perfect but it's not often that things can't be improved or sharpened in some way. Update your artist's statement; put new 'zing' into your descriptions.

If you really can't face doing anything concerning your own artwork, visit the theatre, go to a pop concert, browse local museums. Go to a restaurant or coffee bar with friends and have a (non art related) natter.

Use the time to take a complete break, if this is what works best for you. You will instinctively know when the time is right to 'go back' to your art. When this happens there are lots of techniques you can use to get back into the swing of high creativity. These I explore in my article 'Overcoming Artist's Block (part 2)'.

Gail Miller is a professional artist whose artwork is a visual feast of colour and fun. Her fascination with bold colours and fluid, expressive shapes and line are evident in funky abstracts, sinuous nudes, vibrant still life paintings and lively townscapes. Visit her website at http://www.gailmiller.com

In The News:

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi%3Ff%3D/c/a/2008/10/10/RVTB12V31N.DTL%26type%3Dbookscid=1256570885ei=dlPxSMKMO6Xg6gOPxaSuDgusg=AFQjCNF6xNquUriSLFzePwIy-TTodqldwQ#39;Remix,#39; by Lawrence Lessig/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSan Francisco Chronicle,nbsp; USAnbsp;-/font nobr6 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Channeling geeks everywhere, Lessig labels traditional bcreative/b work quot;Read/Onlyquot; - as in a CD that you can play but can#39;t modify. The bcreativity/b of the b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.kbtx.com/local/headlines/30827919.htmlcid=1256326578ei=dlPxSMKMO6Xg6gOPxaSuDgusg=AFQjCNHSqnHuRRuPWtxqAx4P1MjWu1KVWwStolen Signs Prompt bCreativity/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fKBTX,nbsp;TXnbsp;-/font nobr21 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Local political parties on both sides of the isle are spending time and money to replace stolen signs. Brazos County republicans say they#39;ve had around 15 b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Entertainment/Creativitys_not_a_9_to_5_job/articleshow/3580919.cmscid=1256345869ei=dlPxSMKMO6Xg6gOPxaSuDgusg=AFQjCNHdALGEURKCwhuVgAyuD7d33QQBrQ‘bCreativity/b’s not a 9 to 5 job’/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fTimes of India,nbsp;Indianbsp;-/font nobr20 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1“bCreativity/b is not a 9 to 5 job, it comes from enthusiasm. The day I’m not enthused to create comething novel, I’ll stop working, because then I would have b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://old.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp%3Ffileid%3D20081011.E03%26irec%3D2cid=0ei=dlPxSMKMO6Xg6gOPxaSuDgusg=AFQjCNGlZU_gfK5qPCPPCFGVFkhfRBUcPgGood authors immerse themselves in bcreativity/b, not just skills/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fJakarta Post,nbsp;Indonesianbsp;-/font nobr21 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1In his article, which appeared in this newspaper on Aug. 23, Setiono Sugiharto wrote, quot;Writing competence can only be acquired via reading. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/bertolivier/2008/10/10/what-is-creativity/cid=0ei=dlPxSMKMO6Xg6gOPxaSuDgusg=AFQjCNGXqkQN7O9Ted8XI1X8qvo-k2jBywWhat is bcreativity/b?/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fThought Leader,nbsp;South Africanbsp;-/font nobr8 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1On more than one occasion, recently, the subject of bcreativity/b has crept into discussions I have had with architecture students, and every time I was struck b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx%3Fe%3D1244329cid=0ei=dlPxSMKMO6Xg6gOPxaSuDgusg=AFQjCNGWxj801NJ-CN5Dsdi1wvR_oYmUPwbCreativity/b is economic engine for cities/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSudbury Star,nbsp;Canadanbsp;-/font nobr15 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1quot;Canada#39;s bcreative/b economy is in transition. The face of Canada is quite literally changing-- we are getting older and much more diverse. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.telegram.com/article/20081010/NEWS/810100632/1008/NEWS02cid=1256071735ei=dlPxSMKMO6Xg6gOPxaSuDgusg=AFQjCNEsimGweG2JOdcnspH-p5DpYa9JYQSchools awarded bcreativity/b grants/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fWorcester Telegram,nbsp;MAnbsp;-/font nobrOct 10, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The Massachusetts Cultural Council recently approved two-year grants to four area school districts as part of the council’s bCreative/b Schools grants. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.mynews.in/fullstory.aspx%3Fstoryid%3D11289cid=1256565353ei=dlPxSMKMO6Xg6gOPxaSuDgusg=AFQjCNH2U9rf7HtM7-cWwdnXB2IrgEDsfQUnfit to XL: Limited funds, lack of bcreativity/b and foreign brand b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMyNews.in,nbsp;Indianbsp;-/font nobr6 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Adman Prahlad Kakkar believes that the limited presence of Indian designers in the international market is more about dwindling bcreativity/b than anything b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp%3FaId%3D77130cid=0ei=dlPxSMKMO6Xg6gOPxaSuDgusg=AFQjCNHAr0hqSgm0uBZqQPYzdeUD7sGxugChinese bcreativity/b blended with European tradition/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fWebWire (press release),nbsp;GAnbsp;-/font nobr5 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1quot;My cooking is a melting pot of different culturesquot; says Susur Lee, a Chinese master of fusion cooking, explaining his culinary skills. Born in Hong Kong, b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.gazette.com/entertainment/ember_41689___article.html/city_lina.htmlcid=1255643534ei=dlPxSMKMO6Xg6gOPxaSuDgusg=AFQjCNGoV0M9gSBGBM9zCl_SXq8wr0fCsQREVIEW: bCreativity/b, wonder shine in ‘Ember’/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fColorado Springs Gazette,nbsp;COnbsp;-/font nobrOct 9, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1quot;City of Emberquot; is an obsessively bcreative/b and wondrous film, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that Hollywood need not dumb down its fare to appeal to b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

creativity - Google News