Renewing Creative Energy

Getting over boredom, repetition and the blank page blues.

For most of us there are times when we open our sketchbook, pick up a pencil and 'draw a blank'. Even the most experienced artist can have phases when their creative energies seem exhausted. Here are some tips to help get over some common mental blocks:

1. Lack of technical skill - the medium or the subject seem just too daunting.
   • First, remember that this is drawing, not adventure sport - what's the worst that can happen?
   • Do a trial run on cheap paper first.
   • Break the task up into small steps
   • Go back to basics - do some simple exercises, like a musician warming up with scales
   • Classes can be a great investment - drawing is a learned skill, and lessons from a good teacher can lead to giant steps forward.
   • Online tutorials are available for beginners and more advanced artists.

2. Lack of inspiration - drawing is in many ways a means of communication, and you need to have something to 'say' about the subject.
   • Think about an issue that you feel strongly about, and have a look at how other artists might have expressed similar ideas.
   • Art doesn't have to be dramatic - many great works focus on details of daily life.
   • If you're new to drawing, try looking for a subject that is meaningful to you - a favourite object, animal or person.
   • Look somewhere different for ideas. Take a nature walk, read the classics, or take a trip to a museum, gallery or zoo.

3. Boredom - Yet another life class/still life...
   • Try an unusual view of the model - from feet or head, with strong foreshortening
   • Do an overhead still life or try a bird's-eye landscape view.
   • If you usually work in a tight, realist style, try some blind contour drawing or take look at contemporary work.
   • If your work is an the abstract side, try going back to traditional approaches.
   • Use a dramatically different medium or an unorthodox method of application

4. Distraction - It's hard to think creatively when your life is crowded with other worries.
   • If you need to, put your art aside a while until things settle down. However, if your art is an important source of income, or of personal expression, you will need to make time and space for it.
   • Get organised. Organisation is also a learned skill. Schedule time for drawing, even if it's only occasional or brief.
   • Keep a small sketchbook handy so you can take advantage of quiet moments.
   • Multi-task. Can you sketch while in a meeting/on a train/breastfeeding/having morning tea/(insert appropriate task)?
   • Do you have a space for your art? Consider setting up a small desk by a window, or create a special storage space with a fold-out table. If you have a studio, has the rest of your life spilled into it - toys, hobby items, office paperwork?

5. Overload - You've taken on one too many commissions, or been in the studio for weeks preparing a folio, and have just had enough.
   • If you need to maintain commitment, try positive 'self-talk' methods to help keep you focussed and on track.
   • Visualise a time when you were excited about making art. Remember how it felt and hold on to that feeling.
   • Look at a previous, successful piece and create a derivative. Use existing sketchbook ideas rather than trying for something original.
   • If you don't need to maintain commitment, then have a break! Even the most dedicated artist doesn't spend their whole life in the studio. Think about something else for a while, and come back refreshed.