The past few months, I have had a bit of a hard time getting back into the swing of things with my business. I was still working on commissions but showing up for social media and working on my own drawings seemed to just feel like a chore. Which was tough for me considering art and creating is part of who I am and the thing that brings me so much fulfillment and joy.
I know from chatting with other creatives that this is common and it happens to us all. So I wanted to write a quick blog post and share some tips that helped me to get past creative block. I hope they help you too!
1. Browse reference photo sites and see if you can find photos you feel 'drawn to" or that inspire you. For me, working on commissions for a long period of time can be a lot of pressure and (as much as I love them!) it can quite easily lead to a creative burn out. I finished my last commission just before Christmas and honestly, I didn't want to see another coloured pencil for at least a couple of weeks haha! Searching reference photos and finding some that made me feel like I wanted to get up right away and start drawing, really helped me get past that!
2. Spend time writing down goals around your art and focus on WHY; why you are working towards those goals, why you started in the first place. When you focus on the reasons behind that desire to sit down and draw or get back into a flow, it can help re-ignite that motivation enough for you to just start.
3. Tell yourself you will sit down for just 15 minutes and if you still feel like you just cannot get in the flow, then you can leave it alone and come back to it at another time. What generally tends to happen is within those 15 minutes, I start to get into a flow and once that 15 mins is up, I want to keep drawing. I read an amazing book called The Compound effect and my biggest take away from it was this:
It is always hardest when you are just getting started, imagine it like trying to push a broken down car. It may take all your effort to even get it to move, however, once it starts moving and picks up a little bit of momentum, it is much harder to stop. It is the same for you. Getting started may take all your energy and there may be a lot of resistance but once you start and get a little bit of momentum, that resistance starts to reduce.
( I highly recommend this book by the way!)
4. Do something creative that isn't necessarily something you "need" to work on. For example, paint by numbers, coloring books, cooking, knitting, anything! That way, you are still being creative but you are easing yourself back into it which takes a lot of that pressure away.
5. Don't beat yourself up about it, otherwise, small tasks like drawing up an outline for a piece, or even deciding what to draw can feel like a huge task and impossible to even begin.
7. Take care of your mental wellbeing. If you are in a relaxed state of mind, it isn't going to feel as daunting sitting down to create as it would if you are stressed or overwhelmed.
I hope these tips are helpful, these are just some of the ways I approach things. Give them a try and I would love to know which, if any are beneficial to you!
Rachel x