ART BLOCK

How to Overcome Art Block

All artists have had that moment of frustration we call art block. It's probably more annoying than ruined paint brushes (learn how to take care of your paint brushes here!), and we've all come across it at least a few-hundred times in out life, right? Here are some tips to push through art block!

1. Find inspiration. Whether you decided to take a trip to your local museum, or simply look some art up online, inspiration is every where! You'll never know what you'll find.
2. Change up your mediums. If you're a pencil and paper, go to pen and ink. If you prefer watercolor, try oil pastels! You're not entitled to stick with the same boring medium every day, and seeing the same materials can actually aid to your art block. So change it up!
3. Sign up for classes. Signing up for classes with an instructor may sound boring and constricting, but if you're being taught what to draw, it can open knew ideas you can write down or sketch out. 
4. Scribble, make shapes, get frustrated! Anger and frustration are emotions, and can inspire you in the strangest ways. Show your frustration on the canvas, splash paint onto the canvas, smear colors everywhere. You can't go wrong with a little bit of abstract. You may just find inspiration within it.
5. Listen to Music. Music helps simulate the brain, and creative flow may come easier to you. Illustrate a song or even part of the lyrics. 
6. Don't think about whether it'll sell. This leads to stress, and that's not something you want! Draw from your inspirations. 
7. Find a photo album. Maybe one on your phone, or a family collection, find pictures and draw the picture. Recreate it. Make the subjects wear funny hats, change the colors, etc. 

Also remember that an art block isn't that you stop progressing. You get better with every drawing or painting you create. When you have an art block, you feel as if you are no longer progressing or that everything you create isn't good enough. It's not your style that has been changed, or that you're not a good artist anymore, but your perception of art has changed quickly in a short amount of time. This shows that you are more critical of yourself, and that you're becoming a better artist. You're identifying your mistakes, you're growing as an artist. The most important thing to do is find a source of inspiration and use it for a reference.

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