Artist Block- how to overcome art block

How to Overcome Art Block

How I was holding myself back and how I stopped

Hello fellow creatives!

Artist block is all too common

We all know what art block feels like- you want to make art, but you don’t know what to make, how to make it, and are overthinking everything. We’ve all been there.

I recently experienced artist block. I’m in my last semester of art school and with that comes my Senior Show Exhibition. While that is exciting it also brings a lot of pressure- both from myself and others. After making one painting, I felt pretty good about the direction my work was headed. Then I moved onto the next one and nothing was working- I dreaded going to the studio and just didn’t feel excited about the work. I felt stuck and didn’t know where to go or how I was going to make this work into a show.

I stepped away from the canvas for a moment and looked inward. I was focusing on wondering why I wasn’t excited versus focusing on the fact that I wasn’t. I felt like I needed to get to the bottom of my feelings instead of just acknowledging them. I realized it doesn’t matter why I’m not excited- I’m just not. And if I’m not that means I should switch gears.

switching gears

So I found a reference photo that interested me and just painted. I didn’t think about how this image related to my other work, I simply painted.

I realized the solution to art block was to stop thinking and just make. I recently read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron and she has a wonderful quote about how making art is an artist’s responsibility. She explained how she had a responsibility to show up and create on the page saying “Good? Bad? None of my business”.

I was so focused on reflecting on my work and thinking about the bigger picture that I wasn’t fulfilling my responsibility as an artist which is to create. I focused on being more mindful throughout my process and noticing when I was judging what I was making or overthinking instead of making. While that is a good solution I needed to create a long-term plan.

Artist Block: My Long-Term Plan for Overcoming It

So I made a habit of mindfulness. I started doing yoga regularly in both morning and night and got an app called Lotus Bud which sends notifications throughout the day for you to check in with your body and breath. Using these new tools I’m working on incorporating mindfulness as a long-term practice for me and my creativity, training my brain to be more mindful about thinking about the work versus making the work.

In a nutshell the solution to artist block is to stop overthinking. If you draw five lines on a page you’ve created something. You don’t need to make some big masterpiece, or a large narrative series to be a legitimate artist or to feel worthy as a creative. All you need to feel worthy as a creative is the freedom to create. Allow yourself to make.

Thank you for reading,

audrey

If you liked this article and want more advice on what’s blocking your creativity check out my post about Creative Burnout!

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