If you are a fellow artist it might occur that you had this feeling that we call “Art Block”. Art Block is usually defined as a lack of ideas, a bad art day, a lack of motivation and an overall feeling of what you are drawing is not good enough. The main question is, is art block real or is it just a myth?
I would like to say that is a myth, art itself is very spontaneous and unless you have a hard grip on what are your plans to create for the day then there isn’t something such as a ‘lack of ideas’ when it comes to art. Inspiration isn’t something that just comes around, most of the time we need to get out of our way and observe, sketch, and look for references or other artists’ works to get a grip or sense of what is that we are trying to do for a day.
Sometimes we are feeling a bit overwhelmed with things that are happening in our life so we cannot focus on what are we doing, in this case, art. That isn’t an art block it’s just that our mind is drifting to somewhere else and we keep getting distracted, sometimes all it takes is to recollect our thoughts because it isn’t lack of inspiration that does it to us, it’s our own thoughts.
Big ‘excuses’ for calling something an art block are giving up on a piece you started and listening to the negative things about your art in your head. Sure, not every day we can draw well, sometimes we lack the skill or understanding of how to replicate or draw what we want and sometimes we just aren’t as focused but that isn’t an art block. Creating both, good and bad art is a process of learning and improving. We have to block out the bad thoughts about our art and understand that making mistakes isn’t bad and that it shouldn’t kill our self-esteem and then force us into an unproductive cycle where we don’t create art and do not improve at all.
One thing that we should also realize is that sometimes our eyes get adjusted faster than our skills do. Sometimes we will be always unsatisfied with our art because we noticed much more things we weren’t able before. It is irritating, I know, but that’s the worst time to stop creating, that is the most crucial time to start drawing, painting, creating even more, and improving to adjust your skills to your eyes. Believe me, it’s worth it. You shouldn’t worry about how this does not look right, and u drew that too big, this color isn’t right, and many other situations where we criticize ourselves for not being able to catch up.
Art is a process of learning and those little mistakes you are seeing are a good thing, they shouldn’t bring you down at all because it’s a step forward and it means both you and your art will be improving. Most you can do is focus on improving all crucial points like anatomy, knowledge of colors, perspective, and all other steps we all find boring or painfully hard to practice.
Practicing things you didn’t before might cure the problem, even if it might seem boring, trying new things and learning how to draw different textures, materials, or parts of the body can become a huge stress relief that art has been causing you and the process can be extremely fun. For example, let’s say you never drew flowers, just drawing something of a different shape and texture can help your brain to refresh and to interest you in further creating so that you can get back on track.
Another thing that causes so-called ‘art block’ is comparing yourself to other artists. Most of those artists are having more experience and are probably drawing for a longer time. We are all improving but differently in our own time, some people bloom faster and then burn more easily, while others are slower. However, there are some ways to improve your art faster and you can see how on my How To Get Better at Drawing. Comparing will get you nowhere, it’s again negative thoughts that are making you question your worth and the worth of your art, doing something you love just for love is enough. It’s important to understand that time is needed for us to grow and learn literally anything in life and the same applies to art. You cannot become an expert overnight, it takes years and you can take it as easy as you want. Let it be enjoyable and not something that you should force yourself to do.
If you are questioning your progress and inspiration because you are feeling you have an art block, a good booster is always looking at your past drawings and seeing how much progress you made and how far you have come. Pinterest is also a great place to replenish your inspiration, especially for art!
Our brains aren’t really blocked, there cannot be nothing in it since ideas are always flowing so something else must be the problem, right? I have noticed that lots of people have been feeling guilty whenever they have so-called ‘art block’ and then they talk like it is a normal thing to have it because it’s part of creating. There isn’t anything to feel guilty about it unless we are using it as an excuse to procrastinate, which I feel is an excuse most of the time.
To successfully fight off the art block you must understand where is coming from, which part of your brain is trying to deceive you, and if you are just tired and need a little break to heal and rest from the other things and perhaps to rest from creating art in general. I feel like people treat burnout as an art block as well and then they don’t get the rest from it they need. Sometimes is good to take a few days away from it and then again think about how you feel, the problem can be sometimes deep within. If art is not bringing you joy at the moment, you shouldn’t force your way through it. Rest is needed.
Just remember when your rest is over, creating a schedule and going back to art slowly is a good way to start again.
( unless you are an art student, we already procrastinated enough with our assignments.)
Anyway, these are just my thoughts on this matter since it’s a dilemma among artists if art block actually exists.
