Art block: we’ve all heard of it, we all dread it, and we’ve all probably had it at some point. For any creative person, there comes a time when ideas run dry or your motivation to work slips away. And because to do art, you need to have lots of ideas and motivation to work, art block is an all too common dilemma. For some people, art block can appear as just a bump in the road or a red stoplight that will turn green eventually, but for others, it’s a whole different beast. The people who fall into the former category really only suffer from a lack of ideas, but still maintain their motivation to create art. Of course this is frustrating, but life provides us all we need to be creative, and it’s really just a matter of finding it and deciding what we do with it. Having a lack of motivation, though, can be tougher to handle. For me, my motivation is sparked by my creativity, so when that well runs dry, it takes my will to create art along with it. Although artblock manifests itself differently in everyone, over time, I have come up with some tips to try to overcome it.

Keep a collection of things that inspire you.

When I’m just going about life, doing my own thing, I often feel inspired by even the most random of things. A specific tree, an obscure 19th century poet, or an artist that I’ll find on Instagram as I’m scrolling through my explore page. When I feel these random sparks of inspiration, I’ll take a photo of whatever it is that brought on that feeling and store it in a folder on my phone. Later, when I’m feeling uninspired and unmotivated, I can open this folder and scroll through all the pictures and notes I’ve written to try to seek out the feeling that they invoked in me upon initial discovery. I highly recommend this, simply because it works. Most of the times when I’ve suffered from an art block, this folder sparked creativity in me once again and I was good to go. Start documenting what inspires you, even if what you put down seems insignificant. It helps me with my art block, and I hope it can help you too.

Draw for 20 minutes a day. 

This sounds so simple to do, yet it’s extremely effective. Take 20 minutes out of your day to sit down with a sketchbook and just draw. You don’t have to like what you draw– in fact, most  drawings I do during my daily sketching sessions are going with me to the grave– but just the act of drawing and having a familiar ritual can help get your creative juices flowing again. It’s hard to draw when you feel unmotivated, but it really helps so much, and you also ensure continued maintenance of your technical drawing skills which often suffer if one doesn’t draw for long periods of time. Including some form of art in your daily routine does wonders for both your creativity and your skill, so definitely try to incorporate it somehow!

Remind yourself that it’s okay to create art you’re not satisfied with.

There have been many times here I wouldn’t do any form of art for weeks on end and finally draw something and then have it turn out horrible, which would make me stop doing art again. This is a vicious cycle to be caught in, especially since we often don’t create our best work when stuck in an art block. This is why I find it of paramount importance to be okay with bad art. Art isn’t always going to turn out how you want it to, so instead of using that to slip back into your art block, turn it into motivation to do better. 

Art block is truly a monster that’s really hard to deal with, but I hope my tips help you if it’s something you’re struggling with. As humans, it’s okay to not always be as motivated and creative as usual, but there’s plenty of ways to try when you’re feeling a bit out of it. Like I said before, life provides us all we need to be creative, and it’s really just a matter of finding it and deciding what we do with it. I wish you well on your artistic journey and hope you feel inspired to create art after reading this!