Losing Your Creative Motivation

Imagine waking up one morning and having no desire to create art. The horror! Blasphemy....I know. But it happened to me last year. I didn't want to take commissions at first. Later, that spilled over into me not wanting to create art at all, not even for myself. I felt like I needed to create because that is what I do. I'm an artist. I've been an artist since I could remember. But, for some reason, at this point in my life, I didn't want to paint, draw, anything. This went on for several months. I finally started missing the satisfaction of finishing a painting but I still had no motivation to actually create anything. So what is an artist to do when they are feeling cerulean blue?

Here are my tips for finding your creative motivation:

Watch Other Artist Create Art

When I wanted to get out of my art depressive state, I forced myself to watch my favorite artists on YouTube everyday. I watched them work on commissions, prep for art shows and vendor events, or simply draw in their sketchbooks. Everything that I used to. Eventually, I started missing doing all those things. It reminded me how much fun I used to have creating art and running my business. I essentially made myself jealous of other artist who were living their best art lives and it made me want to live mine.

Participate in Monthly Art Prompts

I have never been the artist who was consistent with keeping a sketchbook on a regular basis. I never know what to draw. To help me get back into the swing of creating again, I bought a new, smaller sketchbook. My previous sketchbook was about 11x14. By purchasing a smaller size sketchbook, I as hoping this would be less intimidating. To jump-start my new sketchbook routine, I decided to participate in Inktober. Currently I look for monthly art prompt list on Pinterest to continue this routine. That way, I constantly have ideas of things to draw. A lot of times, these prompts will be lead me to draw other things not necessarily on the list. I also will look up what's trending on Google Trends and draw "inspo" from that. Remember when keeping a sketchbook don't be so concerned about how your art looks. I have some pretty ugly drawings in my sketchbook. I constantly have to remind myself that my sketchbook is for experimenting and practicing technique. Who cares if it sucks! No one has to see it if you don't want them to. 

Take Pictures of Beautiful Things in Nature

Beauty is everywhere around you. You just have to take the time to appreciate it. When you are constantly reflecting on the negative things in life, it's harder to see all the positive things that life has to offer - gorgeous clouds, vibrant green trees, beautiful ripples of flowing water. Taking the time to acknowledge the beauty in the world around me helped me to have a more positive attitude about life in general. As an added bonus all the pictures I took gave me a good start to a nice reference photo library.

Clean Your Studio!

I don't know about you, but I don't even want to enter my studio when it's a hot mess. Not entering my studio = not creating art. 

Color With Little Kids

This was easy for me since I have 2 little kids at my beck and call.  Both of my little boys enjoy drawing and coloring. They are both very creative. Their wild imaginations inspire me to not think so hard about stuff and just let loose. Plus, coloring is so very relaxing and spending time with the ones you love is great for your emotional health .

Read Art Books

Find technique books at your local library. Or run into Barnes and Noble and  peruse their coffee table books. OMG! I found this Banksy book in Barnes and Noble one day. After reading it and admiring the photos I could not wait to get home and draw!

Focus on Your Own Creative Satisfaction

It's ok to stop taking commissions, if you can afford to do so. Take a break for a little while and concentrate on art that makes you happy. Focus on art that you really want to do that maybe you did not have the chance to create due to being busy finishing commissions. Once you get your motivation back, you'll be ready to start taking commissions again. I actually started missing working with clients once I gave myself the opportunity to create what I wanted to create. 

Imagine waking up one morning and you can't wait to create something inspired by a dream you had. Well, I'm not there yet, but, at least I'm excited about art again. I'm flooded with ideas. Instead of trying to find the motivation to execute those ideas, I'm trying to find the time. That's a whole other blog post!