Defeat Artist's Block for Good

I’m a firm believer that “artist’s block” is just another way of saying “lack of preparation.” To some, this may sound crazy. However, the longer I’ve been painting, the more I’ve found this to be true.

So how would you define artist’s block? Well, I looked up it’s cousin, “writer’s block” in the dictionary, and here’s what it said:

Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown.

By that definition, artist’s block is a condition in which an artist is unable to produce new work or struggles to create. You could have artist’s block and still be making things regularly. The process just wouldn’t feel easy, and you probably wouldn’t be enjoying yourself.

Here’s why I say this condition comes from a lack of preparation. When I used to struggle with artist’s block, it was a result of me sitting down and staring at a blank piece of paper. I was too overwhelmed to make anything, and when I did make something, I would often throw it away.

These days, I rarely struggle with artist’s block. This is because I never start a painting by staring at a blank piece of paper. I don’t torture myself like that anymore. I know better. Instead, I go through a long process to prepare myself for a piece. Even if I’m going to practice painting in my sketchbook, I still follow this process.

The first step I take before making any piece is to think about what to paint. The time to do this is not when you’re about to paint. It should be days, weeks, or months before. I’ve been keeping a running list of “things to paint” for years. I also regularly take photos on my iphone of things to paint. If you don’t already do this, start a “things to paint” list today, and write down five things that inspire you. They should sound like they’d be fun to paint. Try to add to the list as often as you can. Keep it on your desktop. If you’re having trouble making a list, you probably need to travel or do something outside your comfort zone to get ideas. One of my favorite exercises is to pick out a photo of a beautiful room I like - whether it be a kitchen, restaurant, dining room, you get the idea. Then, I think of what I could paint that would look great on the wall of that room. It’s my way of reverse engineering the creative process, and it works every time.

Once I have a vague idea of what I want to paint, I search for inspirational images. Say I want to paint sunflowers. I might create a printed mood board of sunflowers. Sometimes, I’ll just scroll through images on Pinterest until I’m pretty confident I know what a sunflower looks like. This step is crucial. Don’t ever assume you know what something looks like, no matter how good you are. I believe this where bad art is born. Rarely do things actually look how I think they do in my head. The cool thing about this step is that you’re learning forms. If you ever do need to paint that thing again, you’ll spend less time in this phase because you’ll already have an idea of what that thing looks like.

Once I know what to paint, and how it should look, I sketch. At the very least, I lightly sketch on the surface I’ll be painting on. If it’s a more important project, I’ll do some roughs in my sketchbook before tackling the final piece. Every once in a while, I’ll do a test run on my iPad so I can experiment with colors and textures. The better the sketch, the quicker the painting will move along.

That leads me to step four - choosing a color palette. I keep little swatches of all the colors I use in my desk drawer. Before beginning a piece, I’ll play around with the swatches until I’ve found the perfect color palette for the piece.

And the final step is to set up my workspace just how I like it. I get my brushes out, a paper towel, and a clean palette. I refill my water cup. Often I’ll pour myself a tasty drink. I’ll turn on music, and get the lighting in the room just right. I really take my time here. The more time I spend on this step, the easier it is to sit down and paint. This may sound like a procrastination tactic, and it it is. It’s a necessary one.

You can see how, by the time I sit down to paint, there’s no way I could be questioning what I’m going to make. By this point, I’m more than ready to begin! I’ve usually built up quite a bit of excitement to paint by now. Because I’m prepared, I get to enjoy the process, and not stress over the ideas. The time to beat artist’s block is away from your desk. That way, it doesn’t seep into your glorious creation process.

I know it may sound like I never actually get to painting because of all these steps, but it’s the opposite. I promise you, I paint more now. I’ve come to find such enjoyment in every one of the steps leading up to a piece. By being prepared and planning for a piece, I create much better work too. That’s the mistake most amateurs make. They think they should be good enough to not need a plan. The professionals know their work is good enough to justify careful planning.

One other thing I will say is that you have to be careful as to what part of the process you let people see. If you feel artist’s block creeping in, it might be time to cut ties with social media for a bit. There is such a thing as stage fright when making art. My favorite time to share a piece is in the very early stages or after the fact. Sometimes I’ll even take a process photo mid-way though a piece to post later. Never let the idea of other people watching alter how you approach your work.