AbigailsArtwork

Hi Everyone!

Whether you’re here for the first time after looking for help on a quick ‘Google’ search or if you’re a follower of mine, I think we can all agree that at times we hit a hard brick wall when it comes to motivation and inspiration and it seems impossible to get over, under or around it. Well, hopefully, these are some tools you can use to break through it instead.

I don’t want to ramble on for too long and so I’m going to get right into the bullet points of what tools I’ve used that have helped me with artwork.

• Spend a short time looking at your history.
  • What did you do as a child that sparked your interest in art, cooking, writing etc.?
  • Ask yourself what memories do you have that you enjoy and see if there’s a pattern that emerges.
  • What were your favourite movies, music and games? And, why did you like them?
  • Did you have any favourite stories? What did you imagine the characters in that story to dress like? If those same characters were a painting, what style would that painting be and why?

• Visit an outdoor space. This one may seem more difficult if you’re struggling for motivation however, it’s always a winner for inspiration.
  • If you cannot get outside right here and now, think about where you used to travel and why you enjoyed those places. Was it in your hometown? Was it on holiday abroad?
  • Are there any buildings there, if yes what is the architecture like? If not, what style of building would suit that area, or would a building ruin the space?
  • Are there flora and fauna in the space? How many different types of greenery can you see?
  • Are there any people, or is it quiet?
  • What’s the smallest thing you can see around you? What’s the biggest? Take in all of these sights, smells and sounds and you’ll find that sooner or later you will find a spark of imagination.
• Old Work and Samples.
  • If you have any samples of work or old sketchbooks, paintings and trail & error work… gather them all up. Look at them each with a constructive eye, what works well? What draws you in? What bits don’t you love as much? If you once thought that this piece didn’t work, how would you go about trying to salvage it if you could? Compare them to each other and ask yourself, if you could start from scratch, how would you go about doing it differently?

• Speed Run.
  • This was a trick taught to me at college as a warm-up in fine art. Gather together a few small objects, it doesn’t really matter what they are… fruit in a bowl, teddy bears, vase of flowers, food. Grab some paper and a pencil or graphite on a flat surface with a view of you items. Don’t get too comfy, you have 1 minute to sketch what your item(s). GO.
  • Look how basic shapes make up the bulk of your items for example if you have a pear you could start by sketching a loose circle with a triangle hat and then using that as your base for your outline and very rough shading or detail. Don’t worry about getting lots of intricacies on the paper, this task is about getting you stuck in and jump starting that motivation. If you’d like you can try doing this with different time scales, 20 seconds, 1 minute, 10 minutes and 30 minutes, and compare them. If you like this task, you can try it each time with different household items so it doesn’t become monotonous.
• Talk it out.
  • If you have friends or family you can speak to about a project you’re stuck on, talk it out with them and get their take or impression of what you’ve done so far. Sometimes, collaboration work really helps – artistic and creative people tend to motivate each other well especially if one person is already in a great mindset it spurs the other on.
• Take a break but don’t procrastinate.
  • Sometimes a lack of inspiration comes from being too invested in having to get something done. This tends to happen a lot with commission work, which is why I have stopped taking commissions for the foreseeable, but obviously not everyone is in a position to stop that. The reality of the art world currently as I see it is most small time artists have to do commissions just to keep the money rolling in, but this is a really tricky balancing act between doing something you love and it becoming a chore (and a lower paying chore at that typically!) It’s frustrating and draining.
  • The best advice I can offer if you are in this situation is to try and remember why you started in the first place. Did you fall in love with painting, drawing, cooking, etc.? Did you accidentally stumble upon it and find that you were good at it?
  • Take a 5 minute break from ‘having to get ‘X’ done in 3 weeks time’ and make some YOU time for yourself.
  • Think about how you can make it more enjoyable than it is. Do you enjoy creating with your favourite music playing or an easy going background film? What about crafting with your favourite drink and snacks to hand?
  • Make your workspace work for you by adding photos of happy times and a touch of greenery. Make it enjoyable again. The more fun you have, the more likely you will want to get stuck in.
  • Just don’t procrastinate for too long, doom scrolling socials isn’t helpful!

Hopefully, these tips will help you with motivation and inspiration too. If you have any to add, leave a comment below.

Until next month,

Abigail ☺️