I have not painted for several weeks resulting in being restless, worried, and out of sorts. I need some creative excitement like painting. But I kept finding something to do other than painting. Realizing I had painter's block, I took the following steps for preparing to paint again.
1) Checked my photos for my favorites of this year like the sky with clouds before the storm.
2) Took a few minutes to organize and make space to paint in my studio.
3) Borrowed “From Generation to Generation” an acrylic and oil painting from Barbara Levine who has similar interests as mine but has an entirely distinctive style of her own. In the past we borrowed each other's paintings before exhibiting together. Last time we got together we both didn't know what we would do with our new art work. Like Barbara I have reproduced my grandchildren's art in my paintings, I have not done one with the sense that my creative journey is passing as my heirs are about to blossom and take flight.
4) Checked where I was running low on supplies and ordered some on line. Took advantage of Michaiel's Black Friday 70% off all canvases and purchased a 4 foot by 6 foot canvas and three 3 foot by 2 foot ones.
I hope soon I will be in the swing of painting something meaningful to me. Whammy! OH Oh! I am putting a terribly difficult demand on myself. I don't need to make every painting meaningful. That pressure is part of why I have painter's block.
So a couple of days later I had a whole day free to do the underpainting. I loved mixing the colors and how drum tight the canvases are.
3 comments:
I have been wanting to take a watercolor course. I am not an artist, but it keeps calling to me.
Good ideas for any block. I knew that the beta blocker I started in early September had the possibility of damping down creativity. I had to get off it for other reasons and it's a slow process of taking less and less, but I sure see the difference already.
Tabor, there are online classes and watercolor groups. Search around and find one that suits you. Some beginners I know do best in a class where they have a set time and place to work without distractions.
Rain, good to hear you have found yet another cause of creative blocks and can do something to get back in the flow.
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