When the Artist Cannot create, What then?

Oh! The artist block! This is an event that when it strikes, its like not being to tell someone how you feel. It’s like no longer being able to speak and have nothing to say. As an artist that brings in money to pay bills by painting, this is an unwelcome event. I believe most of us, as artist or musicians, have faced it and frustration can be expressed in this time. People, on the outside of this knowledge of how it feels, can sometimes be in the way of the release as to why we can’t create. Creating is not simply putting a pen to paper to write a lyric or a paint brush to canvas. This is hard to understand by those around us. How do we, when we are already blocked with the emotion of us, that we having a hard to express the frustration without sounding like we are just making excuses?

One of my worst blocks was beginning of this year. Literally nothing would come out the end of my paint brush for 2 months. I would sit at my shop and letter to keep my mind from the frustration of it all. I would actually shake when I attempted to paint…then nothing. I felt like I was suffocating. I would get mad at myself and it affected everything in life. I knew I had pieces in my mind I wanted to create, but my block for me was fragmenting them…from me. It’s a mind trick that we ourselves don’t even understand. We all have different ways to get out of this block. Getting outside of the norm, looking at others art, taking a break, getting away, etc. But for me I had to face it. I had to try something every day. In the 2 months, I made quotes on canvas. I stated in my last blog how I love lettering so I went to work doing these quotes. My shop was full of my past work and I could distract my mind a bit. Quotes are fun and you almost can find your way through. At least I found my way through with the emotion of the ones I picked. I am a big ole’ nerd so I did many from Star Wars, Princess bride, Walking Dead, Dr. Who, and any movie I have always loved. Music lyrics always are my favorite too as I live with music in my ears. Johnny Cash quotes seemed to always be a preferred go to! Check out what I mean in my quotes!

I created so many of these and the sales took off with the quotes on canvas! I found that I was still blocked but feeling more positive it would come. Would get special orders from customer walking around the mall even. I had pre-painted canvas that they could get a color and get the quote they love in about 20 minutes! But this wasn’t enough to quiet the creative beast that was hiding in me. So finally the relief came one night at Artegon as I was numbed out from not talking to anyone due to lack of traffic.

I always keep blank canvas on hand at the shop due to my need to create as I see it. In my style of painting, I do not trace out the imagine on canvas. It’s not a process where I will work on what I will do but what I know I see and get it down with my black lines I hold so dear to me. Something about a fat black line that completely knows how to make it happen. I do most of my painting by a feeling and instinct. In essence, I know in my mind how it will be but it changes and grows naturally. That is how I love to work. A surprise to me also. So this one particular night I grabbed a 12×36 canvas that was ready to go. Usually in my process I work the lines out first. Creating where to paint. But I decided to challenge my mind. I laid the color down first and let it dry. I didn’t want to overthink it. So with all the colors wet I laid more colors till my instinct said stop. We all know how acrylic paint dries fairly fast so I grabbed some dinner and somewhat patiently waited. The moment it was hinting it was ready I was on it. I was so ready! What I decided to do was approach this piece slightly different. I had been looking at graffiti artists who paint the shadows of an image to make the image. So that was my intention. I started with the Om. The lines I normally would paint in as I drew became the negative space and I used my Sharpie Oil pen to fill in the background with the black. BTW if you want to get a Oil-Based Sharpie and you can’t wait go to Michaels The first piece that exploded out of me is named “duality”. As I worked on it, it started coming out of me without thought. I was not aware of the designs coming out. I was instinctively creating a piece that I hold dear to me. I have traveled to spiritual areas of this earth and this was what was coming out of me like water flows from a faucet. I felt excited and exhilarated at the prospect that something new was coming out! I finished this piece including the drying by the close of the day. I would say 4 ish hours. I was on fire. It is a feeling I wish I could express in words to do it justice! So here it is…

I would love to hear your methods of getting out the artist block! Please share what you do because different things work for different people! Also, I want to invite everyone to Periscope and let’s create some art together! search for me on Periscope @thepowerofyou ! Download the App!

So here is the Sharpie Oil-based pen I love and adore. All my art I use Sharpie Oil-Based