What to Do When Creativity Won't Flow

I was talking to an artist friend of mine yesterday, and she was telling me she felt a bit down.  She was struggling to process the ideas she had in her mind successfully onto paper.  It's not something that she normally finds difficult, she's a very accomplished and successful illustrator.  She wondered whether her time was up, she'd had her turn at being a painter and that this was it, game over.  

I've been there.

I know those feelings all too well - I have an idea and yet when I try to execute it onto paper, it doesn't happen.  The paper is crumpled and thrown in the waste basket, I try again...to no avail.  Now comes the sighing, the furrowing of the brow...a feeling of consternation and frustration.

The feelings of fear and despair settle quite quickly...what's going on? I can do this, why can't I do this?

I do believe creative people are highly sensitive souls, and we tend to panic if our creative ability is challenged - even when the challenge is created from within.  We question whether that's it for us, our allocation of ideas has dried up, our capacity to translate the idea into a real piece of art is no longer doable.  And it brings up so much stuff for us, our self worth, our esteem, and our confidence, it takes a knock - our failures are suddenly laid bare and that's hard to acknowledge.  Inner critics laughingly mock our utter lack of competance, and we foolishly listen to their cackling little voices, which makes us feel worse of course.

I've come to understand over the years that there are several possible reasons why this happens.

We're simply tired/stressed/anxious:  All of these emotions deplete the ability to connect properly with our inner flow, we cant concentrate properly and it's much harder to create when our minds and bodies are fuzzy with fatigue or overwrought by anxious thoughts.

Solution:  Take a nap, get a few early nights, drink more water.  Write in your journal, create a list of gratitudes, get out into nature, take a break.  Whatever it takes to help you feel calmer, nourished, back on track.  Be kind to yourself.

It's just one of those days:  They happen, to all of us, no matter what our profession.  We all have duff days where computers crash, cakes get burnt, paintings won't happen.

Solution:  Leave it be.  If you can, take some time away from what it is you're doing to go do something else.  Read a novel, take a walk, see a friend.  Do something that will disconnect you from what was going wrong, and come back to it with a fresh mindset later on.

It's a bit more than just a day...it's been happening for a while now...:  I've experienced this and the first time it happened I really thought I'd lost the ability to create anything, ever again.  I thought my livelihood as an artist was over.  I felt depressed, I had anxiety over it.  It was really, really hard to deal with.

Solution: Acceptance of this situation is the best step forward.  I've had a couple of big blips during my working life as an artist where the ideas just wouldn't work out or simply, without warning, dried up.  I could create nothing and had no interest in doing so either.  And yes, it can feel scary to acknowledge that there might not be an end date to this, that you just have to ride it out, take care of yourself and be patient.

I spent much of the last time it happened writing in my journal and getting jobs done around the house.  I addressed the fact I had previously worked really hard on getting a heap of paintings ready for an exhibition and was probably a little burnt out.  I also came to understand that creativity can fluctuate like a season, we have prolific Spring times where we are in full flow, producing wonderful art and then we have our Winter times which are fallow and quiet, it's a time that has become essential to my creative practice - I need the quiet Winter in order to have the bountiful Spring.  I find magazines and Pinterest are really good resources for firing up an empty soul during these times.  

Mindfulness works well at times when we feel panicked or afraid, it brings us back into the present moment and takes us out of the bad movie we have on a constant loop running in our heads.  Bring yourself back to the present over and over, it reminds you that what happened is in the past, and now is really all there is.  It is a very grounding tool, and can help you move forward, rather than stagnating or dwelling on the negative.

Also - and this is important - don't expect too much of yourself.  It's no good trying to force the art out - it doesn't work like that.  Art has an energy, and how you feel resonates in what you do - people will be able to sense, like an invisible secret, whether you were on the ball, or not.

Oftentimes, it's just a couple of days you need to recallibrate, maybe sometimes a few weeks, and then you'll feel that unmistakable pull to create once again...

...then it's time to hit the ground running.

This Wild Land

(Snow storm over the Holme Valley)

Yesterday saw the arrival of my birthday and some very wintery weather, which was a shock after last week where we enjoyed real warm sun for the first time in months and honestly thought Spring was, at last, here (we ought to have known better, we live up north and Spring never truly shows it's face properly until the end of April).  

We had planned to go on a walk in the Holme Valley, which is about 25 minutes away from my home and despite the plummeting temperatures and random squalls of hail and snow, we decided to give it a go.  

We wrapped up and donned our walking boots, a stark contrast to the t-shirt I was wearing up the moors last week!

It was only a short walk, about four miles thereabouts, but it took longer than we anticipated because most of the pathways had turned into streams following heavy rain.

Those huge Yorkshire skies, vast valleys and bleak hills were a balm to the soul.

And when we weren't leaping through water logged fields, we were in woodland discovering hidden waterfalls...

...and then, we were back out into the open...

When I walk, it gives me a space to empty my mind and really relax.  I love being high up, away from the noise of the traffic with only the sky and the hills and the birds for company.  This walk was particularly spectacular in that we could see the ever changing weather fronts barging in over the Peninnes at us. It was breathtaking!

I also find myself getting ideas for new work when I'm out in the elements so as well as keeping me fitter (which was one of my goals for this year) it is also proving to be the source of new inspiration.

Back in the studio...I'm busy working on a special commission for a private customer and this will take up the rest of March as it's quite a big one!  I have plenty of new ideas on the back burner which I am going to look forward to getting busy with once it's finished, and I'm also looking forward to completing the Godrevy Lighthouse piece you might remember me sharing with you last time.

(a glimpse of the sea on the new Godrevy painting)

The effect of the acrylic paint on this gesso board is really lovely, I am very happy with the different, smoother texture that I'm getting, and the way the white of the gesso seems to shine through the paint.

  I have also practised working in a looser style with the sea, and am pleased with how it's coming along, enjoying the difference of these fluid strokes in comparison to the more detailed flower pieces I've been doing.

Anyway, time for a quick cuppa and then back to it.

Enjoy your day, thanks for stopping by.

The Joy of Spring

Hello Spring.

Yesterday felt like a gift.  I have waited weeks for a day like that, one blessed with gentle sunshine and a warmth that kissed the skin, full of blue skies and sunlight, birdsong and a sense of new life blooming.

Buds were suddenly blossom where a few days before they had been tightly closed, birds flew overhead with twigs in their beaks with which to furnish their nests.  I knew without a shadow of a doubt that when my jobs were done, I had to get out into that beautiful day and so after lunch, I pulled on my walking boots and headed up the hill.

I am very fortunate that I live right by the edge of the moors which are on the edge of the wild, windswept Pennines.  It is easy for me to be in the countryside, and away from the sound of traffic in about five minutes flat.  

I had a luxurious two hours before I had to do the school run, and it felt blissfully naughty to disappear on my own for a bit.

The sweeping views took my breath away...

Down in the valley, the water shimmered like a thousand diamonds in the sun.

Looking back down the lane as I headed up to the moorland...see those houses there on the left in the distance, my home is down in the valley just behind them.

At the top, by the Trig Point...the view is amazing, the feeling of space is wonderful.  All I could hear was the sound of curlews and skylarks.

I stayed a while, marvelling at the scenery, then set off again down through the woods.

This is a lovely copse of trees, generously spaced with spongy grass underfoot.  It feels a little magical there...

And then I was back onto the lane, looking down into our beautiful valley.

I was reluctant to go home, the feeling of the sun, warm on my arms (and warm enough to take off my jumper) was a revelation after months of being bundled up in thick coats and scarves.  It seeped into my very soul and made me feel happy and connected to this wonderful planet.  I had a sense of optimism, yes, Spring was well and truly coming.

Later that day I managed to spend a little time in the studio, I have been busy working on some birthday card designs for Milkwood Publishing, and as they are now finished I decided to start a lovely, sunny coastal painting.

I've decided to paint Godrevy Lighthouse in Cornwall, with lots of summery pink thrift in the foreground.  This is the very bare bones of the painting, and I will spend some time working it up in layers.

I am using a gesso board for this, which is basically a piece of ply that has been professionally coated with white gesso.  The colours look really bright when painted onto this surface and I'm pleased with how it's coming on.  

This particular beach reminds me of a holiday we once spent on Hayle Towans in a beautiful 1950s style chalet, and one evening we had a small barbecue on the rocks, taking a picnic of fizzy wine and other goodies to munch on the beach as the sun went down. 

How lovely to imagine that days like those aren't too far away again! 

Til next time xxx

A Pause

I'm not going to miss February, I am very happy that March has arrived, I found February a hard month to navigate, like walking through thick, dark treacle.  It was a month of surprising lows and not many highs.  I say surprising, because I had surfed most of the darker months unscathed, and usually I'm a person who suffers with SAD from mid December thereabouts.  I thought I had escaped it, January was an ebullient and joyous month, crammed with opportunity and optimism and yet February sucked, at least, for most of it.  I succumbed to feeling teary and lost, I had zero enthusiasm and cried at TV adverts (is this just me?).  I slept a lot due to a heavy fatigue and ate too much junk (which hinders rather than helps) and felt generally pretty hopeless.

However, there were glimmers of light, hope and gratitude amidst the dark days.  The first being when awaking teary once again my other half decided we should wag off work and go to Leeds for the day.  I dropped my daughter at school, cheered on by a weak winter sun and felt a small bubble of - wait, was it...happiness? Yes, yes I think it might have been.  The idea of leaving home for a few hours, going to a different city, to enjoy a wander, a hot coffee and a warming lunch - it was suddenly all rather exciting.

I was still somewhat fragile though, and found myself in one of my favourite shops, Neal's Yard Remedies, telling the lovely woman who works in there all about my ailments.  I came away with a stash of St Johns Wort tincture, some healing Lemon Balm Tea, and a cocoa superfood blend for my smoothies.  I made a concerted effort to eat better food, I religiously enjoyed a morning smoothie blessed by the magical qualities of the superfood powder, and slowly I started to feel better.

We went down south for the school holidays to stay with friends.  It was a welcome break for us all and we enjoyed trips to London where we visited Madame Tussauds and down along the coast to Portsmouth.  Storm Doris whipped the UK during our trip, and we went down to the local beach to see the fury of it, enjoying the energy and noise of the wild waves roaring up the pebble beach.  The wind had us keeling almost sidewards, it was exhilerating, I loved it.  

I arrived home after a full to bursting week feeling tired but good.  I had a sudden rush of new ideas for paintings, and with the arrival of a brand new month I felt I had crossed the final frontier of winter and was heading, at last, in the right direction.  To warmth, to the light. 

Since my last post, I've been busy working on new paintings.  I finished a Bluebell scene which is hopefully going to be turned into a print by Whistlefish Galleries, and another more illustrative one with my happy, colourful flowers called 'All Roads Lead Home' which reminds me of warm evenings in May (my favourite month) when all the colours are so glorious, and there are so many flowers to see.

These paintings were my saviour in February.  Escaping to my studio, sticking on an old CD and whiling away the hours with paint and music is possibly the best therapy I can afford myself.  I lose myself in those hours, thinking only of colour and form, allowing the images to emerge from my mind, through the brush and onto the paper or canvas. 

They will both be available to purchase soon. 

I'm now working on some beautiful, smaller, mounted paintings which will be perfect for Mother's Day gifts (including the image below).  I am launching this little collection to my email subscribers first this Friday, so if you are interested in finding out more you are very welcome to sign up here.

So here's to March, a new month, a new season emerging.  I am hopeful that it is going to be a good one.