Ok. So you’ve got a few basic supplies. You’ve set up a space – even if it’s just the corner of the dining table. And you carved out a few minutes – or maybe even an hour (yay!) to paint.
You are ready to start. This is going to be great. You look at the blank page in front of you and you go blank.
What now? You don’t know what to paint. Not ONE idea is coming to mind. Or, a few things you like pop into your head, but you immediately discount them because they seem too complicated to draw.
You are at a common point for all artists. (writers, musicians – anyone who wants to follow their creative impulses). You are ready. But you’ve hit a wall and you haven’t even dipped your brush in the paint yet!!!!!!
If you read a previous post about “just do the painting” You’ll remember I suggested that you just pick up a brush and start in a corner of the page and just apply paint until the page is filled. I hope you’ve tried that. It is very therapeutic. However, now you want to paint “something” real. Great. Here are some ideas to get you unstuck.
The photo that accompanies this post is taken from my art desk looking right up at the butterfly pictures on my wall. I set my art journal on the shelf so you could see an example of what I did when I was feeling stuck one day. I basically looked around my room and decided to paint what was hanging on the wall right in front of me. I’m not lazy. I just did NOT want to let my momentum be stalled.
I’ve learned that for me, the process is almost 100% as valuable as a finished product.
So, look around. Do you have a vase of flowers, a child’s toy left on the floor, a tea cup near you? Truly, there is no end to the possibilities for subject matter.
I love to go through old magazines and cut out pictures for inspiration. I keep them in an old shoe box and sometimes I close my eyes and pic a piece out of the box and draw or paint it.
Look through the photos on your phone. You take pictures of things you like and wanted to keep a record of. I constantly take pictures of anything I think would be fun to paint. Especially when the sunlight is shining in just the perfect way to make a great painting.
When you decide on a subject – you don’t have to create an exact representation of it. Why not change the colors? A yellow ducky doesn’t have to be yellow. It could be multicolor. Or only paint a portion of it – think abstractly – maybe you just paint the eye. Make this fun. Don’t get stuck on trying to do what you think you are SUPPOSED to do. Paint what you want, how you want. This is for you. This is you releasing the artist within. Don’t let anything stand in you way. Whatever you do, keep going. Protect your momentum!
Artful-Essence 