Art block. Every creative knows the feeling of hitting a wall. Maybe your brain feels void of ideas? Or as it was in my case: an idea in your head that you are unable to create in the real world. One simple step changed everything for me.
After a busy Christmas and New Year period for my business and February to re-focus on future projects, I finally felt ready for a new creative challenge in March. I keep a list of collection ideas that just continuously grows and in quieter times like these it’s a fantastic inspiration to pull up said list and find some prompts for new illustrations.
Two ideas really spoke to me:
- A pattern in the trans flag colours
- British garden birds
I decided to work on both of these ideas simultaneously so I could pivot depending on my mood on any given day. The concept was pretty quick and easy and I pulled out my trusty tablet to draw in Procreate.
And then it felt like walking into a glass door.
Everything I tried felt wrong. I didn’t like any of my sketches, couldn’t find the brushes that fit my vibe, couldn’t get the colours right.
For a bit over a week I forced myself to sit down and draw every single day. I tried art tutorials to give me new inputs, browsed Pinterest for inspiration and redrew my ideas over and over.
I hated every second of it. I felt an unusual amount of frustration with the process.
There’s a specific feeling I get when things are finally coming together and it was nowhere to be seen.
The time came where I realised that trying the same process over and over again would not lead to a different outcome and it was time to shake things up.
For the first time in a long while, I chose to draw in my sketchbook. I remembered a box of colouring pencils that was a gift from my mum over 10 years ago and one of the few things I actually took with me when I moved to England.
I had no idea if I could achieve anything with colouring pencils and therefore was able to approach the exercise with no pressure.
This was when things finally clicked. I felt so much joy drawing in my sketchbook and the hours just flew by. The final result of my first drawing looked nothing like my original vision and yet so much better.
Convinced this first attempt was just a fluke, I sat down again the next day and still enjoyed every moment of the drawing process.
I have added to my sketchbook every day since this first drawing session. Not all drawings turned out perfect but the frustration level was just a fraction of what I felt staring at my tablet.
This feels like a new chapter in my art career. The art block has encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and focus on new skills.
I hope my story can be an encouragement to any other creative feeling stuck. Stepping away from what you know and trying something new can shift your whole perspective. Even if the new thing you’re trying isn’t for you, I’m sure you can still take away some learnings from the attempt.
As for me, I have a new direction for my British garden bird collection which I’m aiming to release this summer. Once I get tired of drawing birds, I will go back to the trans flag-inspired design.
If you have a favourite bird you want to see or a product you think should be part of the collections, please leave a comment!