-Get Your Art Groove Back

Looking for inspiration to start your next painting? Feeling uninspired? Are you looking to get your art groove back? I know how that feels, but I also know how to spark up your interest and take a fresh look at what you are creating.
I was a figurative painter for many years. I had solo shows and was fortunate to be included in many juried and invitational shows. Until one day….. actually, it kind of came on me gradually. I started to notice that I was finding excuses not to be in the studio. Then, when I would make myself get in there, I spent the time cleaning and organizing, but not painting. I was surrounded by beautiful work, bright light radiating through the windows, a garden outside to inspire me, but….nothing.
I just wasn't moved to continue the work I had been used to doing, what others were expecting from me. I actually ran out of stories to tell. Nothing spoke to me. I was… well, I was done.
I moved to Hawaii for a few years hoping to be inspired by the magnificence of nature. Nothing. Everything was too beautiful!. I experienced adventure after adventure looking for something new to paint, something that would set me on fire. As I stood in awe of other artists, just whipping up paintings every day, I had to admit to myself, that I wasn't ready.
I came to realize that I was incubating new, original ideas and I needed to honor that quiet time. Of course, this realization is in retrospect. At the time, I pushed myself to do sketches for new paintings feeling that I had a creative block. But, they were paintings addressing the same figurative issues I had done for years. I lost my groove.
Now, several years later, I can’t wait to get into the studio to create several pieces a day.
Droplet #1 - Ink on Board, 8x8" ©2012 Deborah Webster www.deborahwebster.com
What’s my secret?
I had to let go of my “painting identity”. New ideas were percolating in my head and they were not figurative. Wasn’t sure what they were and if I would be able to turn them into images I would like. I gave myself permission to not be a figurative artist. To play and experiment.
I spent a lot of time experimenting with media. One day a studio visitor pointed out that the new work looked like lava formations. I never thought of that! Some of the other pieces felt like shimmering water. Abstraction? Was that what was brewing? I had been home from Hawaii for several years. It sure took a long time to manifest into something. It was very new for me. No more figurative work. Now I focused on water, lava, patterns, texture and movement.
That was quite a few years ago and I am still inspired by nature. I give myself permission to try new materials everyday. My work is effortless now. No more struggles with trying to find inspiration for paintings.
Get your Art Groove back. Try this:
-Give yourself permission to take a break and to let go of your “painting identity”. Take a vacation from trying to create what others have come to expect from you. Living up to other people’s expectations.
-Take a class in a medium that is unfamiliar to you
-Begin a sketchbook challenge for yourself: Drawing a Day
-Experiment, play, learn
-Be receptive to new ideas that come to you
For more specific ideas on getting your art groove back, look for more posts in the near future:
Sketchbook Mojo!
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