Doreen St.John

About five years ago, I wrote this blog for OPA. I’ve been asked to share it again, along with any potential new insights.  There have been some major life stressors over those five years, both personal and global, but I find that most of what was in the original blog is still valid. I hope you find something here that inspires you! 

At various times in my life, I’ve struggled with artist’s block…those times when your spirit wants to paint, but obstacles keep getting in the way.  For me, it’s usually accompanied by frustration.  I am sure many of you have struggled with this, to varying degrees…when the demands of time, family, obligations, health, or other issues interfere with the creative process.  Sometimes it’s just a short hiatus, and at other times it seems to go on endlessly.  There are many great articles on the web for dealing with this, but I decided to share some of my personal strategies that have worked for me.  I hope they may help you as well.  

Figure out the source of your block

Try to figure out the source of your block – health, financial and/or personal problems, loss, stress, fear of failure or fear of success, anger, time management, procrastination – and do your best to eliminate those problems.  If you are like many of us, you may have several obstacles, so pick the biggest one and start working on that.  If you are feeling overwhelmed, don’t hesitate to get professional help from an art therapist or licensed counselor.  These professionals are trained to help us get past those difficult times when nothing else works.

Decide what is most important

I had to decide what was most important in my life, and all my energy had to go toward those areas.  I had to learn how to say ‘no’ to the things that were unimportant and focus on the important stuff.  For me, it’s God, Family and Friends, Art, and Service; sometimes other things creep onto the list, and that is fine.  When I was working at a day job, career had to go in that equation.  The order sometimes changes, but for me it’s still the same core list.   One of my best experiences in learning about this was from an old boss who made all her staff write a personal vision and mission statement.  I couldn’t believe how difficult…yet valuable…that was.  

One thing I learned is that art and life are inseparable.  Robert Henri said, “Life is Art; Art is Life”, and I have seen this over and over again.  My mark making is the sum of who I am as a person.  Even when I’m not in the studio, I’m seeing things that are painting subjects and mentally putting them into a painting.  As an artist, we are always composing, so the next time you are in the studio those mental notes are probably entering into your decisions…even if you feel “blocked”, you are still an artist.

Make a commitment and don’t give up

Once you know what the problem is, make a commitment to yourself.  Make a commitment to change.  Even though we all agree we need to change, change is difficult.  To illustrate this, try crossing your arms in whatever way is comfortable for you…and then re-cross them in the opposite way.  If you try it, you realize that a very simple change, even when you want to change, can be very difficult.  Don’t give up!  We are all imperfect humans, and life has a way of getting in the way and giving us unexpected challenges.   I have several slogans that help me with this…like “pobody’s nerfect” and “slow and steady wins the race”.  I used to read positive affirmations every day to focus on the positive rather than the negative.  After a while, it became easier, but it’s easy to slip into negative thought patterns and give up if you aren’t aware of this.  Newton’s Law of Inertia is a good one to keep in mind: “An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.”  Once you get the positive energy going it’s easier to keep it going!

Time Management/Planning

Being more efficient with time is so important!  When I look back on all I accomplished as a single parent, I can’t believe it, but I know part of the reason was that I was more efficient with my time.  Make a plan and stick to it.  Hire a babysitter for x amount of time each week so you can get into the studio.  Get a small planner or use your cell phone and write down your studio time, or schedule plein air days with friends.  There are more suggestions in the list below. The book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Steven Covey, has a great model for learning how to do more planning and to decide what is most important, but there are many blogs on the internet that also deal with this.  I follow Robert and Sara Genn’s online newsletter, “The Painter’s Keys”, and, coincidentally, today’s post was taken from Steven Covey’s book!  Here is a link to the article:  http://painterskeys.com/the-7-habits-of-highly-effective-artists/

Working on the Work

When I was in education, we talked about “working on the work”.  It was one of those slogans that gets thrown around and becomes a catch phrase, but for me it has a deeper meaning.  Life is about working on the work; creating is most definitely “working on the work”.  For me, it means get into the studio, show up, and get to work.  If you can’t work, then show up and clean, or organize…do something to work on the work.  On a deeper level, “working on the work” means being immersed in your art, and that leads to new discoveries, new connections, and new understandings.  You may have that painting where you got lost for hours but it seemed like only minutes had passed…you were working on a deeper level.  So…work on the work, and your creative block may lift.  Artist Chuck Close seems to echo this concept in this quote:

“The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who’ll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you’re sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that’s almost never the case.” 

– Chuck Close 

Strategies to help get out of a creative block/slump:

Finally, I have a list of strategies that I sometimes use if the creative muse isn’t showing up.  You may have your own list; feel free to share!

1. Exercise or take a walk in nature.  Movement helps to reduce stress and stress can interfere with creativity.
2. Practice positivity; read positive affirmations.
3. Join an art group that meets regularly.  I joined a plein air group that met once a month because my time to paint was so limited.  That experience is what got me back into painting.  Painting from life in the outdoors and the camaraderie of being around other artists was just what I needed, and it reaffirmed to me that I was still an artist.  
4. Focus more on the process of creating, rather than the product.  It helps me to say, “It’s just canvas and paint”.
5. Attend an art show or opening.  Being among other creative people can energize you and get your own creative juices flowing.
6. Keep a sketchbook and pencil close by and sketch anything…even your house plant, or your sleeping cat!  Drawing skills need to be constantly exercised, too.
7. Take a workshop from someone you admire, or watch an instructional art video.
8. Read a great book by your favorite artist, a biography of someone who has achieved great success while overcoming obstacles, or read a personal growth book.  You may be surprised to learn that creative blocks are often not about art, but about other areas in your life.  One of my favorite books, “The War of Art” by Stephen Pressfield, is a wonderful book and a quick read.  I’ve suggested several others that helped me at the end of this blog.
9. Experiment with a new product, medium, or method.  You can get some amazing ‘aha’ moments when you try something new.  Trying pastels has led to new growth in painting in oils.  Buy some new art supplies…I call it “art store retail therapy”!  
10. Find a way to make yourself accountable.  Some ideas: schedule an event or volunteer to give a demo; have a weekly goal and keep track of how you are doing; schedule art time in a planner – even 30 minutes can help get me over a hump.  Having an obligation helps to motivate.  Be honest with yourself.
11. Decide to enter a show and create a plan on how you will have work ready.
12. Print out your favorite photos and put them in a file for the next time you need inspiration.
13. Talk to an artist friend for motivation; go out painting together.
14. Volunteer your time.  Being around others and giving back is a great way to boost your mood, especially if your block is related to a loss.
15. Show up in the studio, even if it’s only to clean or organize.
16. Quit making excuses. Just paint.

Some books that have helped me with creative blocks/growth:

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Alla Prima II by Richard Schmid

Clear Seeing Place by Brian Rutenberg

Art is a Way of Knowing by Pat B. Allen

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck

Shut Up, Stop Whining, and Get a Life by Larry Winget

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey

In early March, many of us were probably asking ourselves a similar question: “How do I keep producing art and growing while in the midst of a pandemic?”  I’ll be sharing a bit about how I answered this question and I hope it will be helpful. 

In January I set a personal goal to paint at least 80% from life, and if I could achieve 100% that would be even better!  Due to a recent surgery and other issues, standing for any length of time at an easel or walking uneven terrain is difficult, and we now had a ‘lock down’ in Ohio.  I decided that painting still life works would be a great way to meet my goals, keep my skills sharp, and also create something meaningful…not to mention keep my mind occupied and anxiety in check!  

Having been a landscape painter almost exclusively for most of my life and with no formal art school training, I felt like a fish out of water when it came to still life.  I kept seeing inspiring posts about learning to paint still life from my friend, Kelli Folsom OPA, so I decided to sign up for her ongoing course, Vital Art Sessions.  My intent isn’t to endorse any particular course or artist, although I highly recommend Kelli, but I’m sharing what worked for me.  Taking a course with an accomplished, inspiring, award-winning artist has been so beneficial, because it’s given me the structure and motivation I needed to keep on track.  Having a private Facebook group where participants can share their “oops” was also beneficial.  Because of my goal, painting mostly from life, I used the practice lessons to get better at painting objects correctly and then tried interpreting the lesson using my own props and, finally, creating my own setups. 

As a point of information: I’m not selling the works copied from Kelli’s video lessons because they are not my original concept, but they are great learning tools.  Many were clunkers, to be honest.  I completed more than 50 paintings from the beginning of March through mid-June when I took the photo (below).  As a former teacher, I know the importance of concrete learning experiences and celebrating our ‘wins’ when learning new skills, so actually seeing that body of work in one photo was really encouraging.

Painting is a very complex activity, and still life painting is no exception:  our brain must interpret a 3-dimensional object/scene onto a 2-dimensional surface.  It takes a lot of time to set up a successful still life, sometimes even longer than doing the actual painting!  The artist is actually creating the setting, including the lighting, colors, shapes, and composition/concept, rather than responding to what is already there, as is the case with plein air painting.  It requires a different set of problem-solving skills than when working outdoors, although there are similarities.  Some questions you might ask: What colors will you use?  Do you have a color plan?  How will the eye move through the composition?  What is your value plan?  Do you have enough/too much variety in sizes?  What size canvas?  There are many considerations; these are but a few. 

My studio is in the basement and the lighting was too harsh; I couldn’t see the shadows on the objects because of too many light sources, so that required changing my lighting.  You need a light blocker and, ideally, a table that can move up or down so you can adjust the perspective on the setup.  Some old, black mat board taped together made a great light blocker; stacked wooden boxes on top of an old side table made a stand. Later on, I found an inexpensive standing desk that has an adjustable lever so it can go up to 42” and bought the black trifold presentation cardboard for the light blocker.  There are lots of free videos and tips on various ways to set up lights and create a light blocker if you do a google search.

The pandemic and inability to go out prompted some more problem solving…how do you get flowers, fruit, etc., when a quick trip to the grocery store isn’t possible?  It’s the old adage: make do with what you have.  It was very refreshing; few options = greater creativity.  An old skirt with a Bohemian flavor became a great drape for the background.  The redbud tree was resplendent this year, providing the inspiration for a painting using a complementary color scheme.  Small branches from shrubs make great additions for scale/color, and when the wild cherry tree and lilac bush bloomed, they became the centerpiece of a few paintings.  Learning something new causes one to look at things with new eyes….   

And then there are the props…!  You need a wide variety of shapes, sizes, finishes, and textures to create an interesting still life, in addition to flowers, vegetables, and fruit.  I’ve been given/collected some beautiful ceramic works over my lifetime (I’ll be 70 next month), and they are really special…gorgeous raku’, lovely glazes, interesting shapes/colors…and also inherited a few really old pieces full of history and memories.  One of the most surprising and engaging aspects of still life painting has been recalling the memories of loved ones as I paint a favorite vase or even the history I can feel when thinking about those times.  How can I get that emotion/connection into my paintings?  Sometimes it just flows out of the brush if you are in the right frame of mind, but most of the time it requires more thought and planning. 

There is a lot of research about how people learn new skills, and one recommendation is that you need more easel time (practice).  As a former teacher, I know that practice is important but it isn’t the only consideration when learning a new skill; you need focused practice as well as more contextual learning.  Painting is a complex activity, and developing mastery with still life painting is more than being able to paint a great ellipse (something that can still challenge me!).  Reading books on the topic, watching videos, and viewing works in person (art museums) or online by famous still life artists is also valuable.  I took an online intensive 5-day still life workshop with Kelli, signed up for another online class with a nationally known artist, and have been doing a lot of reading/research, which is ongoing.  A couple of books on still life were welcome additions to my collection of art books, and watching videos about still life painting over again with fresh eyes was enlightening. There are some great Zoom presentations and videos out there, and many are free, dealing with all kinds of art, so if you have an internet connection and a cell phone you are good to go!  I have an Apple TV connection, so I will often mirror the YouTube video/Zoom presentation on my big screen TV.  

By doing something productive I’ve felt better.  It’s required me to suspend judgment, open my mind, and accept help/guidance, sometimes a very difficult thing for a professional artist at any age.  Many of those old ‘rules’ and ideas need to take a back seat in order to learn something new.  I find that using a slogan such as “Take what you like and leave the rest” is very helpful…as is “slow and steady wins the race”.  It helps me to get out of my lock-step methods and opens me up to question/examine.  My goal has always been to be a ‘lifelong learner’, and to improve as an artist, not to adopt another artist’s style but to dig deep and become more expressive, creating something that is heartfelt.  It’s really caused me to think more about form, edges, about how light falls on an object, and to ask questions, such as, “What is my concept?  Why do I love this?  How can I get more emotion into my work?  What if….”   

On a happy ending note, I entered three still life paintings for the first time in the OPA Salon Show and just found out one was accepted, “Mother’s Day Bouquet”!  I’m sharing my story not to brag, but to encourage others – at any age – to try that thing you’ve never tried.  For me, it’s opened me up to new possibilities and new ways of thinking, not only about art, but about life.  These are such difficult times right now. Because I worked full time in as an educator for more than 30 years, I kept telling myself I would paint once I retired.  I’m so grateful I have the time to do this now.  I keep praying my health will hang in there so I can continue to learn, paint, and grow.  I’m wishing the same for all of you!  

Figure out the source of your block

Try to figure out the source of your block – health, financial and/or personal problems, loss, stress, fear of failure/fear of success, anger, time management, procrastination – and do your best to eliminate those problems. If you are like many of us, you may have several obstacles, so pick the biggest one and start working on that. If you are feeling overwhelmed, don’t hesitate to get professional help from an art therapist or licensed counselor. These professionals are trained to help us get past those difficult times when nothing else works.

Decide what is most important

I had to decide what was most important in my life, and all my energy had to go toward those areas. I had to learn how to say ‘no’ to the things that were unimportant and focus on the important stuff. For me, it’s God, Family/Friends, Art, and Service; sometimes other things creep onto the list, and that is fine. When I was working at a day job, career had to go in that equation. The order sometimes changes, but for me it’s still the same core list. One of my best experiences in learning about this was from an old boss who made all her staff write a personal vision and mission statement. I couldn’t believe how difficult…yet valuable…that was.
One thing I learned is that art and life are inseparable. Robert Henri said, “Life is Art; Art is Life”, and I have seen this over and over again. My mark making is the sum of who I am as a person. Even when I’m not in the studio, I’m seeing things that are painting subjects and mentally putting them into a painting. As an artist, we are always composing, so the next time you are in the studio those mental notes are probably entering into your decisions…even if you feel ‘blocked’, you are still an artist.

Make a commitment and don’t give up

Time Management/Planning

One of the most difficult things is finding time to paint if you are not a full time artist. Even for a full time artist, carving out studio time can be difficult. Being more efficient with time is so important! When I look back on all I accomplished as a single parent, I can’t believe it, but I know part of the reason was that I was more efficient with my time. Make a plan and stick to it. Hire a babysitter for x amount of time each week so you can get into the studio. Get a small planner/use your cell phone and write down your studio time, or schedule plein air days with friends. There are more suggestions in the list below. The book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Steven Covey, has a great model for learning how to do more planning and to decide what is most important, but there are many blogs on the internet that also deal with this. I follow Robert and Sara Genn’s online newsletter, “The Painter’s Keys”, and, coincidentally, today’s post was taken from Steven Covey’s book! Here is a link to the article: painterskeys.com

Working on the work

When I was in education, we talked about ‘working on the work’. It was one of those slogans that gets thrown around and becomes a catch phrase, but for me it has a deeper meaning. Life is about working on the work; creating is most definitely ‘working on the work’. For me, it means get into the studio, show up, and get to work. If you can’t work, then show up and clean, or organize…do something to work on the work. On a deeper level, ‘working on the work’ is going deeper into your art/work, and that leads to new discoveries, new connections, and new understandings. You may have that painting where you got lost for hours but it seemed like only minutes had passed…you were working on a deeper level. So…work on the work, and your ‘block’ may lift.

Strategies to help get out of a creative block/slump:

Finally, I have a list of strategies that I sometimes use if the creative muse isn’t showing up. You may have your own list; feel free to share!

1. Exercise or take a walk in nature. Movement helps to reduce stress and stress can interfere with creativity.
2. Practice positivity; read positive affirmations.
3. Join an art group that meets regularly. I joined a plein air group that met once a month because my time to paint was so limited. That experience is what got me back into painting. Painting from life in the outdoors and the camaraderie of being around other artists was just what I needed, and it reaffirmed to me that I was still an artist.
4. Focus more on the process of creating, rather than the product. It helps me to say, “It’s just canvas and paint”.
5. Attend an art show/opening. Being among other creative people can energize you and get your own creative juices flowing!
6. Keep a sketchbook and pencil close by and sketch anything…even your house plant, or your sleeping cat! Drawing skills need to be constantly exercised, too.
7. Take a workshop from someone you admire, or watch an instructional art video.
8. Read a great book by your favorite artist, a biography of someone who has achieved great success while overcoming obstacles, or read a personal growth book. You may be surprised to learn that creative blocks are often not about art, but about other areas in your life. One of my favorite books, “The War of Art” by Stephen Pressfield, is a wonderful book and a quick read.
9. Experiment with a new product, medium, or method. You can get some amazing ‘aha’ moments when you try something new. Trying pastels has led to new growth in painting in oils. Buy some new art supplies…I call it ‘art store retail therapy’!
10. Find a way to make yourself accountable. Some ideas: schedule an event or volunteer to give a demo; have a weekly goal and keep track of how you are doing; schedule art time in a planner – even 30 minutes can help get me over a ‘hump’. Having an obligation helps to motivate. Be honest with yourself.
11. Decide to enter a show and create a plan on how you will have work ready.
12. Print out your favorite photos and put them in a file for the next time you need inspiration.
13. Talk to an artist friend for motivation; go out painting together.
14. Volunteer your time. Being around others and giving back is a great way to boost your mood, especially if your block is related to a loss.
15. Show up in the studio, even if it’s only to clean or organize.
16. Quit making excuses. Just paint.