Block and Burnout: How to Rekindle the Creative Fire Part IV

Introduction to Part IV

We’re back in Part IV of this 6-part series exploring artist block and burnout, and many of the practical strategies for jettisoning them out of your airlock. Because it’s critical to protect your arting since your creativity is immensely important both for you and our genre. You see, creativity is very very good for you! Indeedy, it's good for your brain, body, and wellbeing, as more and more studies are discovering. Creativity has even been found to be as effective as regular exercise to slow biological aging! Know it or not, too, but you being creative could mean a breath of new life into our art form since we just never know where the next innovation or fresh insight will come from, do we? It could come from you! So if you develop more fearlessness in your creativity, enough to really jump in head first into our arts, that’s a win win all the way ‘round! Woot! And knowing how to keep block and burnout in check is a survival skill for any artist, working in any genre. Ya gotta have this toolkit! So enough talk! Let’s continue our deep dive into the proactive strategies that can help us carve them out from our art life!…

The Turnaround Strategies, cont’d

Schedule it: Focus on the habit of making art, set a schedule. Folks like us create not for the big reveal, do we? No. We create because it’s in our bones, it’s who we are. Arting is as necessary and natural as breathing. So commit to consistent small arting sessions rather than simply waiting for inspiration to pummel your noggin. “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working,” said Pablo Picasso, and he’s absolutely right. So create art daily, even on the smallest scale, regardless of the end goal or result. Now it may be a challenge in a busy calendar to make time for arting, but like any important appointment, arting deserves a spot in your daily routine, too. So just schedule regular, undisturbed blocks of time to art. Even short sessions can lead to goodly progress and maintain artistic rhythm. Heck, it can be as simple as doodling or sketching, nothing major, just get to it. Truly, integrating creativity into your everyday life can cultivate a more productive artistic journey and lead to tangible growth a lot faster than waiting around for inspiration to kick in. Then when you’re ready, you can make arting a more expansive part of your day rather than just a scheduled session — or not. Whatever works for you, whatever gets you creative regularly is the right choice. The point is to create consistency, practice daily, and don’t break the artistic flow. Show up. Sure, it takes discipline, but once it gains momentum, you’re going to feel a lot more empowered and energized, then just watch your courage and confidence grow! Routine breeds consistency and consistency breeds inspiration, so show up and do the work — your art will thank you.

Trick yourself: Tell yourself that you’re going to destroy the first steps you create whether sculpting, painting, tack-making or whatever. Into the proverbial bin. You see, this releases pressure and destroys expectations, but paradoxically, you often end up keeping those initial steps or pieces anyway. But you need to give yourself permission to first vent the pressure.

Inspire Inspiration: Sometimes our inspiration needs a little help, like its pump needs to be primed. So go to horse shows and expos, galleries and museums, visit open studios and art fairs. Read poetry, look at horse books, watch horse videos or movies, listen to music, take some reference photographs. Plus, engaging other forms of art can inspire your imagination and infuse some new perspectives and aesthetics into your work. Allowing creativity to seep into every aspect of you life can till fertile soil for your inspiration because ideas can come from many unexpected sources. And never underestimate the power of Nature to be monumentally inspirational! Then put yourself to work with sketching, doodling, drawing, photographing, whatever. Do some plein air painting to capture a compelling in situ moment. Whatever trips your trigger. But one inspiration will lead to another which will lead to another, and soon you’ll be in a proverbial room full of countless inspirations ping-ponging off the walls! That’s how inspiration actually works! Once you get it going, it self-sustains as one idea births another, and off you go.

Art play: The truth is, if you’re doing it right, your art is always play. So when you get stuck, or are uninspired or unmotivated, remember to get back to playing around again with your creativity. Experiment. FAFO. Explore and discover. Push boundaries and challenge convention, especially your own. Not only does this expand your skillset and explore your potential, but it’ll reignite your arting to keep your work fresh and evolving. Remember, learning means experimentation so make that intrinsic to each and every piece, and reinvigorated creativity isn’t far behind. For instance, just for fun, switch out the typical colors on your palette — see what happens! Or even just add one new color and see what’s produced. When sculpting, make it about exploring narrative, structure, gesture, expression, mood, or novelty rather than just another routine “this is a horse” piece. Always remember that art and play are meant to pair up, so smash them together in your own creative Hadron Collider!

Start small: Tackle a small, simple piece to create a sense of accomplishment. You can’t deny that the sheer scale of our task can feel really overwhelming so scale it back. Likewise, break down your process or project into small manageable baby steps, as small as you need them to be. Like rather than be intimidated by that daunting sanding job you have to do on that expensive resin, just sand one leg, even one foot. Then when you’re done with that, move to another body portion the next day. No big whoop — you’re getting it done, slowly but surely. Remember, the tortoise won the race! But babystepping can make even the most daunting, ambitious tasks attainable and more importantly, feel attainable. Indeed, setting smaller, manageable goals can be just the ticket so choose the smallest unit of creativity it would take to get you arting again. Remember, no skyscraper was built all at once!

Personal challenges: Establish achievable goals and objectives, and the more novel, the better. In other words, the more they get you to play and explore, all the better, right? This helps to provide some structure while keeping you engaged plus it’s a big injection of learning and skill building, all of which will certainly refocus your attention back onto the process and away from the outcome.

Embrace failure: Your fear of failure is a formidable obstacle, isn’t it? Blorg. But the truth is that every piece is a learning adventure, not a test. What’s more, absolutely no breakthroughs will be found if you stay in your comfort zone. The real joy of arting is in the making of it, of all the discovery, exploration, growth, revelations, and happy accidents you stumbled onto while creating it. It’s miraculous to see your piece just come alive in your hands, step by step! And the thing is, we can correct our mistakes or realign our vision as we go, right? There’s no law that says your first toolstrokes are you only and last ones! Many mediums give you ample room to try again and again and again. Indeed, on a white-grey oil painted piece I was creating as an experiment, Ta’alaq, I seriously messed up his paintjob. It was so awful — ack! But no big whoop! I just painted right over my mistake, the whole thing, and tried again and succeeded on the second go. Never be afraid of trying again.

Mediating criticism: Here’s the deal — you make art, there will be a critic. That’s part of the Faustian Deal. That critic can be someone else, and often is, but your first and most lethal critic is yourself, isn’t it? But here’s the thing, “the audience comes last,” as Rick Rubin so astutely observes. And he’s right — the only person you need to be concerned with pleasing with your art is you, and only you. Ignore all the rest out there as pointless noise. People will talk….so? Let them. Their opinion, either good or bad, just shouldn't hold sway. See, no one knows your Truth like you do, do they? Nope. And there are so many trolls out there as well as careless, thoughtless clods to boot. Don’t allow the wrong person to discourage you but instead allow the right people to encourage you, and that includes yourself! Indeed, if you create work just for yourself, it’s amazing how your art will become so much more powerful, authentic, compelling, and unique! It’ll become far more Voiceful, and that, artist, is your true calling. Not to make perfection, which is impossible to attain, not to chase external validation, which is toxic, but to make Voiceful art, courageously and joyfully. That’s it, that’s all. So get to it! As Andy Warhol wisely advised, “Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.”

Dampen distraction: In our hyper-connected world nowadays, distraction is everywhere. FOMO, doomscrolling, bingewatching, social media, news, radio, launches, and other endless stimulation…it’s a lot. It’s too much. The human animal wasn’t meant to function on the global stage all the time, if at all. It was meant to live in its little neck of the woods and deal just with that. So all this influx of distraction can be unknowingly very stressful and draining — so cut it out. When you’re arting, make it a non-negotiable rule of no distractions. Leave your devices out of the studio if need be. No phone calls, no texts, no checking social media. Schedule appointments, activities, and chores for other days. Do whatever it takes to block out uninterrupted, undistracted creative quiet time and fully immerse yourself in it without a care. It’s good for you and your art.

Careful consumption: Likewise, be exceedingly mindful of the content you consume. Is that content positive and inspiring, supportive of your efforts and psyche? Or is it draining, upsetting, and anxiety-inducing? What you expose yourself to will define the flavor of your day and even influence your ability to create. So also consider keeping your finger on the pulse of things at a set time of the day, and no more. Yes, we need to stay current, but there’s also a balance to be struck with our everyday lives and functionality — and our creativity. Stay mindful of that balance at all times. Curate your experience carefully because ultimately it’s all about your mental health and your ability to stay creative that can be just as important. And truth be told, staying balanced and joyfully creative is perhaps the most punk rock thing you can be doing nowadays.

Structured distraction: Unfortunately many creatives have the idea that they need to be hyper-focused to create good work, even for hours on end. However, the human brain didn’t evolve for this, sustaining uninterrupted attention for hours upon hours. It’s made to function between focus and periodic distraction, so make those distractions strategic. Take breaks! Instead of working through demotivation, boredom, fatigue, or disinterest, take a tactical break. This will reset you, prevent creative fatigue, improve your state of mind, and help you create even better work. This can be particularly important with really tedious tasks such as ticking, dappling, and prepping. So take your time, take breaks, and allow your mind to reset itself.

Less comparisons, more creating: Quit with the habitual comparison of your art to the work of others! Quit internally lamenting your “failings” when you study other works at shows or expos. Quit thinking you aren’t good enough for gosh sakes! Do you think your skills are too lousy to count, your ideas and inspirations subpar, your artworks average or even bad? You’re feeling inferior and insignificant? Okay then — by what measure? You see, comparing yourself to others is deceiving, self-defeating, and useless. Now, yes, it’s okay to draw inspiration from other artists, but it’s not okay to compare your work to theirs. Why? Well, it’s an apples and oranges comparison! They are not alike! Your magic isn’t like their magic whatsoever and theirs is nothing like yours — nor should it be. Because here’s the thing, you don’t need their magic, yours is more than enough! Trust me, yours is plenty! Indeed, your Voice is unique in all of space and time — think about that for a moment. Why in the world would you want to snuff it out or pollute it, even deny it? Instead then, take all that energy and direct it right back onto making more of your art, Voiceful, loud and proud! That’s where it’s better spent anyway. And you can only be yourself, right? The only one qualified to be you is you! The only thing the Universe tasks you with, artist, isn’t perfection or creating The GOAT piece, it’s simply this: Use your pure, unique Voice courageously, keeping the inspirational channel open. Bingo! So stop trying to create like another artist, stop trying to be an artist you aren’t because you don’t need to be! You just focus on magical you, on your own unique supernatural Voice, and once you find it, cultivate it and express it fully in your art then let the chips fall where they may. Absolutely, always stay true to your own Voice because not only is this more fulfilling, it makes your work far more authentic, distinctive, compelling, expressive, and even transforms it into that indescribable thing you’ve probably been so ardently searching for all these years.

New stuff: We all know the power of new art supplies, don’t we? Oh, yes! So find motivation in reconnecting with your materials, new or otherwise. The sensory boost you get from even playing with your brushes can spark dormant creativity all by itself. Or play with colors you avoid or haven’t used before, or new types of clays or epoxies. Play around with your color pencils in novel ways. You see, it’s not just about regarding your art as a product, but remembering it as a process, a tactile, fascinating experience that’s as much a part of arting as anything else. So buy some new art supplies and play around with them, or grab ones you hardly use and futz around with those. Either which way, playing with new stuff can really get those creative embers fired up!

Conclusion to Part IV

Interesting stuff, huh? These strategies are so simple, but so effective! In essence, they trick your sensibilities into making this artform less intimidating, or rather, help your brain believe that it truly can do it — because it can! That’s the thing, every human brain is a creative genius simply waiting to be tapped into, so who knows what sort of amazing potential yours holds just waiting to be unlocked! In Part V then, we’re going to explore even more breakthrough strategies you can apply to knock out block and burnout. They’re easy, they’re practical, and they’re highly effective — a triple punch!

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

— Dr. Seuss

Block and Burnout: How to Rekindle the Creative Fire Part IV

Block and Burnout: How to Rekindle the Creative Fire Part III

Introduction to Part III

Welcome back to this 6-part exploration of artist block and burnout, which mostly entails a deep dive into a lot of the practical tactics we can employ to snuff them out once and for all. And keeping them at bay is so important! Untold numbers of would-be artists may be suffering from block due to the daunting nature of our art form. Or if they do start, they’re at risk for burnout, another unfortunate circumstance that can be avoided with some smart strategies. Either which way, we want to steer folks clear of them to keep people happily banging out their art by the metric ton to fill our community with hordes of gorgeous horses! 

So on that note, let’s jump right in and continue our exploration of the nifty strategies we can use to combat block and burnout effectively! Let’s go!…

The Turnaround Strategies, cont’d

Bang it out: Now this may sound really dopey, but it’s a powerful approach — just make literally anything. It doesn’t matter what it is or if it turns out awful. The point is to start and keep doing, not focus the end product. See, here’s the thing, once you start creating, it generates its own momentum even if you end up not liking it. So make a bunch of stuff and and chances are you’ll start creating things you like. So while it all may not be your best work — it’s something! But the trick is, creativity thrives in momentum so just keep creating and eventually pieces will pop out that you are happy with and learn from in the process. Honestly, many professional artists make a lot of "ho-hum" art for every “great” piece because that’s how arting often works. Not every piece you create will be The One so learn to fail forwards and learn each lesson well. Focus on the process, exploration, and growth rather than the end product so much. See, the thing is, the finished piece is merely the incidental by-product, so shift your attention away from it and back on the experience of making it.

Dump comfort zones: Throw all your comfort zones out the window! Start fresh! Leave behind your normal arting routine and invent a new one if you have to. Just try something new, leave familiarity behind, and explore your creativity with more wanton abandon. Like if you normally only do small pieces, try something bigger. If you use oils, try pastels, or try your oils in a fresh way. If your painting is normally really “tight,” try a “looser,” more painterly approach. If you use a limited palette open it up to unconventional colors. If all you’re familiar with are stock horses, sculpt a Marwari or Belgian. Or try different tools even or new ways of using your old ones. Unlearn habitual ways of making your art and discover new avenues of arting whether with fresh new aesthetics, tools, clays, pigments, approaches or interpretations. Your imagination is limitless so set it free to explore new everything!

Play music: Music activates other areas of your brain and so can be a powerful generator of inspiration, relaxation, and engagement. Indeed, many artists play music as they work, finding that it even inspires their toolstrikes and brushstrokes. Some artists are directly inspired by music, creating pieces specifically related to a tune or style of music. And it can be whatever music gets you going, or even the music that “fits” the piece you’re working on. For instance, I listened to a lot of Ennio Morricone as I sculpted Incostante, my portrait of the black horse from the film, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly. I found it really set the mood and flavored the process in a wonderful way.

Breaktime: Physical and mental exhaustion can subdue your creative drive, even stop it, so it’s essential to recognize when you’re feeling drained. Honestly, ignoring that will only make the situation worse. So take regular breaks or as you need them — but take them. Work on something else, distract yourself with something quite different, or simply close your eyes for a time. Like when I need a sculpting break, I write, sketch, or create digital illustrations. Just for an hour or two, then I get back into the studio, but that short break time really helps to replenish my resolve and mental sharpness. In this way, incorporating short breaks to recharge can prevent mental fatigue that helps to maintain better focus. You see, the human brain wasn’t meant to focus on one thing intently for hours upon hours upon hours. That only leads to exhaustion, mistakes, and inferior work. Clear you head. Stretch, read, listen to music. Consider a walk or light hike — light exercise is a great way to reinvigorate yourself with new vitality and maybe even a fresh inspiration you found along the way. So when you start to feel overwhelmed or tired, engage activities that replenish your energy and serenity. Like, go carouse with your horse, play with your dog or cat, knit or sew, cook, take a nap, or watch a movie. Give yourself permission to rest when you need it! Listen to your mind, your art, and your body. And sometimes stepping away is essential — maybe you need a good night’s sleep, a day off, or doing something else for a time. There’s no shame in taking a break. Your art won’t suffer for it, in fact, if it’s a good break, your art will benefit as much as you will. Indeed, short breaks during a creative session or breaks between projects can help prevent burnout by slowing you down to a more relaxed, enjoyable, less frenzied pace. The anxiety generated from knowing you’re supposed to work but can’t is just a pointless vicious cycle and only associates arting with negative vibes, something you want to avoid. 

Get offline: Know it or not, but technology is exhausting and can drain you, and it feeds that pesky FOMO syndrome that can be so distracting. There's this, too: Being online is just a whole lotta peopling, isn't it? So gather inspiration away from screens. Read, visit a museum or gallery, look at horse books and magazines, go to horse shows, fairs, or expos. The point is — unplug, it’s good for you and your art.

Dump tech: Similarly, get off your phone and devices! Quit with the social media addiction! Return to the real world of right here and now in your life. Reducing screen time is truly a great way to reconnect with the creative side of your brain. So take some time away to explore your imagination and creative sensibilities offline. FOMO be darned! The art you create is just as cool as anything else, and it may be far more helpful and important for your psyche than what someone else is doing anyway. Besides, what’s a better use of your time? Doomscrolling mindlessly and getting into flamewars, or making art?

Try other artform: Who says your art just has to be about realistic equine sculpture and painting? Try jewelry-making, pottery, crochet, stained glass, gardening, book-making, printing, or any number of other arts and crafts. Art is imminently versatile and so is your creativity. You have far more potential inside of you than you suspect — explore it! And follow where it leads. Whatever piques its interest — go! Creativity does best when well fed — so break out that proverbial smorgasbord!

Journal: Often times a block or burnout is accompanied by a dearth of fresh ideas, so why not capture them as they randomly come in a handy little journal? Don’t let fleeting inspirations or ideas be lost! Really, some days your mind will be full of fresh thoughts and some days it’ll be just “meh,” but with a little journal, it doesn't matter! You can grab what you can quickly. Inspirations, prompts, thoughts, notions, wishes, sketches, ideas — whatever, just get it down. Then if your well of inspiration is running dry some day, just pull out that journal the take your pick! In fact, if you make it a fun rule to jot down any idea or inspiration, no matter how silly or dopey — especially if it’s dopey — then make it! Even if it’s terrible, chances are even your worst ideas hold a kernel of inspiration to get you going elsewhere. And understand that you’ll have to slog through a lot of nonsensical notations to end up with something really good so don’t think everything you jot down is The Golden Idea! It’s just a silly notion…run with it.

Hiatus: Think about this — do you actually need a long break from your creativity? If you do, there’s no shame in that. It’s alright to take a hiatus. You’re human after all. Remember, arting is supposed to be good for you, supposed to be therapeutic, so if it stresses you out, maybe it’s time to step away for a longer time. Now might also be a great time to seek therapy from a professional to provide you with some tools and explorations to dissect what’s really going on.

Clean your art space: There’s nothing quite like a clean art space ready to mess up that can get that itch twitching again. So clean up your creative space, maybe even rearrange and reorganize it. Changing up your creative environment can sometimes jog things loose all by itself. Even add elements that personalize the space or add to the inspirational atmosphere such as hanging certain art works or quotes that speak to you.

Forget sharing: Who says people have to see what you create? It’s still art even if you’re the only one who sees it! So never feel obligated to post or share your work. You don’t even have to talk about it if you don’t want to. It’s your private world if you wish it that way. So create work without a care, without pressure or expectation — no one is going to see it anyway. Heck, you can just throw it away if you want. There’s no law saying that everything you create has to follow you around the rest of your life. Like in some of my conventional art classes I take, I just don’t mention that I’m already a working artist which creates more of an expectation buffer as I learn new skills.

Make “bad” art: Lower your expectations! Quit with the perfectionism and ditch the masterpiece mentality! It’s perfectly alright to make “bad” art or use sketches or maquettes to build momentum. And the truth is, all artists have a “bad art day” — all of them make “bad” art from time to time. In fact, you go through a lot of “bad” art to create those few “great” pieces, that’s just the mystery of arting. Like I make lower grade custom maquettes for the painting classes I take. They have remaking flaws galore and I don’t make all the corrections they actually need, but I don’t care — they’re simply made to be fun bodies to learn oil painting on, that’s it. And my NaReViMo horses are a step down because they're also meant as fun learning maquettes, not my usual bust-my-gut work. So give yourself permission to be a foible human being and just have some fun with your creativity, especially as you learn.

Utilize prompts: Why not get inspiration from word prompts, or music, books, poetry, plays, dance, or symphonies? And Nature is a tremendous prompt all around us. Participate in challenges and NaMoPaiMo, NaMoScuMo, or NaReViMo. Make good use of that energy!

Revisit old work: This isn’t to say to revamp past work — nope! Leave your old work alone, trust me on this. Instead, just revisit that familiar idea or inspiration with a new piece, but in a new refurbished way. Study your past work since burnout often carries with it a lot of self-doubt and low confidence so it’s easy to forget all your past achievements. So go peruse your past portfolio, both the “good” and “bad.” Remember how the “good” pieces made you feel, even with all their difficult challenges. If it’s a “bad” piece, look how far you’ve come! Now reconsider that self-doubt — not so accurate, is it?

Proactive study: One of the best ways to kick yourself out of a funk is learning a new knowledge base, skill, aesthetic, or method. So focus on learning new stuff from techniques to anatomy to color genetics to color theory to composition to media to whatever trips your trigger. And it doesn’t even have to be with realistic horses! It can be anything creative from basketweaving to glass torchwork to programming. Just get creative in any direction! Like I took a series of pottery classes for kicks, learning to throw on a wheel and handbuild, and I found that it not only informed my equine art, but it actually improved it and my experience creating it! One form of creativity informs another, and you just never know what that treasure trove will be until you venture out!

Embrace Imperfection: Realize that not every piece must be a museum-worthy masterpiece and not every piece has to be a wild success, even from the first stroke. Wabi-sabi, baby! Just create art for the sake of creating it and learn from the mistakes and correct them as you go and grow. Indeed, perfectionism is typically your greatest hurdle. See, art isn’t about perfection! No no no. That’s the scam we’re sold, the lie we tell ourselves, the delusion we’re under. The truth is, art is about expression and connection — that’s all! So instead, set your intention on the process of making the art itself and not the outcome so much. Give yourself the freedom to make mistakes because you know what? Your mistakes tend to be those components of your Voice that are so critical to great work anyway. Too often people think that perfectionism is a strength, but it’s not — it’s a weakness. A big one. Like too many folks believe that perfectionism is what makes you good at your art, but it’s not — it makes you worse at it. Indeed, overworking is a very real thing, creative paralysis is typically imminent, and spinning your wheels can happen all too easily. The truth is that perfectionism is just the fear at being bad at what you’re doing, that’s all, and that has nothing to do with creating compelling or quality art. Indeed, that fear can be so strong as to prevent you from arting in the first place, even when you know you’re going to enjoy the process. How is that a good thing? How is perfectionism not inherently toxic? So just remember that perfectionism is simply fear. It’s not a physical block or a law — it’s all in your head. And you’re stronger than your fears, yes?

Quiet time: Give yourself moments of undistracted, undisturbed think time. Meditate, sit in silence, lay out on your deck alone, go lay down on the couch. Just give yourself quiet time to think deeply and allow your mind to relax and wander. Often times, this is where imaginative creative magic can happen.

Conclusion to Part III

Wow, that was a lot to digest, wasn’t it? There’s a lot of tactics at our disposal to wrestle these two knuckleheads to the ground, which is good for us — bad for them. So in Part IV, yep, we’ll continue with even more of these strategies, giving you lots more adaptive responsiveness you can custom-fit to your situation! 

“If you hear a voice within you saying, ‘You are not a painter,’ then by all means paint…and that voice will be silenced.”

― Vincent van Gogh

Block and Burnout: How to Rekindle the Creative Fire Part III

Block and Burnout: How to Rekindle the Creative Fire Part II

Introduction to Part II

We’re back with our exploration of artist block and burnout, and how to kick them to the curb. In Part I, we discussed what block and burnout actually are, their causes and symptoms, and in this Part II, we begin our tally of all the various strategies we can use to squish them once and for all. And it’s important to squish them because they are two of the most common reasons for people not being creative in our art form. If we can get more folks banging out cool pieces in our genre though, imagine all the possibilities! Indeed, out next big superstar could be out there, suffering block and simply needing some practical tools to beat it! So let’s just get right to it in this 6-part series, shall we? Let’s go!…

The Turnaround Strategies

Are you currently stuck with a block or suffering burnout? Or maybe you’ve been stuck for a really long time and are afraid of a comeback? Maybe you haven’t arted in so long, you even doubt your ability to create now? Maybe you feel paralyzed and hopeless? Has your confidence crashed to rock bottom? Do you feel disempowered and lost? Maybe even despair? I’m sorry. But the thing is block and burnout can make us feel powerless as if it was simply meant to be, as if there was nothing to be done about it. But nothing could be further from the truth! There’s a ton we can do about it! Some very simple strategies can break the cycle and though they may not be so easy per se, they are highly effective if you practice them. And the more strategies you practice, the more creative momentum you gain. But here’s the thing — you have to be proactive. Busting out of these cycles means you have to make the first move. If what you were doing got you in this bad state to begin with, you have to change what you’re doing to bust loose, right? But the good news is, these moves are often small and super fun, all doable no matter how bad your cycle has gotten. You just have to take a breath, dig deep, and do them. Take the first step, blindly if you have to. It’s a leap of faith. The really good news is this though: Your creativity will catch you. It will always catch you, you just have to learn to trust it again. And if you don’t like your first attempts when gearing back up again — no biggie. Keep going! Just keep going! Arting is like a pump, it needs to be primed. It needs something to feed on to really get going — so feed it! Just keep going and going and going, screaming into the void if you have to! Make it Toad’s Wild Ride if need be! But just keep going! Trust me — it will come back and also become easier and more enjoyable.

Now that being said, the real trick to amending a block or burnout is to avoid them in the first place — an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We’ll talk about how to do that a bit later. But that aside, the important part is first recognizing the problem as a real problem, not just a mere temporary phase. Indeed, we should treat block and burnout seriously, taking active steps to turn them around rather than passively waiting for them to blow over. Why? Because chances are they won’t blow over on their own — they need intervention. Happily though, there are gobs of practical strategies we can implement to do just that! So let’s explore each one…brace yourself…there are a ton of them…

Professional intervention: If burnout persists, seek help from a mental health professional, preferably one who specializes in treating creatives. Therapy or counseling can give you effective tools for finding your way back and for dealing with stress to improve your well-being. Burnout isn’t to be trifled with as it can have very real consequences for an artist! Indeed, the American Psychological Association (APA) has identified burnout as a valid occupational hazard with real health consequences. If you need to reach out because of burnout, resources like HelpGuide.org has comprehensive information on it, its effect, and solid strategies to escape its syndrome.

Change mediums, styles, or subjects: Go for it — try a different medium! Like I painted in acrylics for over twenty years and recently discovered oils, and lo — my painting passion came roaring back! Now I can’t wait to jump into the next painting project! So try oils, pastels, color pencils, even watercolor if all you’re familiar with is acrylics, for example. Or try different styles of painting like that very painterly brushstroke style for manes and tails popular now. Or if you’re accustomed to a more general type of painting, try an approach that highlights and shades the muscles more. Try a new color you’ve not painted before, or a new breed, or dive into portraying different types of equines than just horses. Like if you haven’t tackled a donkey or zebra before, now is the time! Or try a Unicorn, Hippocorn, Kirin, or winged horse, even in a fantasy color! Why not?

Doodle: You don’t always have to create realistic equines! You can simply create meaningless doodles, scribbling mindlessly to release pressure. Indeed, doodling has been found to give certain parts of the brain a rest while gearing up other, more helpful areas related to memory and relaxation. It also increases creative thinking and problem-solving in a way that’s free of pressure or expectation, allowing for more creative associations to be made. It’s also been found that doodling helps you process emotions so if you’re feeling depressed, anxious, frustrated, or despairing, even desperate, doodle all that out to gain some processing-out power. In this way, doodling can reduce stress much like a coloring book as it calms the amygdala, the portion of the brain responsible for the fight, flight, or freeze response which is linked to anxiety and stress. Doodling has also been found to help us learn better. Indeed, studies have found that those students who doodled during a lecture tended to retain more information and make better sense of complex ideas. Similarly, it’s also thought to reduce distraction and increase innovative thinking, priming the brain for stimulation by keeping it out of a default resting state, primed for action. In this way, doodling can help you Big Picture problems or challenges by stimulating both the conscious and unconscious mind, allowing you to make novel connections otherwise untapped. Most of all though, research has found that doodling can improve your mood, making you happier and more relaxed and decompressed, especially when doodling something you love. So never underestimate the power of a doodle! If in doubt — doodle!

Sketch: Likewise, never underestimate the power of your sketchbook! Just make some quickie scribbles with no expectations or pressure…just start jotting down simple HSOs (horse-shaped objects) for fun. Practice capturing gesture and posture and pose, movement and moment. Just have some creative playtime without needing to be perfect. Like stick with first strokes and see where that goes, or not. If using your eraser makes you happier, go for it! And let your imagination wander where it will, like in a dreamstate. Whatever you do, just practice sketching for the creative play it actually is. It can truly be amazing what can actually pop out when we leave our brain the heck alone while it’s creating and quit with all our expectations and impositions.

Just Start: Just take a deep breath, darn the torpedoes, and begin, expecting nothing. Now that may sound easier said than done, right? But believe me, if you just dive in with zero expectations, it’s amazing where your art can go. And make a deal with yourself: It’s okay to throw away what you just made because it’s the act of starting that matters, not the outcome. Now if that pristine piece of paper, canvas, resin, or OF is impeding you — mess it up! Or find one that’s already messed up. Like doodle on used Post-It Notes, paint over cruddy old canvases, have a friend draw pencil marks all over your resin, or buy a beaten up, cheap ol’ OF. Remember that “it’s too perfect to ruin” mentality is a block! You’ve got to jump over it with strategy and guile! You gotta be devious if you hope outsmart your own blocked brain.

Take a trip: Travel is a tremendous way to jumpstart your creativity. There are few things more effective for getting us out of our own heads than a new adventure! And who knows what kinds of inspirations lay in wait for us along the way. Even better — take an art-based trip or horse-based excursion. Absolutely, there are plenty of horseback riding or dude ranch vacations to be tapped into, and loads of artist retreats just waiting for you to dive in. Sometimes what we really need is to just shake our own tree — hard — and travel has an uncanny way of doing just that. (Pro tip: Take a sketchbook or plein air set to jot down images of your adventures.)

Classes, tutorials, and workshops: Sometimes the guided structure of an educational setting is just the ticket for booting us out of our funk. It provides built-in deadlines and motivation, as well as a goodly support system not just with the instructor, but also with your fellow students. Surrounding yourself with creative people is wonderfully contagious! And it’s always beneficial to see other peoples’ processes, struggles, and triumphs as a shared experience and as a learning opportunity. Besides, taking classes and workshops beefs up your skill set and can bust the rust off, proving to yourself that not only have you still got it, but you have loads of more potential inside of you than you never suspected. And maybe you even discover new media, methods, and aesthetics. What a huge double dose of fuel on that creative fire! And it all doesn’t have to be related to our own art form. It can be creative classes on anything such as pottery, writing, stained glass, cooking, dance, sewing, plein air painting — whatever — the point is to just get creative again, in any direction.

Paint n’ sip: The great thing about going to paint n’ sips is that the focus isn’t on making masterpieces, it’s about making memories. It’s pure wabi-sabi arting! It’s all about the experience, not the product. Getting out of your head for two hours and just smearing pigment on a canvas — it can be cathartic. And that’s often exactly the ticket to bust us loose out of a block or burnout cycle. You see, it’s highly structured, it’s led step by step, it’s fast and instant gratification, you need zero artistic ability, it’s casual and low-key, there’s zero emphasis on perfection, and even better, arting with a bunch of other folks also having a good time is addictive and replenishing. It’s just a series of win wins that can be highly effective in kicking block or burnout out the door!

Conclusion to Part II

So we’re at the end of Part II with a good start with some nifty tactics to curb block and burnout! But brace yourselves, there’s a ton more comin’ down the pike! Yep! The great news is that there are a pile of ways to keep block and burnout at bay, and if we apply a few of them simultaneously, we’ve got a great shot at beating them outright to get back to our creative selves. And the more people being creative in our genre, the better! It gets more people recognizing the realities behind the studio door, it gets our classes packed, and it has more people realizing their horsey dreams for reals. And arting is good for you — very very good for you. Indeed, science has proven that it reduces stress and lowers cortisol while boosting dopamine. It also improves the plasticity of the brain and develops creative problem solving. What's more, it's been found in a new study that being creative even slows biological aging, being as effective as exercise! How 'bout dem apples?

So in the spirit of all this good stuff, let’s continue our deep dive into all the strategies that beef up your defense against artist block and burnout in Part III. Yep, there’s a lot more shenanigans to get through!

“Don’t worry about mistakes. Making things out of mistakes, that’s creativity.”

— Peter Max

Block and Burnout: How to Rekindle the Creative Fire Part II