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
