So you found time to make the art, but now the problem is…what to actually make? (Haven’t yet even found time to make art? Be sure to check out my recent blog post on the topic.)
The fear of the blank page is REAL!! It’s something every creator faces whether it be a painter sitting down to paint, a writer to write, a musician to compose… you name it! Writer Steven Pressfield addresses this very issue in his best-selling book “The War of Art”. He calls this fear of the blank page “The Resistance” because of how real a thing it truly can be!
Here’s a few ideas to help you face down your own version of “The Resistance” and actually make something:
Set a timer and GO!
Sometimes just establishing a clear boundary of some kind can help the process. If you know ok I have only 10 mins here, it’s often more motivating to start than if you have endless time and no real direction. Installing some sort of parameter can help take away some of the overwhelm.
Establish 3 clear rules to help you start.
Again, going back to what I just said, having guard rails in place can sometimes help move the process forward, rather than hindering it. So if you set up 3 clear parameters and then go for it, you may find yourself able to get past decision fatigue and just start creating. So for example, you might choose a subject matter, color palette and time frame as your 3 parameters. So rather than me sitting down to a blank page of paper and feeling overwhelmed, I approach that paper having already decided I will make something winter themed, in the colors gray, blue and white, and I will work on it for 15 minutes. BOOM. Now I have a clear path ahead.
Consider greeting cards!
If you are an artist with the wish to create, but you don’t necessarily have a purpose or end goal for your artwork yet, consider creating art intended for greeting cards! This is a wonderful world to dive into because each card is its own work of art, and it has a clear purpose and theme right from the start to help guide the art you create. This establishes the parameters I mentioned above. So for example, rather than having an endless list of possible things to draw or paint, you might sit down with the goal of creating 1 Christmas card. You have a theme and you have an end product in mind which will help guide your artwork.
Look to children for inspiration!
Have you ever watched how young kids create art? If not, let me tell you their process for facing down the blank page… They don’t have one! You know why? Because they just grab whatever supply they can get their paws on and get cracking with zero hesitation, zero second guessing and usually zero plan! They just GO and roll with it. It’s such a breath of fresh air to watch and should be inspiration to us all! This is the true nature within us all that we have shoved down by our need for perfection and allowing our minds to overpower what our souls know to be true and possible. So do whatever you can to quiet the noise between your ears and JUST START!
In addition to Steven Pressfield’s awesome book on facing down the blank page, I have several other books in my creative arsenal that I consider complete game changers when it comes to sparking your creativity and getting going! I’ll be sharing those soon so stay tuned!
I also have some super motivating challenges coming up soon that will be great motivators so stay with me!
And as always, you can have alllll the tricks in the book, but nothing will work until you do! Now go and MAKE. THE. ART. I believe in you!
XO,
Michele, The Greeting Card Girl