Drawing Out Inspiration

by Brittany Maldonado January 13, 2014

It has been said that many of the greats have created their best work during moments of heightened passion. Whether it’s sadness, anger, longing, desire, lust, etc., there is something about overwhelming emotion that brings out an artist’s personal masterpieces. I’ve written my best poems holding a glass full of wine and a mouth full of heart break. I’ve birthed my rawest paintings through my darkest visions of myself, and the world, after sleepless nights on damp pillows. I do not seek inspiration when I am in a state of distress because pain is my biggest muse. But what happens when I am, dare I say….happy? I find myself sitting over a blank page (or canvas) clawing desperately for a glimmer of something. Anything. A simple thing to ignite my mind, to shape the words, to move my brush. To no avail.

How does an artist hungry for inspiration create something worth looking at? How do we get over the speed bump also known as artist’s block? If you are lucky enough to get paid for your work, that more often than not comes with deadlines that need to be met, and the person issuing these deadlines could care less if you are feeling stuck. How do you create an authentic piece of art that doesn’t feel forced when you are in a slump?

I find that telling myself these three things have helped a bit. They have not cured me of this debacle, but have surely handed me a step ladder on an occasion or two when I have hurled myself down the black hole of stagnancy with no sign of reprieve in sight:

1. Not every piece of work you create will be a masterpiece. I, like many of the artist folk I know, am a perfectionist. When I create something I expect the end product to be exactly as I imagined it, or better. Something worth looking at. If I am not inspired authentically to create something, I feel like anything I put out will be half-assed, therefore I don’t even bother. THIS IS THE WRONG MINDFRAME TO BE IN. Even if what you create is in your opinion a train wreck (which it probably isn’t and you should stop being so hard on yourself) at least you are creating something. Getting your juices flowing. Use it as an opportunity to hone your skill. Experiment with a technique you’ve never tried before. Even if the end result is something you never want to see again and must drown yourself with copious amounts of booze to forget (a wee bit dramatic I know) at least you will have worked on something, learned something, even if that something is that you never want to try charcoal again. Paint the canvas white, and start again.

2. Stop road blocking yourself. Since some of my best work has come from my darkest moments, I told myself, and in turn began to believe, that I could only create great work when I was sad/angry/hurting. What resulted was me not even trying when I wasn’t in a dark place. I told myself I am not creating because I am happy, instead of just trying. I created my own mental block. Another result was that all of my work was very dark. While this isn’t a bad thing, we as artists need to be versatile. We don’t ever want to run the risk of all our work looking/sounding the same. We need to surprise our audience every now and again. Just when they think they have got us figured out, we need to flip everything on its head. The mind is a powerful thing, and you can wind up becoming your worst enemy. Open your mind. Tell yourself you can do it. Even if it’s not your personal best, it can be the foundation for something greater. Just do it.

3. Think of the last piece of art you saw that you liked. A lot of the time I can’t find inspiration within myself, I go to a museum and just observe. I often become inspired by seeing other pieces of work. What is it about this piece that I am drawn to? Is it the images? The technique? The size? Sometimes I have taken a piece of work, and thought of ways that I could remix it. Make my own version of it. I have created pieces this way. I don’t plagiarize the art I’ve seen; I draw inspiration from it and create my own. Maybe this piece had a very dark color scheme that I liked, so I’ll go home and try working with only dark colors. Maybe it was a huge canvas, so I will challenge myself to create something large scale. My favorite piece I have every created was inspired by my favorite Picasso painting. It’s ok to use ideas/concepts you have seen elsewhere, just make it your own, and always give credit to the piece that inspired you.

I can’t guarantee that any of these ideas will cure your creator’s block. It’s something I struggle with to this day, but hopefully it will help you barrel through. Give you that little push. Think outside of the box. Step outside of your comfort zone. Force yourself to face your stagnancy head on a kick it in the throat. You got this.