How I Stay Motivated As An Artist
I’ve been asked many times how I stay motivated to create the amount of work that I do. Are you motivated everyday? How do you keep showing up in the studio? There are so many days that I don’t feel like creating, how do you do it? And so I decided to write a blog post with some tips and tricks that I use to keep my motivation high or how to keep going when I’m not motivated.
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
I couldn’t agree with this quote more. The number one way to increase your creating is to just sit down and do it. In the beginning of my painting career, I was so eager to learn and grow as an artist. I didn’t need a lot of inspiration. I woke up so excited to learn more, to play more, and to explore color more. You see, I feel that I was created by the Creator to create and intuitively it just comes naturally to me. But I also had a mentor tell me that the best way to improve my work was to paint everyday. I had to make it a priority. If you paint a couple times a year, once a month, or once a week, you’re going to have a great time and love the process, but true learning curves happen when you are creating everyday. When you’ve done a process 100 times, then you know how the paint is going to react, you know how to fix mistakes, and you can be bold enough to push your work farther knowing that you can always come back to what you had if need be.
This was a mixed media piece that I created and put on my kitchen counter many years ago to remind myself that I was responsible to make all my own dreams come true. Now, it is a little beaten up after a couple moves and the glue failing, but I think you get the point. Even my daily inspiration to myself had to be beautiful. I am so inspired by written words, and that is why I use them throughout my creating process. Seeing messages of how I want to live my life during my day is one way that I inspire myself to keep working toward my dreams. You might find sticky notes on my bathroom mirror or inside cabinet doors. They all serve a purpose to remind me of the life that I want to live and to not fall for what my lazy self might want to do at that moment. We are responsible for the life that we live. And I don’t want to waste a minute on the things in life that don’t serve me or grow me into the “ME” I want to be.
Now, life does happen. You or a family member gets sick, you get married (HaHa!!), move to a new home or studio space, you get asked to volunteer weekly, or a myriad of other life events. I try to say “NO” to as many things as I can in my life, so I can say “yes” to my creativity and my dreams. I try not to have too many lunch plans with friends. I try not to volunteer for too many things. I really prioritize my studio time, because that is what I want for my life and my dream to come alive. It is not selfish as we may have been told or taught growing up, because we are not here solely for everyone else’s needs. Again, we are responsible for the life we want to live. And I can tell you, I have made this mistake before in my life by putting everyone else’s needs before my own, and it just doesn’t work. Proper boundaries are good for everyone, and I am so much happier since figuring this out. But if life does get in the way, don’t beat yourself up. Give yourself grace in the moment. Take small breaks to create, even if its just in a sketchbook for 30 minutes when you can create with pencil, pen, and watercolors. Know that your creativity will not go away. It will be waiting for you like a long lost friend you haven't seen for a while. And sometimes these breaks cause break throughs to happen when you do get back to the studio. It seems that after I have been pulled away from the studio, I have a huge burst of creativity when I return.
And what happens if all else fails. What happens if you just can’t seem to make things happen?? Here’s my top 10 things to do: take a walk outside, run an errand, clean brushes or tidy art supplies, do finish work on paintings (like varnish), just get a white canvas out and scribble with no expectations, sit in the studio to read emails or social media, crank up some fun music, look at magazines or art books for color inspiration, listen to a great art podcast or read art blogs, or sometimes just stepping into the studio to begin with will be enough. Most of the times, these things work like a charm for me. Just getting around the paint, the smells, the color, and in the room will do the trick.
It’s all about showing up for yourself. And when you make yourself and your desires a priority, then things can happen. You will experience growth that you never could have imagined in all parts of your life. Because that is how the creative process works. It becomes a part of who you are to your core, and seeps into every part of your life. I’m a true creative, and I could never go back!! Come along with me!!
