As a creative, experiencing a life crisis or an art-related crisis does affect your creative work. It can lead you to stop creating, create less, or create things that you do not want to show to the world. As a result, you end up feeling stagnant in your art career. I want to discuss this topic from my perspective.
Stillness is not stagnancy
To start, not creating at all or creating art that I wasn’t going to feel confident sharing meant that my art career was stagnant. However, I have noticed that when I am not painting, I am still thinking, getting inspired, writing down my ideas, and growing as a human. With me being the most important element of my art career, my growth means that my career is growing too. Whether I create art or not, I am propelling my life forward. I have momentum, too. Thus, stillness in your art doesn’t mean your career is stagnant.
Looking back at your younger self, did your breaks actually break your career?
As of now, you look back at your younger self and think that you did absolutely great. You are where you are today thanks to your younger self and her genuine efforts. She did her best, and the breaks she took were needed. In the same narrative, the future version of you is looking back at you with absolute love and appreciation. Feeling stagnant in your art career exists only in your mind, as in reality, you were busy developing, searching for the missing puzzle pieces of your life, and going forward. Your future self is as proud of you as you are of your younger self today. Grateful for your tenacity, for the habits you picked, and for how you changed everything for her.
What should you do if you are feeling stagnant in your art career?
You need to understand why you are feeling stagnant
In many cases, we feel stagnant because we are creating the art we truly want to create. Maybe we need a little more courage, a little better technique, a little step outside of our comfort zones, and a lot less care about what others are thinking of what we create.
In order to avoid stagnation, we jump
It is very easy to avoid creating art every time we are reminded why we should not. Maybe your parents are buying your art supplies for you, and you feel like a burden. Maybe your high school friends think your art is ugly, so you avoid making it altogether, or maybe your office job is already causing you decision fatigue, so you avoid making any more decisions about your art. Go ahead and do the exact opposite of what your mind and the people judging your art are saying. Don’t shut down your creative ideas; make them shut down your discouraging thoughts.
Go visit some art galleries
It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but don’t restrict yourself to just your style; try everything from pencil drawing to sculpture to textiles. Do this on a consistent basis. You may find inspiration in the least-expected areas. Don’t go with a super-critical eye. Just absorb it like a sponge.
Get out your camera (or cell phone) and take pictures of anything and everything that you find fascinating or interesting
Maybe the texture of a tree trunk, graffiti, shadows on the ground, great color combinations, architecture, your hand, your shoes, the sky—you name it. Back in your studio, put together a slide show. Print up any that you really like and put them up in your studio. Think of how you would like to recreate these pieces, then go on with the process.
Do something you’ve been afraid to try but would like to.
Zip-lining anyone?
Meet together with friends
If you have artist friends, it would be awesome to meet up every once in a while to explore each others’ ideas and discuss everyone’s work. Critique it. And let them critique yours.
Clean and rearrange your studio.
Change where you work, such as on a wall rather than an easel or on the floor rather than a table. Roller rather than a brush. Shake things up. Remember the old saying that you can’t keep doing the same thing all the time and expect a different result?
Keep working on your art
Keep doing small things on a regular schedule. Sketch daily, watercolor doodle once a week, and write a journal page before bed. It takes a lot of art-making to turn out the occasional really good piece that might boost your confidence to move your career again.
Conclusion
When I used to feel stagnant in my art as a teen, I would choose a random topic for an artwork and then create many versions of it, the second one based on the first, and the third based on the second, etc. I would try different colors, with different materials, or orient it differently (create a vertical image whereas my original was horizontal), simplify it or make it more complicated, or add texture. I make a few changes in each image so that by the 6th or 10th one, it has morphed into something quite different, and I have stimulated my creativity enough to feel less stagnant. Maybe you can try this out and enjoy creating <3
