My 5 favourite ways to stay creative and banish artists block.

I'm very lucky in that I very rarely suffer from artists' block.
​ But for some it can be paralysing.
​Here are my tops tips to keep your creativity on point.
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The biggest thing that usually stops me hitting the canvas is bookkeeping.  A mundane but necessary chore. Invoicing galleries and clients. Ordering prints. Photographing work.
​Then there's updating the website and hitting social media. My latest focus on the internet is pinterest- not so much social media as one giant visual search engine. For artists it's a great way to promote our work but its also an amazing resource for inspiration.

 I have a few creative tasks that have served me very well over the years.
Creativity isn't magic, it doesn't fall from the sky like a thunderbolt.
Creativity is a habit.
Here are my five favourite ways of getting the creative habit.  ​
1. Go outside.
Ideally you'll go outside and sketch, but actually just going outside for a a bit of a walk can get your creative juices flowing again. Take the time to look, to really notice. The skies,  the changing light,  the changing seasons, nature in all its glory. Alternatively notice the mundane, the everyday, the manmade. Have a good look round.

2. Go inside.
Draw a coffee shop scene. Draw a close up of your coffee cup then draw the whole room. Accept the changes. Jot down ideas as they occur you, snippets of conversations. Find the spark to create an idea.

3. Go to a gallery.
Whether its a huge, internationally famous gallery or a little local museum. You can get inspiration from the artwork itself. The story behind it. The way the exhibition has been curated. The "feel" of the place. 
I absolutely love drawing in galleries. Standing up in front of the work, using a little hardback sketchbook. It's wonderful. and it never fails to inspire me.

4. Create every day.
Forge a new habit of creating something everyday - a drawing,- passage of writing, a painting..but do it everyday. Draw your breakfast in the morning, draw your shoes when you take them off in the evening. 
​Little and often is key!

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5. Be prepared to fail.
Make a mess. Take yourself out of your comfort zone. Work in a medium unfamiliar or on a subject you've never tackled before.
These beautiful white parks were the first a few oil paintings that later helped me created a stunning commission. But I had to be brave first to make the piece work.
Make a promise that you will do something without showing it to anyone or posting on the internet. It's a way of giving yourself permission to explore something new without having make it perfect. If you experiment often enough, you might just discover something wonderful!

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Do all if the above and I'm positive you'll banish artist's block and  be ready to move towards a bigger project.
Enjoy.

​If you want to discover more about drawing and sketching I still have a couple of places on my workshop in  Salisbury Cathedral in  September, you can find out all the details by clicking the button below.

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