Hi there everyone,

I just wanted to know what you do when you get frustrated. There are just days when my pencil and hand seem to have a mind of their own and art just seems to flow out...and my lines and proportion and form are all working together. And then there are days when just the prospect of doing anything that even remotely resembles art seems to be a far off goal.
I recently started taking an art class and through misfortune my art teacher was in a car accident. While he's healing they had to cancel the class and refund everyone's money...I was really depressed for a while...my teacher really inspired me and the whole week I'd been working on my assignment and refining it...then starting over and making it better than before. But I'm in the same position again...sometimes it flows and works and other times not and I don't know why...and it's very frustrating...

any thoughts and help are appreciated....

Hello,
Often when I get frustrated, I get up, make myself a cup of tea, step away from what ever it is I am working on, and just take a break. Many times this is just what I need to get going again. Of course, this doesn't work absolutely everytime. It is then that I put my artwork away for a while. Possibly coming back to it later, or the next day, when I see it with "new eyes". Just the act of getting up and away from the drawing table is enough for me to get back in the flow of things. I don't think you can "force" yourself to work on an assignment. Creativity just dries up then, sort of like, that song "I can't make you love me, if you don't...".
Sometimes, if you play music while you work, changing the music helps. If you don't usually play music, try it, you might find it relaxes, or energizes you, depending on what you play.
However, if you are tired or distracted, that is not the time to attempt any art project. I find I have to be "in the mood" to draw or paint. I don't know if this helps, but it usually works for me.
Regards,
Trish

thanks Trish...I'll have to try the music idea...and the tea sounds good as well.

Part of my problem *is* I think I'll sit down and be like..."okay, time to work on my art"....even if I'm not in the mood to really do it.

I never draw if I am not in the mood .. every time I have tried I have not been happy and it seems to add to my mood in a negitive way ....if i start a drawing and I for some reason find myself getting tired of the drawing .. I will set it aside and look at it a few days later ...I have tried music and I dont mind listening but it tends to make a difference on my lines and flow so on some drawings i want that on others i do not .. portraits i tend to like the room quiet ..maybe it is the amount of work and concentration that goes into it .
I also know that when I am happy with a drawing I hardly want to put it down ..i tend to want to work on it into the night ...so being pleased with your own work could also play a big part on your mood .

i get like that too. i think it happens to everyone no matter what the hobby..when i was sculpting i was loving it..then everyone started pressuring me to sell..and i did for several months. but after a while the love of sculpting turned into WORK..and it totally wrecked my creative process. i would now sit down and start a sculpture with a UGH I MUST GET THIS DONE attitude instead of the joy i used to start out with..i had to stop the sculpt hobby completely. but yes, i would be very frustrated with my art during those times..

even now when i draw..it can sometime take me hours just to put my first lines down..i fiddle with putting this here, fudge with putting that there, then turn around and play with the dogs, watch t.v..anything to delay the process of BEGINNING it seems..but once i actually put that pencil on the paper, i am lost there for hours..and dont want to stop..i look at the clock and it is way past bedtime ALREADY

i guess that happens to everyone

Personally when I feel frustrated and unable to concentrate it is when I need to push my self harder. If I push my self then later I grow in confidence and skill. I believe that we make decisions and then our moods will eventually follow our decisions if we are determined. If i only drew when I was in the "mood" I don't think I could keep customers.

Haha same exact thing happens to me all the time.

I've got a bit of the same mindset....I made a commitment to myself to draw everyday for at *bare-minimum* a half hour...and while sometimes I find that I'm loving it, most times I'm trying to distract myself. But as one Buddhist nun I love says..."You don't get worse at something by practicing more of it"....she was talking about meditation, but I've been *trying* to apply it to art.


Also...a big thanks to everyone for their perspectives....it's nice to hear all the things people do to help themselves out.

When my drawing or paintings aren't going too well, I take the dog for a walk - she gets a lot of walks!!

usually I walk away and come back to it another day!

I have a routine whenever I'm doing a project. Sharpen pencils, or prepare paint, then I lay everything I might use out in front of me.

I turn on music, usually Bob Dylan. I prefer something that is not too distracting but pumps me up and I can sing along to.

If that doesn't work then maybe doodle in your sketch book, don't be worried about making a perfect sketch just have fun and free your mind. Or look back on stuff you have already done or look at others people's work. That's what so great about sites like these. Don't forget art galleries or museums. Do things that inspire you.

Take a break. There is nothing wrong with that. I take lots of breaks when I'm working on something. It helps me greatly to step back and look at what I've done.

Never give up!

I paint more than draw, but when I'm feeling frustrated and can't settle down into the right frame of mind, I find it helpful to do something preparatory (something I can do on "auto-pilot") - giving brushes or palette a good clean, prepping some canvases or boards, having a tidy up of my rather cramped studio-space, that sort of thing. I sometimes find that just doing that acts to get me in the right mood to do some art, and, if not, at least I've done something positive.

Just taking a break, doing something completely different can be good - going for a walk, seeing a movie, or visiting a gallery or museum to get inspired by great art (I'm lucky, living in London, lots of world-class free public galleries within 30 mins travel).


Dave

Sometimes I was inspired and did good things. Sometimes I had no idea, all attempts were bad. In these cases, I usually forced the drawing making it even worst, joking with it. To make caricatures with ugly colors and angry lines. This relaxed me.
I usually did not throw the drawing out. Because, later on, when I returned to the drawing, I found it interesting. Funny, no ?

Here is another things you can do other than listen to music. What I do is get out a blank paper and just doodle whatever and sometimes it kicks in. I often keep a good sketch book. You should do this. Its where you keep Ideas. You carry it around and when you see something but your too busy at the moment you do a quick sketch and come back to it later. You want to get the Idea or thing you thought was cool. I also have busy work. I work on background or something until I get into it.

That is some of my Ideas.......

have fun....

Since I started with drawspace in March, I hardly had a single day without work or pleasure to work.I am currently working in 5 media now, so i never get bored.
Frustration with what i do might happen but i am aware i am a beginner and these things cannot be learned in a week, month, year.I always choose my medium depending on the mood and inspiration.
When i cannot practice there is always something else to do for me, webdesign, cooking, poetry,etc.Art is just one form of expresion of oneself.Meditation is also good for the artist.Music.Web art galleries for those far from cities.

Hi Wildlotus,

An interesting topic,when i first started drawing it was difficult to stay motivated.
When i was studying drawing, we had to produce a lot of drawings and the only way you could keep up with the studies was to draw every day for about four to five hours.

It was very good training,my advice to you is to draw, draw and draw, dont worry about the results or the finished product,the process and experience is what is important.

Enjoy it..and keep on drawing.Everything you produce is art,it is all part of the process.

Regards Wayneo

Hi wildelotus, I agree with Bobby, it is often by pushing through those frustrating times that we grow the most. Frustration can come from a variety of areas such as lack of ideas to paint about, lack of skills to paint those ideas, or generally feeling un-motivated. If you struggle with ideas, carry around a notebook and write your thoughts, often paintings come out of your thoughts - it brings the subconscious to the conscious. Painting in themes helps to keep the motivation up too. I paint in themes that often take years to completely exhaust.

If you are feeling frustrated about lack of technique, you really need to study an art course, that will give you some directed-learning and valuable feedback to help you grow. Often we stumble around on our own and aren't sure whether our work is good or not. A skilled teacher will help you to find your strengths, to develop your weaknesses and inspire your passion. Next time you feel frustrated try this tip; write. Yep, write about feeling frustrated and just write anything that comes out of your hand, don't think about it - no matter how gibberish it sounds just put pen to paper. This technique has helped many people to come up with great new ideas and even pull out of artist's block. Let me know if this helps you.

When i'm frustrated with my art, i take a break from the project i'm working on and revisit a medium i haven't used in a while. A trip down the aisles of michaels or other art supplies shop is always good for inspiration!

hi

when i get stuck with a drawing block or even while doing home work or somthing i get up and do 10 push ups, some times getting physical helps jog you brain into gear and i find it easy to consentrate and figure problems, and well, get back to drawing! it helps me most all the time ;D

Makes sense. Doing physical activity gets more oxygen to your brain and thus helps your focus. This is why some schools and other establishments allow students to take tests standing up. In the standing position you circulate oxygen more freely and you can actually get better scores on the test. Maybe I should try this sometime with my drawing...

Great example of this point.