All Things Painter Beating the Creative Doldrums by John Derry

It happens to all of us at one time or another: the dreaded Creative Doldrums. With no warning, the muse of creativity heads south, leaving us fresh out of ideas. When your creative gas tank runs dry, what can you do to get back on the road toward your artistic goal?

A primary cause of creative roadblocks is the tunnel vision that often accompanies an artistic pursuit. Think about it: you are conceptually circling a visual idea with ever-tightening spirals in search of the ideal form. With your imagination in constant motion, it's easy to lose sight of your goal, and what was clear becomes foggy. This month, I'll share some techniques that have helped me get back on track artistically.

Immersing yourself in other artists' good ideas is the best inspiration there is. Good art and design tend to rub off on the psyche and rekindle creativity. I find that visiting a local museum helps get my juices flowing, and it gets me out of the studio for some fresh air.

Looking through art books and periodicals is an alternative to viewing art at a museum. I've managed to purchase enough art-related books over the years to build up a pretty good reference library. When I find myself at a loss for inspiration, I start perusing the books in my collection. If you haven't built up a personal visual-resource library, a visit to the local bookseller might be in order. I thoroughly enjoy the atmosphere of a good bookstore, where I can spend an enriching afternoon poring over printed collections of art and photography.

What if you can't take the time to leave the studio? If you're reading this, then you have access to the biggest museum and bookstore in the world: the Internet. I cannot imagine a world without the Web. I use it daily to find various tidbits of information and imagery. Many search engines include an image-search feature.

Perhaps external stimulation is not the prescription for your artistic drought. Maybe you need to remove your mental cobwebs and restore your creative clarity. Whenever I'm visually stuck, I open a new blank image in Corel® Painter™ and select a medium that I don't typically use. I just start to doodle and play around with the medium without any specific intent. Then, I grab another, completely unrelated, tool and keep doodling.

I may not end up with anything useful, but I find that this playful doodling with unfamiliar media often helps recharge my batteries. Think of this activity as taking a break, in which the object is to have fun. When you return to your project, you'll find yourself refreshed and ready to go.

Another method I've used to renew my perspective is to choose a couple of my images or photographs and combine them in novel ways. This exercise in visual problem-solving encourages me to look at objects differently. A few minutes of this activity will definitely lubricate your artistic machinery.

Switching from a mental to a physical activity allows the unconscious mind to percolate and simmer over a creative problem. I find that a brisk walk or bicycle ride often puts me into a receptive mental state in which I can rearrange the puzzle pieces of a problem into a solution. When I return to the studio, I have a clear idea of how to proceed.

The Creative Doldrums can hit at any time without warning. Use these techniques to minimize your downtime. They are creative-life preservers that can help keep you afloat during your artistic journeys. Happy sailing!

John Derry
Somewhere in Kansas

John Derry is a pioneer of digital painting and one of the original authors of Corel® Painter™. Since 1985, John has leveraged his background in drawing and painting to advance the look and experience of traditional art-making tools on the computer. John has a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in Fine Art and is a practicing artist and photographer. He is the Art Director at Strauss Peyton Imaging, a fine art printing company. John's Web site is at www.pixlart.com.