#2. How to overcome an art block

And avoid comparison from stealing your joy :)

Dear lovely human, 

I left social media many years ago. I didn’t miss it and saw the benefits of having a more disconnected life. Yet, when I started my business and educated myself about marketing, especially for an art business, I found a lot of advice online on social media tools to market myself and grow my business.

Even though I was never hooked on that platform, I decided to give it a go for at least six months. Although I invested a lot of time trying to be consistent by creating new art and publishing it regularly, the outcome was less than satisfactory, not only in terms of metrics (number of followers, likes, etc.) but especially in personal terms (exhaustion, demotivation, and the worst of all, comparison).

I felt frozen, unable to know what to draw and where to go next, leading to months of inconsistent drawing practice and self-doubt. I would come up with excuses like “I don’t have time today”, “I’m too tired”, “I don’t know what to draw”, or “What’s the point if someone out there can do this better than myself”, and so on.

This image is part of a new type of experimentation. I'm testing new tools like drawing using a light pad to improve my skills while having fun with markers and trying new textures. 

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My strategies so far

1. Understanding the source of my insecurities and fears. Befriend them and understand they are just trying to protect me. The class on Creative Confidence: Learn to Overcome the Critical Voice || part of The Inner Critic Series by Lucy Lambriex, available on SkillShare, helped me understand many things related to my art block and inner critic. 
2. It may be too extreme and impossible for everyone, but I closed my social media account. A platform must make sense to you and work to your advantage. I’m sure this social media channel is perfect for many people, but not for me. So, for now, I’m focusing on finding spaces more suited to my needs and preferences. 
3. Sitting with the discomfort forced me to create whatever drawing/painting, no matter how small, simple, or little time it took. As long as I managed to create something, I considered it a win against the block. In my view, staying frozen feeds the block. Does that make sense?
4. Being kind to myself by taking a step back and simply resting when needed.
5. Constantly reminding myself why I enjoy drawing/painting.

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I’m still healing from this process, but slowly and surely, I'm returning to that feeling of enjoyment and happiness. I also believe that going through this awkward process has made me appreciate and understand even more things that make my art practice special.

Going through these rough patches is a natural part of the process; we all have different insecurities to overcome, and we unlock our blockages by addressing these internal issues. 

If you’re currently going through this process, trust me, I feel you! I also want to give you some words of encouragement by letting you know that you’re not the only one going through this and that things will improve once you overcome this obstacle. 

In the meantime, remember:

'“You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching, Love like you’ll never be hurt, Sing like there’s nobody listening, And live like it’s heaven on earth”.

Mark Twain

Warmly,

Natasha