How to Never Get Stuck Doing Art

How to never get stuck doing art in your practice is to do a Series. I’m doing my Water series and each is different, I keep learning new ways to make each painting strong, and I always know what to do with that next blank canvas. Plus, It’s really fun, energizing, and healing. Art heals when you lose yourself to the world and just create.

Also, staring at a pure, white canvas can be daunting. Where to start, materials are expensive, and the pressure of having something new to show on social media can make a person stop dead in their tracks.

First of all, part of my process that keeps me going is to work in a series. I wanted to teach myself how to do Water, so showing it in all its incarnations has opened new doors for me in every way. From glassy ponds, to rivers of reflections, and finally the open Sea, each presents its own kind of challenge. In addition, I love doing it.

I move with the flow, so to speak. To make swells and waves calls for marks moving in that direction. It’s as relaxing to do as it is to see.

So when I enter my studio or begin a FB Live without a clue, I’ll make broad strokes with a large brush to just get going. Doing art opens the doors to intuition and details fill themselves in as I go. I seem to Know what’s needed next. I paint over parts that don’t work, change brushes, or mix new colors to keep it interesting.

Every artist and writer starts with some big idea of the direction they want to take. We all need some little trick to keep us all going forward and get unstuck. What’s your thing?

Here’s the video from the FB Live to create the above painting. Any ideas to share for a title?