How to overcome self-sabotage in art and start to practice daily art? An artist needs to draw every day; this has always been a problem for me. The drawing technique took me a lot of time, and the desire to create instantly disappeared at the thought of new future work.
That changed, and I began to engage in habit creation systematically. In the last six months, I have drawn ten times as many pieces as I have in the previous five years.
What changes if you draw every day? The quality of the ideas from daily drawing practice is several levels higher than if you draw once a week. Creative and technical progress will be noticeable in the next couple of months. You quickly reach the desired level of work and form your artistic style. And most importantly, you begin to like your work. And this is a great motivation to continue. But if there is no such habit, all of the above seems unattainable. I will share with you my experience of creating such a habit, and perhaps it will give you new ideas on how you can build your daily drawing experience.
1. Keep your artwork organized and visible. Nothing is more inspiring than your own successful experience. Collecting your drawings in thematic folders allows you to evaluate your artistic development.
2. Give up perfectionism. Accept the fact that the result may not be what you expected. Yes, after the end of the work, we do not always like it. Many artists suffer from this, no matter how experienced they are in the arts. But a new awareness and understanding of value follow when we look at our past artworks through time.
3. Create a process. Since the result is not always what we expect, we may experience disappointment in ourselves and our abilities. But if we create a strategy that brings pleasure in addition to development, then we get more joy and, therefore, a positive experience. And the correspondence "expectation - result" comes with experience.
4. Be in the community. It is not about a one-time visit to an art studio and not about a teacher, but the long-firm environment. The successful people around are the best motivator without a kick. There are always such communities at art schools and studios. These are students who have been attending for over ten years. They have already formed an artistic style; they participate in exhibitions, sell their works and print authors' calendars. It gives an idea of what might happen in 10 years if you work. And it provides energy to move on.
5. Make the new habit a necessity. Every artist has their motives. It has become essential to stop postponing my creative and artistic development "for later". Now, more than ever, you feel the transience of time and the world's fragility. And at the same time, I saw that even if you create quite a bit, it begins to be noticeable after a while.
6. Simplify the complex. If it is difficult to switch to drawing from your daily routine, you can paint for just 5 minutes. When I did this several times, I saw it was easier than expected. On the contrary, when I start drawing, I am filled with a feeling of lightness and joy. I focused on this feeling in my memory, and it became much easier to switch the next time.
Share your experience of creating a daily drawing habit. I invite you to discuss this article on my telegram channel https://t.me/kreativewerkstatt
