When you can’t paint, write, right?
I’m in a slump, at a crossroads, and the way ahead is foggy in all directions. This creative block happens approximately once every 3-4 years or so, and its outcome is always a new direction and a positive change.
So, what do I usually do in these situations? Get stressed, worry the hell out of it and feel a sense of doom. I’m nothing special and don’t have magic solutions, of which there are supposedly many, if you Google it.
I’ve been painting the sea in earnest for four years, it is bound to slow to a stop at some point. How some people keep painting the same subject for umpteen years I will never know. In my head the conversation is’ well, you might want to paint something else or switch up your palette?’ Then it answers ‘ but I don’t want to seem flighty and am happy delving deep into this wonder of nature.’ ‘Are you though?’, comes my brain’s irritating reply.
Subject is one thing, one tiny part of the painting puzzle. It is really all about the psyche, the feeling, the wondering, the interest, and of course, most importantly, the paint.
I have been wedded to a core tight palette for several years, that element might have to change. Possibly.
I look back on older work, nothing jumps out as an avenue of possibility. So I’ll keep reading, looking around, kicking the leaves, doodling lightening cracked mountains (I don’t know) and wait it out and pretend it isn’t an awful feeling.
When you have a self inflicted job like this, it is scary to not know what to do. Your mind is your boss and when it goes unexpectedly on a sabbatical, you are left floundering, alone in the office block. My only advice to myself is flounder away, as you know it’ll come to an end eventually.
The worst bout of creative inactivity I’ve had was 10 years. Years, yes. It was linked to a traumatic experience or two, so once I had those exorcised, I was off making again. The shortest was around 2 weeks, and I’m currently about a week in. Still, my nervous system believes it is another 10 year stint, instead of reacting reasonably and just riding the break.
So, for now I’ll write it down like this and dig the garden. It has never been so weed free.