Solve Blank Canvas Syndrome

Not knowing what to write, paint, play… every artist already experienced this feeling of emptiness. You just have to learn several tricks to get round this uncomfortable moment and land on your feet!

Creativity is the ability to invent something new and inspiration is a spontaneous idea enabling artist to start an art piece. Sometimes, you can need help to start drawing either for a personal work or facing a brief that brings nothing to mind… Here are ideas that our team uses when a lack of inspiration happens:

-you can take a break and go out;

-or on the contrary you can trace some lines on your blank canvas. From this chaos you can find a shape which you want to keep on with, it means inspiration is coming back;

-you can also choose several images and start from them, drawing and mixing them together;

-depending on your personality go talk to others or instead stay alone;

-stimulate your curiosity! When you see something that strikes you, capture it in your mind or on your hone/computer/sketchbook, observation is always a good source of information;

-never forget that inspiration can be everywhere so look at everything consciously. When our artists start their personal artworks, they say that inspiration can come from a song, a picture, a word, a movie, a special light…

-always try, either painting again the same thing or new stuff and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Maybe, as adults we ask ourselves too many questions or overthink. Look at how fast kids draw: they sit at a table, pick a sheet of paper and felt pens, trace few lines and move on to something else. They start drawing instantly thanks to their incredible imagination! The hardest thing to do is: start!

Keep in mind that the previous tricks don’t apply to everybody in every situation. Some find easily inspiration when they are all alone at home and some need to be surrounded by people, but it can also be good to go against your comfort zone. In general, the more you change your activity, the more efficient you get, and it also works when you’re looking for ideas. Once one comes up, either it goes quickly, or it creates a long wave of new ideas. Inspiration does not appear on command, it appears when it wants, so be ready to draw at any moment! If after this article you still need help to find art inspiration, you can do the test from Tate Museum: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/find-your-art-inspiration 😉