Stumbling Blocks to Creating Art! Can you relate?

In my experience there have been several stumbling blocks that have and do keep me from making art.


1. The biggest was stress on the job. There were many instances of this in my life. The worst included a nasty boss and long hours. Working in retail there were always long arduous hours, whether I liked the job or not. When I worked for a builder as a real estate broker there was the stress of performance to make the sale. Commission is stressful, especially when you intentionally can't live on your draw. I went through a very tough time in the industry where many builders went down including the one I worked for. It was stress to survive.

2. The second biggest is fear of failure. If one does not keep up with one's craft one forgets how to do it. In the past year, I have been doing a lot of craft type things and making a lot of cards. I have not been painting much. I am at a point that I really want to get back to it but I use making cards as a coping mechanism. I'm afraid once I get there I will have forgotten how.

3. I need a goal to paint toward. No goal no driving force. Our shows have been a good impetus to keep me moving a long. This is true in other parts of my life.

4. Creating in a vacuum all the time alone is not always good. I need to have others around me. I have breakthroughs from virtually being around other artists’ creativity. Even if we're not talking!

5. Sometimes I get to a place in a piece and I don't know where to go so I stop. The fear of ruining something that I like. Creating alone works against me here. Critique groups help.

6. Getting out of the routine of working regularly. I think it would be best for me to make a schedule for my daily life. I tend to create on the weekends but so much competes for that time. I need to devote planned time mid week.

7. Not having a place you can close the door to and not leave out everything you are working on including all the bottles of paint has been a stumbling block. I work out of my garage and it is always chaos in there. It is ready and inviting me to sit down and pick up a brush for 15 minutes, or a half hour or longer.

8. Other things on my list of things to do keep me from creating. The normal things like exercise, grocery shopping, cleaning the house tend to be an avoidance mechanism for me.

9. One big one is Seasonal pulls. In Spring/Summer I need to work in the garden, enjoy the sun, and want to get out and enjoy the weather. I tend to create outside in the summer to resolve this. During Winter it's cold and the garage is always cold to begin with. A heater and wearing layers helps.

10. Looking at all of these stumbling blocks one would think I don't spend much time creating. I do though and thankfully I work quickly and produce a lot when I get there. The difference between me and most of my friends is the % of "Bad Art" I create is equally exponential!

Can You relate?