It is super important to continue to make art if it is something that you love and are passionate about. Do not let years go by where you haven’t created anything. Make time in your busy schedule to do an hour here and an hour there. I’m definitely not saying that it’s easy, because it’s not. At all. It is so much easier to spend your free time chilling and relaxing.
What makes matters worse is that making art is like a U. You start off with a really cool idea that you really want to creat and you start working and everything is great. This is the top of the U. Then as time goes on and you are still working away at this piece, you start to fall into a slump. You have the basics down but it gets harder to continue and you go longer periods of time between work days. This is the bottom of the U. Finally, you start to see real progress in your work and gain more motivation that helps you push through until your piece is done. This is the second top of the U. Some take longer to do the whole process than others but it’s always the same.
I am currently working on a series of two paintings and I am definitely in the slump of the U. It’s getting harder to paint each day and I just want to get to that motivated state and then be done with it.
The important thing is that I am still making time to do it. Granted, not as much as I would like, but I’m still going. Here is my progress right now in my project.
Has anyone else struggled with this in art or other areas of their life?
Amanda Thompson's Art 
I agree that it can be hard to remain motivated. For me it is the drying times of oil paint that really discourages me. For this reason I always end up drawing with pencil and occasionally colored pens or colored pencils but mostly just a pencil because it is the quickest and easiest. I also used to be afraid to shade in the darks where things needed shadows, but I have since learned to trust in the process as well.
It is more than rewarding to see a finished project and know that you have achieved something you originally set out to do.
Keep up the great work!!!
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I totally understand this. Sometimes having to wait for a painting to dry really takes the wind out of your sails. That’s why I often have two paintings going at once. When one needs to dry and I am in the mood to paint, I can switch to another painting. If they are both wet because I was super productive, then I just have to wait and then it often takes me too long to get back to the paintings, even though they have been dry for a while.
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This is a very true thing. I know painting is a process, but we should remember that we do it not to be a chore but as a form of enjoyment. This is art, it is ourselves. While not every aspect of our life is finished at once, our art is a medium that we can have closure on for each chapter in our lives and we owe it to ourselves to stick with it. Especially if we want to look back on it and remember who we were and what we felt.
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It can sometimes be hard to remember that art is fun and we do it because it brings us joy. And that goes for all kinds of different areas. We need to step back and enjoy it. If it doesn’t give you joy any more, it might need to take a break for a minute until you can like doing it again.
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