Painter's Block

If you've ever heard of writer's block, or heard of it, then you will understand what I mean when I say I've had a bad case of "painter's block". My goal this summer was to dedicate one day a week to painting, and every time I've tried to paint, I can't. I've taken a ton of inspiration pictures this spring and early summer with every intention of painting some fun new subjects, but every time I get in my studio, my heart's not in it. I start a new piece and can't even finish it because it never comes together.

I'm sure there are lots of suggested methods to help cure "painter's block", and I'd love to hear what some of you out there do when you have painter's block, but I finally painted four times this week. I loved how my pieces turned out, and once I got going, it was hard to stop, just like old times. The ideas were flowing, it was fun and exciting, my creativity was at full intensity. 

So I've been thinking about what happened this week that that was different. First, it was the first time this summer that I took some intentional "me" time. I had lunch with a girl friend I hadn't seen in awhile, I had dinner with another friend, walked with a friend, and enjoyed coffee with another. Spending time sharing and laughing with each of them renewed my soul. I also noticed that when I went down to my studio, I did a couple projects to "warm up" first. I've been making some hand-paintsd cards from recycled paper, so I worked on those first. It was a great, stress free way to get my creative juices flowing.

As an artist, my moods are expressed through my paintings, and I guess lately I've been too busy to stop and enjoy life. Of course, I enjoy my kids activities too, but it's just different than taking time for yourself. 

I remember cat-tails being such an intriguing thing as a child. I haven't really noticed any in years, but lately I keep running into them. I've noticed them on trips, on walks and even on a visit to the new Children's Library here in town. I decided to limit my color palette because I'm in the process of redecorating my living room and master bedroom, and I'm hoping to end up with at least one that I can hang.

I'll be taking the rest to display at Scallions and Massage Envy.

I also got this "Country Cow" painting done to enter in the Arkansas League of Artists Fall Show. I took a ton of cow pictures this spring, so you will probably be seeing a lot more cow paintings :)

I painted all of these this week, with exception of this crab one. I started this around two years ago and just finished it up. 

Remember to visit my website if you want to see more of my art. It's www.stacyspanglerart.com