How to Find Art Inspiration

Feeling stuck? It is time to find art inspiration. You might be asking how to find art inspiration? Where do you find art inspiration? Keep reading because I want to help you feel unstuck and feel inspired again. When you have art inspiration you have an urge to create and are able to develop new and creative ideas easier and faster!

How to Find Art Inspiration

There are many ideas for how to find art inspiration. Art inspiration can be anywhere. It is easiest to find inspiration when you are open. If you are feeling stressed, sick, sad, mad it’s going to be harder to find inspiration because you are not in the right headspace. 

How to Find Art Inspiration/Where to Find Art Inspiration

• Taking a walk or spending time in nature like hiking, camping, gardening or being at the beach 

• Listening to music - you can try listening to classical music or calming music like acoustic or nature sounds 

• Traveling and going somewhere new - ideally for a week or two if possible so you can really immerse yourself and live in that place 

• Going to an art gallery or museum

• Flipping through magazines or going to a library 

• Looking for art supplies- you might be drawn to different colours or textures 

• Journaling, doodling or sketching - keep a book to contain your ideas 

• Make art to lead to other ideas, even if the art you make is bad

How to Find Art Inspiration - Step 1: Follow Your Intuition 

Part of the creative process is making many decisions. Some decisions are small and some are larger. As an artist it is important to be intune with your intuition. You have to be able to trust your gut to know what decisions to make in the process. 

Start paying attention to how you are thinking and feeling. If you feel like painting- do it. If you want to use a certain colour- do it. Keep listening to yourself and trust that your intuition is guiding you! 

How to Find Art Inspiration-Step 2:  Keep Your Body/Mind Strong 

Make sure you are staying rested and keeping healthy. Get plenty of sleep, drink lots of water, eat healthy and move your body. Make sure you are stretching and walking around.

If you are staying healthy you are going to have more energy and when you feel energized you will want to create more! 

It’s also important to keep your mind healthy. Having a healthy mindset is important for artists. You need to believe that you will make good art. If you have a positive mindset, you will make good art. If you are thinking negatively then that will affect the process. 

How to Find Art Inspiration- Step 3: Just Create 

The best way to find art inspiration is to just start creating. You need to make work because it will lead to other things and ideas. It’s okay to mess up that is part of the art process. Even if art is “bad” you need to trust the process that you will make good art again soon! 

If you found this helpful for how to find art inspiration. Send me a DM on Instagram and let me know! @jackiepartridge_  

If you paint you can check out my YouTube channel on acrylic painting to keep you inspired. Click the button below! 

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How to Make Time for Your Art 

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Trusting Your Gut Feeling

How to Stay Motivated as an Artist (5 Tips)

How to stay motivated as an artist is a question I get asked all the time! Here are my 5 tips for how you can stay motivated as an artist. This is what works best for me! It is normal to go through periods during your career as an artist where you feel unmotivated. Maybe you even feel unsuccessful and wonder when things will change. You might even feel overwhelmed and feel like you don’t know where to begin. That’s why I have put together a list of five tips to help you so that you don’t have to give up on your dreams as an artist!

Check out my 5 tips below!

How to Stay Motivated as an Artist

1. Don't compare your art to others

It is easy to compare yourself to other artists and question why did they get that exhibition and not me?

Why did they win the prize? Why did they receive the grant? Why did they get the residency? Why not me? Is my art not good enough? Did I not work hard enough?

Comparing yourself to other artists let alone other people in general can be a dangerous rabbit hole to enter. It’s important to work on your mindset and recognize that there is enough room for lots of people to be successful artists.

That's why I like to stay in my own lane:

I try not to compare myself to other artists to look at their CVs. If I happen to witness a friend or colleague from school win or mention something - I am genuinely happy for them- everyone has a unique art practice. We all make different things that are about different topics. And that's truly great!

Staying in my lane helps me focus on my own practice and not waste time thinking about other people’s practice or entering comparison fatigue.

2. Keep track of deadlines For Your Art Goals

I keep track of my artist deadlines by looking at art deadline websites like Akimbo. I check websites like this daily or every other day. If I see a deadline that I am excited about I will take a screenshot of it and write it down in my agenda later. If there are a lot of deadlines in a certain month I will write them in order of when they are due in a list format on a sheet of paper. This helps me see which ones are due first and focus on that but also look ahead to be able to focus on deadlines that I am most excited about.

3. Make Art goals or deadlines to get things done

I have a goal to apply for 7 applications every month. This goal allows me to be focused and hold myself accountable. Not every deadline takes a lot of time. Sometimes it's as simple as submitting some photos and a copy of my artist statement. Deadlines naturally give myself something to work towards so that I can stay productive.

4. Review your goals and create systems to stay organized

It's one thing to make a goal and it is another to keep them. It is important to review your goals and hold yourself accountable when you don't meet them. Reviewing your goals helps to really prioritize what is important. You can read more about my goal setting process in this blog post.

I also stay focused by creating systems that make it easier when I apply to deadlines-like saving files in PDF, saving different versions of files like a CV that is 2 and 3 pages and saving photos in both 300dpi and 72dpi.

5. Find ways to stay inspired - do what works for you

It's important to listen to your body and if you need a rest- take it. There is no sense beating yourself up about it. If you don't feel like applying to something then think about something that you can do to still be productive or that could save you time when applying to things in the future.

Remember to take care of yourself and support other artists. It's a difficult job but at the end of the day it's what you love to do so it's worth the days where you need to rest- you need that break and you just feel completely unmotivated. Remember that the feeling is temporary and that it will soon pass. Here is a blog post with tips if you are feeling uninspired!

Would you like to improve your acrylic painting?

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How To Add Freshness to a Stale Art Practice -Artist Tips

Want to know how to add freshness to a stale art practice? I will explain how. I know it can be difficult to make time for your art practice but it should be your top priority. Of course there are times where you won’t feel inspired like if you are sick or busy with other things. As an artist, I have found myself sometimes getting into ruts with my creativity. There are days, weeks and months where I don’t feel driven to make new art or I’m just too busy to be creative. Here’s how you can add some freshness to your art practice!

Does this sound familiar?

I have been busy lately planning an online art class that I am currently teaching for a private school. I have used my spare time to take on creative projects which has helped me to take care of my mental health. When you have taken a long break from your art practice it is easy to forget how beneficial art is in terms of being therapeutic, how it makes you feel and why you fell in love with it in the first place! I’ve made it a goal to try to make art or do something creative each day…

Bonus Tip: learn a new skill like ceramics to stay inspired to make art. Playing with clay and tools to try something new!

It’s important to add freshness to a stale art practice to help keep you inspired and making art more consistently! I have added 7 tips for you to try to feel creative again!

Here are some fun ways to get back to a creative process that might have been previously on hold:

• Get involved in a creative challenge or start your own— searching on Pinterest for creative art challenges is a good way to get inspiration. You can start your own based on your art practice. For example, if you are a quilter you could plan on making a certain number of quilts in a timeframe or if you’re a painter- plan on painting a small 8″x10″ painting everyday. Challenges work as fun goals to complete but they also act as a piece of accountability. Creative challenges can also be a good way to create social media content by updating your audience on what you are working on. As a creative it can be good to work on a series and challenges can help you to develop your own artistic style.  I send an exclusive painting tutorial to my mailing list every season - if you would like to receive that - enter your email at the bottom of this post!

• Look at application deadlines as motivation— I love looking on websites like Akimbo  -websites like this provide artists with deadlines of submission calls for exhibitions and awards. These deadlines, I find hold me accountable and I write them down in my agenda and apply when I have time.

• Reach out if someone wants a commission or make artwork for a friend or family member’s gift—This can be a good idea to make a little extra money or to have a project to work on. Sometimes, I find I just need a project to keep me busy. Making a gift for someone or a commission  gives me a due date to stick to. You can read more about my commission process here!

• Make a board on Pinterest for art inspiration or future project ideas— Pinterest is an amazing resource and I love pinning an idea that inspires me to try something similar with my own flair later on.  Check out my Pinterest boards here! 

• Take a look at your art supplies—reach for something new and experiment and play. Let yourself create without pressure - follow your intuition and do what’s fun! Also this might be a good time to head to the art supply store and pick up something new you have been dying to try! Take a look at my list of my favourite painting supplies here!

Bonus tip: turn to other passions like these plants or gardening to feel inspired again!

• Experiment and Learn— It’s so easy to learn new art techniques and there are so many free and incredible options out there! You can look on YouTube, invest in a course, or head to your local library.

I invite you to check out my YouTube channel all about acrylic painting for beginners. Learn to paint landscapes, flowers, new techniques and more! Simple options that are easy enough for kids to do too are also available!

Click the Image to Pin it for Later!

Bonus

Remind yourself why you love art and why it is so good for you. Does it calm you down, make you relaxed, is it fun or the highlight of the day? If yes, make sure you schedule time. Block off time on your calendar. Create a pop-up reminder on your phone. That way there’s less excuses and “more time” to be creative.

I have also found scheduling art to remove distractions like turning my cellphone on airplane mode to be helpful. Or make sure you studio/art space is clean and ready the night before. Even having a playlist of your favourite songs will get you pumped and ready to create.

I hope you can feel creative soon! I know how frustrating the feeling of not wanting to create can be.

For more tips and to receive an exclusive painting tutorial each season - sign up to join my mailing list below!

I challenge you to make something now - even if it is a simple doodle on a scrap piece of paper it is a step in the right direction!

Follow me on Pinterest for more ideas and resources!

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