I have a digital folder of photos I’ve taken as references that I would like to use to make paintings or drawings. They are ones that invoke pure inspiration. At times, they sit waiting to be made until I feel confident enough to tackle it. Eventually, I’ll find a moment to try one of the 50+ photos.

The Eureka moments to create

Non-fiction books I read will make ideas come together in a way that I hadn’t thought of before. I’ll immediately want to capture the concept with a drawing or painting.

These are the “Eureka” moments. Like the myth goes of the scientist running naked out of the bathtub with a great idea, they may not be in the most opportune times for me to create.

Fortunately, I have the self-consciousness to remember to towel up even if a good idea strikes. Writing down the idea tends to preserve at least the concept, but not necessarily the inspiration.

Being unable to create

The opposite is true.

I’ll be sitting at home, completely paralyzed from being able to summon up those inspirational moments. I’ll have the time and materials to make something but nothing comes. As an artist, this is soul crippling.

Then, there are fears that arise: I’ve lost the edge of being able to create. I had only some beginner’s luck. Somehow I have irked the ire of those gods that granted me the gift of creativity.

Wrestling with the block

Lately, I’ve done my usual celebrating of the small wins. I worked on a painting, I made a drawing, I made a social media post. It’s the slow crawl up from falling into a hole.

This might be a lull until I can apply for another art show as I am waiting for the applications to open up. I have also thought of how the many pieces I have started sketches on still need to be completed. I tell myself, they may not be perfect paintings in the end, but at least they will have been attempted.

Being an artist means actually making art. Maybe thinking of all the pieces that will not be made without my doing is the motivation. Who else will make them other than me?

If all else fails, I’ll have to come up with an appropriate sacrifice for painting gods. Would that be burning a painting of an animal?

I guess I can start on that painting.