It seems once you arrive at a good place with your work, in no short time, this place begins to lose its appeal. Over time it even can become boring. The only way out of this is to change our work. Knowing how or when to change is not always apparent. This can be tiring, scary and bewildering. It seems we never can just arrive and stay happily ever after.
This might be why making art is so challenging for people to start – certainly it plays into why so many artists find making art unsustainable. Do you ever wonder why you signed up for a lifetime of pushing this big rock always uphill? I do.
There is, however, a way out. And this way out is called change. Yes, it is hard, but even with its inherent uncertainty it is far more palatable than the onset of boredom. This state is worrisome because like an incoming tide at night, it happens so slowly that you sometimes don’t even realize it is happening. Boredom in your practice can be incredibly time consuming and emotionally draining. Going through the effort of making art with all its costs and time only to later realize that you never really liked doing it or where you ended up can be super depressing. Sometimes it can feel so bad that you can feel like giving up art entirely.
So it is important to catch boredom early and instigate change. But how do you know it is time?
I have a difficult time recognizing when it is time to change and shift my art into a new direction. Over the years however I can look back and see a pattern in the clues that slowly begin to arrive. Most of the time I have ignored them, thinking I can avoid the inevitable. I try now to just be proactive as soon as the first signs of needing to change begin to arrive. It saves me a lot of time and heartache.
Here are the 3 clues that consistently show up. When these 3 arrive they help me to know that fortunately, unfortunately it is time to change. Maybe they can help you too.
Change in your Art might be needed when…
1 You look more and more outside your Art for reassurance.
When my work loses it’s potency and I am too afraid to change it, I tend to focus on what the gallery, or collectors or even friends have said positively about my work. I must be doing well because I sold this or someone said that positive thing about my painting, is a thought that might cross my mind. I even re-read favorable emails to bolster my sense that I am still happily on course. The problem is, of course, that it actually is never enough. In Art it should never be about what everyone says, or how or who bought your art or how many likes you received on facebook. The resting place is only found by actually making your Art and making it more and more like you. Creating Art that you love, even if that feeling only lasts for a week, thankfully, trumps all externalities.
2 Your day seems long.
Losing track of time might be the gold standard for what we are all after in our Art making. I often say this during the later stages of a workshop once everyone in the room is comfortable and have totally dropped into making Art. There is a palatable hum in the room, a collective ease and just this meditative focus that occurs when everybody is finally just making their art. The anxiety and the comparisons with the work of others fades away, and all that remains is color, wonder and curiosity. This state, this way of being like a kindergartener making art, is as good as it gets. It is also when time amazingly stops. If it has been awhile since this has happened to you, then more often than not your art is signaling to you that it needs to change.
3 You compare yourself to others
It is important to look at art that amazes you. It is dizzying to spin around the internet and see the myriad forms of expression that exist. I no longer can do this anytime near my bedtime because I can’t sleep afterwards. It is that inspiring, that wonderful.
But the practice of looking at the art of others is very different from the practice of making your own. It can feel like we are progressing by spending inordinate amounts of time looking at others’ work but ultimately our work only really progresses when we are quietly standing in front of it. When our art loses its allure because it has remained the same too long in our eyes, then standing in front of it no longer fills us, stimulates us in the way it once did. So we go to the next best thing: Art, not made by us but by others. It seems logical but going, once again, outside yourself for the answers never really provides them. If you find yourself spending more and more time looking at other artists’ work it might just mean that boredom within in your own practice is setting in.
The challenge, the hard part of making strong art, is also its supreme gift. This idea that we can’t really game the practice of making art is a good one. We have to be truly into it, totally engaged to make something worthwhile, and though this can be challenging, you wouldn’t want it any other way.
To be reminded every day, every time we step into the practice of making art that we need to pay attention, right now, right here, is a blessing. It is a good thing to be vigilant to the fact that our time here is truly limited. What we make matters and will ultimately be measured by the changes that occurred, the risks taken and whether or not we truly were present at the time.
Have your experienced any of these 3 signs of boredom in your work? How have you dealt with them? I would love to read your thoughts on this.
In gratitude, Nicholas
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Hi! I’m
Nicholas Wilton
the founder of Art2Life.
With over 20 years experience as a working artist and educator, I’ve developed a systematic approach that brings authenticity, spontaneity and joy back into the creative process.
Join me and artists from all over the world in our Free Art2Life Artists Facebook Group or learn more here about Art2Life.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5199b159e90903fab59b3b0879cd3f8c3c1d404a60c3fb22a46fe12109f76622.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/186c51b15c7bdb852e6f4872f38b7a31a015fa256bdb58e2109b04baa19f55f2.jpg I’m not sure I recognized it as boredom but one day I realized other styles of art were peaking my interest. From expressionist landscape painting I found myself exploring abstract as a way to loosen my style and, boom, I was hooked. Now I float back and forth and each style enhances the other.
I am a relative beginner in my art practice so I haven’t experienced the 3 areas you described because I need to change. I haven’t established a “my style” yet so I experience the 3 problems especially 1 and 3 because I am at the beginning.
Oh Boy! I sure have experienced these feelings and, like you, work to nip them in the bud quickly. For me, and this is probably a personality thing, it has become imperative to just work. I have no preconceived series or ideas. I just do the work allowing the materials and my life experiences speak to me. The series just seem to develop on their own. Of course, it isn’t the “ideal” way a gallery or museum would like me to work, but it is my practice. I know how to get my best work accomplished. I realize, on their part, it is a matter of trust but relationships are all about trust. Since my art studio practice isn’t based on a business model, I have to make up for that in other ways. I feel so much gratitude being able to paint and be in my studio – what a gift life has handed me. Thank you for this posting and the opportunity to safely share here.
Thank you, Nicholas, for writing this. Today. For me.
Only recently have I had the nerve to post my work on Facebook and Instagram. Then the time I spend looking at my accounts for “acceptance” can be measured in hours. Not acceptable. I’m at a place in my art making where I’m reaching, risking, pushing, trusting, thriving. I want to stay in love with the process, not my current addiction to other people’s reaction to it.
I spent years painting representationally and enjoying every minute of it…until I didn’t anymore. I knew right then it was time to change. I had taken workshops that took me in other directions and it was time to put some of the teaching into practice. I will say it’s been difficult because I made such a dynamic change–I moved into the more abstract area which is not easy for me. I’ve found lately I’m moving between the two genre and am actually enjoying that because it helps me work both sides of my brain and creativity. I think it’s easier to change when you don’t have to satisfy a ton of collectors who were used to seeing only a certain style. But I have found if you are bored, you simply have to change no matter what.
Thank you for this article today. I have been thinking about all the points you list. I just finished a personal commitment of doing a collage a day and I posted my 1000th collage on January 2. I am taking a breather from that discipline and an spending time learning about my new camera and exploring watercolor. I am thinking of concentrating on a theme, maybe a new theme every week, with a new, small piece completed everyday. I just know I thrived on that everyday discipline.
For about a year now, I have been in the middle of a big change from figurative representation to exploring abstract landscapes. #2 above resonates with me. Not only were my days long but the entire painting was excruciatingly long, and I was often working quite large. I would get excited about initially starting a painting, and I would typically be excited with the end result, but it was the middle portion that was torturous. At first I just dismissed it as hard work, but after awhile I came to discover that it was the fact that I knew too much about what the end result would look like, and I was getting bored along the way. It was time for a big change. I decided to use my love of nature to explore new subject matter, but really it is the process of painting that needed to change and even though there are lots of frustrations along the way and I really have no idea where my work is headed, I haven’t been this excited about painting in years! I decided to blog about my journey too so I could pay attention to the things that mattered to me. Thank you for your insights — as artists we are all in this together and you so generously articulate what many of us may be feeling and offer new helpful ideas!
I’m well acquainted with my friend, Boredom. She’s like an ADD 5-year-old and I suspect I was at some point, that child. Truth is, I’m easily bored by sameness and this has led me to a “portfolio” that looks like it was created by a group effort, not just one person. Word has it that it’s very WRONG not to have a cohesive body of work – stick to something! Pastels or abstracts or landscapes! That seems too much like an assignment, and since my real job is very, very regimented, I allow myself to create whatever I feel like at any given moment. While this proved to be an inefficient way to get good at any one medium, after years of this practice, I’ve finally accumulated cohesive portfolios of several different styles. Still, Boredom’s sister, Insecurity, drops by when I’m in the middle of painting, wagging her finger at me, reminding me that So-and-So wouldn’t like this, and I hesitate, brush in mid-air, wondering if anyone will like my new work . . . but then, their little brother “Rebellion” asserts himself and says “so what if they don’t like it, You’re queen of this little messy realm, and if they don’t like your art, tough beans!” But then again, I have a paying job.
Well said, and you need to know you are not the only one in that boat! My work is ever evolving because I take risks and ‘try on’ new things to see what ‘fits’. I have been both mocked and praised for my diversity. Early on I decided not to play the pigeonhole game -after all it was created by the galleries so they would have a constant product. Doesn’t interest me in the least and I have been blessed to find galleries that think as I do.
So nice to hear! I always felt I was such a flake for not being able to commit to one style, so I’m glad to know there are others of that tribe out there! Thanks for responding.
So well said. I think you have described the dysfunctional family that all artists belong to. I have often said, “I need art therapy!” meaning, not in the traditional sense, but in having someone sort out my frustrations, stuck-ness, etc., with my art. It can be so much drama!
And Boredom’s sister, Insecurity, really needs to get a real job and a real life so she’s occupied elsewhere and out of the house!
Yes! Insecurity needs a job and would work tirelessly at undermining the finest of undertakings. She’s sneaky and self-serving. I can’t think of anyone who would want to hire her – but maybe she could run for some kind of government office.
(Thanks for your comments).
About three years ago I finished a piece and felt disappointed, like I had done it all before. This led to near depression thinking the thing I loved to do was no longer thrilling or challenging. If I didn’t have my art what was I going to do? The questioning continued but an opportunity to enlist in a 2 1/2 year course presented itself and I signed up. The course was long and grueling but the result was well worth the time and effort. It was not the techniques I learned that helped me, nor did my work change that much. It was the deep sense of knowing who I was, the confidence in knowing I have deep resources within me to overcome these art obstacles and mostly that the most important thing is to please myself with my work. I still may not know where I am going but that is the journey.
As usual, what an amazing article! I do hope someday you compile a book with a bunch of them! It would be a treasure.
I’m exactly in this situation. What once came out of pure joy is starting to demand way too much effort. For me, my work gets boring when there’s no more challenge, a comfort zone is the surest road to boredom. So, I’ve been experimenting with new things, new techniques, new approaches; but change does not happen all of the sudden. It’s a process that takes time, dedication and lot’s of experimentation. Thanks for the great article, it put things in perspective for me!
Nick, you hit the nail on the head! And thanks to those of you who admit to painting in several styles. I do too. After years of being a professional graphic designer, I’ve needed the freedom to indulge my painting in whatever genre/medium/style I want. Which seems to be a no-no. My last art show looked like the work was done by four different artists. Someone even teased that I might have multiple personalities :-). I’ve often been told that I need to have a consistent style to sell my work. I’ve been stuck for some time and haven’t even realized it. Since the new year I have not been able to get myself to paint at all. Now I think I know why.
This post is so timely for me. I just within the past two months have left my comfort zone and completely changed what I’m doing. I have no idea if it will be a success in the gallery arena but I knew I was bored and took the leap. I can now say I am having a blast once again! I wake up at 4 am just to get in my studio! And the time flies! So yes! Nicholas.., thank you for affirming what I am doing!
I hear you and very well said Nicholas!
Thank you as always for your motivation! And btw I LOVE this painting!!
Nicholas I love the art Work posted with this letter! I love the letter! How you express yourself coming from your personal experience and process. It is so honest, so refreshing, so real. Thankyou ☺️🙏
This is where I should of put my 1st post your words are what I’m doing . The difference I’m not a true artist like yourself I adore all art . Yet I love it but I don’t know which part I fit into . It’s as if you were in my head .