Your Stuck! Now What?

 What do you do when your art feels stuck or incomplete?

When your art feels stuck or incomplete, it can be a frustrating and discouraging experience.

However, it's important to remember that mistakes and creative blocks are a natural part of the artistic process. Instead of viewing them as failures, try to see them as opportunities for growth and exploration. 

One way to approach this situation is to take a step back and reflect on what might be causing the block. Is there a specific technique you're struggling with, or perhaps a lack of inspiration? By identifying the root of the issue, you can begin to find solutions that will help you move forward. 

I spend time writing in my journal (my morning pages) this sometimes helps me to get to the root of the problem.  I gain insight and renewed direction, and I lean into God, as the foundation of my life I always find understanding and a new look at what ever it is that I am trying to do.

I will also do something totally different like going out for a walk in nature, or spending time in my art journal, giving myself a break from the focused concentration.

Another helpful strategy is to seek feedback from others - be selective (you don't want a pity party), but someone who may be on a similar journey and understands some of the valleys and peaks that you will come across. Sometimes a fresh perspective can provide new insights and ideas that can reignite your creativity. Don't be afraid to ask for help or collaborate with fellow artists - you never know what new possibilities might emerge from sharing your work with others. 

Above all, remember that art is a journey, not a destination. Embrace the imperfections and embrace the process of creating. By approaching your art with curiosity and a willingness to learn from your mistakes, you'll find that even the most challenging blocks can lead to breakthroughs that will enrich your artistic practice and not only be a blessing for you but helps someone else on the journey as well.

While you are making the changes to suit you, come and join us as a FREE member on Patreon, where you get to see behind the scenes and early release content.  When you're ready there is a 7 day FREE trial of the $3 tier that has patron only video content, digital downloads and more waiting for you.

Second Saturday Art Journal Page - Tulips

 

If you didn't catch us in the live premier this afternoon you can take a look at how I created this page here which was part of a collaboration for #secondsaturdayart.  Click on the video above or HERE

It started out with the digital download page I created of the tulips, which is part of a kit that I created on my Patreon platform you can check it out HERE.

For $3 each month they have access to a new set of digital download background papers, tags and videos giving ideas for how they can be used. 

I had fun creating the image and incorporating the tulips with the figure.

It is all about creative play and experimenting with the supplies that you have.  These papers will be then added to my art journal.  There are tags and other elements that can be added when the digital download pages are cut up.

If you want to check out the FREE members page of my Patreon you will see early release and posts there first.  If you want to access the digital papers and others in the series you can check them out using the 7 Day FREE trial which will give you access at the $3 tier, and you have over 400 posts, videos and downloads to check out in the meantime.

The page was great fun to create, and I look forward to creating more using this technique.

1000 Dog Portraits - Work Published

In keeping with the post I shared a while back about celebrating your achievements, I thought I would share some of my artwork that got published in a book some time ago, but we can still celebrate!  In fact I have a journal dedicated for things that I have achieved, so that I can look back as a reminder and see how far I have come.  It is important that you write down all your achievements, not matter how small.

The Book that my work was published in was published in 2014 and is called 1000 Dog portraits, curated by Robynne Raye. I created 2 playful paintings which were selected.  It was a reminder to me to 'go for it' and not hold back and allow the critic to voice their untruths.

On the Run - Amanda Trought, 1000 Dog Portraits

My main focus was to have fun and bring out the colors in each of the paintings, and I like the cartoon like feel of my dogs, and they may one day feature in a children's book of their own.

Amanda Trought Art - Dog Portraits

It was great to see the diversity of work from both artists and designers from around the world, and to have my work published alongside them.

I think I might spend some more time playing about with colors and shapes, and see what other playful characters that I can come up with. Why not try it out yourself.

Cole my dog is wondering when I am going to do a painting of him, he loves posing for the camera, and makes sure we only get his best side!

Cole, Such a majestic looking dog

Hanging out with Cole

Stay blessed and be a blessing and keep your eyes out for many other creative goodies that will be coming your way.

You can check out the book  HERE on Amazon 

*****************************************

Free Trial on Patreon - Join Us

Dimensional Paints & More Painted Fabrics

Here are the next two videos in the series using dimensional paints and fabric.  It is a great way to use up supplies that you just have sitting around and you end up with some great patterns on your fabric that you can use in your creative stitched projects.

Here is the first one that I shared earlier this week.

If you were nervous about painting on fabric, these short videos will help you get over that hesitation, just think about the playing aspect and have fun.

I would love to see what you come up with if you decide to play with your art supplies and fabric.

Painted Fabrics

Painted Fabrics

Painting Fabrics

Here is a short video in which I share with you painting on fabric. It is one of 3 short videos to get you inspired to creatively play with your supplies.

I think it is important to get a view of how things start their journey, usually at this stage as a piece of fabric that gets painted, then it is built upon.

It is great to experiment and find ways to either use the pieces as accents or main feature in a stitched piece. There are many fabrics that you can create different effects with using your art supplies.

I also have an Arts and Health NHS Network for information on activities and organisations working in the field. You are welcome to join, it is a FREE resource and if you have any activities or want to talk about your work you are welcome to send me the information and I will see that it gets uploaded. You can create your own profile on the network and connect with others who are passionate about the arts in health too.

What else is happening:

Come and join me on Patreon 

I am Teaching on Life Book 2021

100 Pastel Sketches 1-8

The 100 Day Project is well on the way.  I started a week late so will be completing a week later on the 18th July.  Here are the first 8 pastel sketches.

It has been great getting to grips with working with the variety of pastels and also working on different pastel papers which give you different effects and finishes.

Here are the first 8 sketches, I will share the next 8 tomorrow.

It has been great fun getting to know how the different supplies work, and it is lovely to see all the sketches together and see how much I have grown over the.

I am using a selection of 5 pastels and you can find a great selection at varying prices to suit all pockets on Amazon  and I have brought together a great selection of supplies on my Amazon Store recommendation that you can take a look at.

I hope that you have joined in the #the100dayproject2019 and are having fun in what ever you have chosen to do.  Take it at your own pace and don't allow overwhelm to set in and enjoy.

If you are interested in taking classes and working with pastels then check out Creative live

They currently have a series of online FREE Classes and discounted courses to suit your needs and each week they have several Free Live classes as well, so check them out.

Let me know how you get on and what challenge you will be doing yourself.  Take care and be a blessing

Stamps - My 31 Art Studio Essentials

Stamps - The Video

Check out this video on some of the stamps in my supplies

Thank you for joining me in my studio for the Art Studio Essentials Daily Series. 

I had hoped to have finished at the end of January, but you are in for a treat as it will go on for a couple more weeks into February.  I hope that throughout the series you have felt that this has been a way to kick start your creativity as you check out some supplies that I have and sort through ones that you have in your stash.  

Today I will sharing with you my Stamp supply, ones that have been brought, free gifts and then ones I started making.  They come in all designs and sizes.

It is quite easy to get sucked into purchasing lots of supplies and then you end up only using a few because you realize that you just don't need quite so many - you can't use them all at once.

We all have 5 minutes that we can give to creative play, why not see how you can fit creativity into your every day, and dig out those stamps you may have and see what you can do with them!

Handmade Stamps and Embossing Powder

If you are just starting out and on a budget I would suggest you think about what projects you might need to use the Stamps for and how else you might be able to use them - with Mixed Media the ideas are endless! Some stamps work good on their own but equally as part of a background, you can get great patterns from the whole stamp or use just a part of it.  You can also use a variety of other things like embossing powder as above, on fabric, there is no limit to what you could try.

  

You can check out discount stores that may have a good supply, I have listed some below, and also check out my Resources page, for current discounts.  You can also get free stamps on some of the Craft Magazines on sale, so it is a good idea to have a look in some of these.

I did a post on how to make stamps and you can find it HERE in my Handmade Recycle Projects

If you are researching how to be more creative on YouTube then check out the tips and advice on ways to be Creative and regaining your Creative spark, sign up to my Mailing list and receive the publication 25 Ways to fit Art and Creativity into your day!

  

I am also Teaching on the BADASS Art Journal Course which started on the 5th February, so you can still sign up. I am giving away this Bonus when you sign up - Check it out HERE

Stay blessed and be a blessing!

Check out some of these Craft/Magazine and Book resources below.  There are some discounts available on each, and also check out the Resources page for updated discounts.

Adorn it 

Dollar Tree 

Blick 

Book Outlet 

Stampington 

C&T Publishing 

Dover

Craftsy Kits

Creative Bug

Altered Directories - My 31 Art Studio Essentials

Altered Directories

It is great to have you join me for another day in my studio.  I kind of got a bit backed up, life happens and you roll with it, so I will be running slightly over into February with the Series.  You will still get 31 Art Studio Essentials in this Daily Series, so I hope you will hang in there with me.

Even in those times where stuff happens, what are you doing with your time?  There should always be time spent for something creative even if you only have 5 minutes to spare, and what you do with it is vitally important.  

Directory waiting to be altered

Today I will be showing you a selection of Altered Directory Journals.  This is a great way to recycle and you probably have a directory laying around that could be put to a creative use. 

I also did a series on my blog called 31 Art Journals showing you a variety of cool Art Journals that you can make.

It is great to check out the different shapes and sizes that directories and catalogs come in and the ideas you can come up with as you re-purpose them.  When your running low on time you can break up the tasks in small chunks and say stick some pages down, or add gesso to a selection of pages.

In this directory I prepped the pages when I had time with gesso.  I could then go back and either add images, journaling or whatever took my fancy.

Check out the Video and get a closer look at the Art Journals created.

If you are researching how to be more creative on YouTube then check out the tips and advice on ways to be Creative and regaining your Creative spark, sign up to my Mailing list and receive the publication 25 Ways to fit Art and Creativity into your day!

I am also Teaching on the BADASS Art Journal Course and will be giving away this Bonus when you sign up - Check it out HERE

Stay blessed and be a blessing!