Solved: When you don't know what to paint

I don't know what to paint!

We've all been there: we've managed to carve out a few uninterrupted hours (or minutes) to do something creative, just for ourselves... You make a cup of tea, set up your supplies, settle in, and are immediately gripped with anxiety over what to paint! This is compounded by the expectation to produce something during this allotted time. 

You had all these ideas you wanted to explore and now you can't think of anything.

It's ok...

Firstly, remember, it's just paper! Sometimes our ancient fight or flight instincts kick in, but there's no threat today, just a blank page. I hear-by give you permission to RUIN that page, if things go awry. You can always start a fresh one. If you're working in your sketchbook, give yourself a pep-talk about how important experimenting is in order to learn and grow. Not every page is a masterpiece.

Flow

I always find I am at my happiest when I'm in the middle of a project. When I have hurdled over the blank-page-phobia and have boldly taken the first steps to finally start. I really enjoy getting in the flow, mixing colours and problem solving what will go where. It's a wonderful feeling, and well worth all the pre flight jitters.

With that out of the way, I'm giving you 3 fun ways to spark your creativity and get painting. I even have a list of ideas for you! Use this technique when you want to try something new in your journal or sketchbook. When you want to be inspired or challenged to try something new. It's also a great way to try all those new art materials that you haven't opened.

Prompt picker #1

Dig out a pile of popsicle sticks and write each idea on one end. Keep them in a pretty mug or jar, so that they are easy to grab.

If you have multi-coloured popsticks, you can use one colour for each category of ideas you have.

For example, you might want to explore: 

• Different materials,
• Colour combinations,
• Subject matter, and
• Styles.

​So you could then pick out one of each colour.

In the photo below, the material is India ink, The colour choice is to 'add gold', the subject prompt is 'magic', and the style I should aim for is 'childish'. 

Often when I do this, I'll just pick two or three, to get the ideas flowing. If I have an idea, but I'm not feeling the childish style, I'll just ignore it. After all, it's about helping you get started, it's not a test.

Prompt picker #2

Write each idea on a small square of paper and fold them up. Keep your ideas in a nice jar. You can easily add new ideas to the jar as you think of them. You can even colour code them, as above, so you can quickly pick a subject and a colour, for example. 

Prompt picker #3

If you love lists and option 1 and 2 just seem like hard work, use a random number generator (or a child!) to help you choose.

Create your list of materials you want to try and objects you want to paint.
Ideally number each row.
Then simply plug in your total number of rows into the number generator and away you go.

Some Tips:

• Set a timer. You'll be surprised what you can get done in 15 minutes. This is especially useful when you aren't really in the mood. Commit to 10 minutes and see how immersed you are when the buzzer goes!

• Keep it small and achievable. It can be really wonderful to start and finish something in one sitting. If you don't get to create often, aim for something simple that gives you a sense of accomplishment.

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• I made you a list! I'm pretty Type Aand a virgo so I am sharing my list with you so you don't procrastinate by scouring the internet, making your 'ultimate list'.

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• It's ok to cheat. If you pull out a couple of prompts and they are just not exciting you, chuck them back and try again. Keep goinmg until you find a work that sparks you imagination. After all, this is for you and there are no rules.

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• New ideas. Keep a list in your phone so you can add new ideas whenever they come to you. Then when you are home, you can add the ideas to your jar.

Eyes on the Prize

Online classes are wonderful and SO inspiring. Plus there are a lot of free ones too! But sometimes, when you are short on time, you need to spend that time doing, not watching someone else. After all, it's the practise that helps you learn. Don't fall down a YouTube rabbit hole to find that it's time to start dinner and you still have a blank page.​

​Want some more ideas for how to generate artwork ideas?

Read this blog post next

Free ideas list to get you started