Beating Artist's Block:
Leave the Best Bit Till Last

"I am suffering from artist's block and could do with some ideas. I stopped painting for six months and now I can't get going again." -- Vicki, on the Painting Forum

When I'm feeling in need of an injection of inspiration, I tend to watch movies with an art theme or an art documentary. Girl with a Pearl Earring is a favorite because of the glorious colors and framing of the shots (it doesn't have much of a storyline, it's all moody atmosphere). Simon Schama's Power of Art with its hour-long episodes is another, particularly the episodes on Rothko, Turner, and Van Gogh.

Artist John Rather Jarvis advises leaving the "best until last", saying: "I had a block based on not being able to finish a painting after it was 70% complete, without destroying the result. My mentor gave me the solution to this block. 'In every painting there is a single thing which caught your attention causing you to want to make the image' (edge, color, differential or focal point). 'Leave that until last and the entire painting progresses to a climax' which avoids a vapor-lock imagination block. The idea of leaving the best until last has cured my block problem permanently -- that is about 20 years now."

What do you do when you're struggling to paint? Add your suggestions for beating artist's to the forum discussion...

See Also:
• 12 Tips to Beat Artist's Block
• The Real Reason We Paint
• 5 Ways to Destroy Your Artistic Creativity

^{Image: © Marion Boddy-Evans. Licensed to About.com, Inc}