I don’t know about you, but once in a while I get in a rut. I have a desire to paint, but nothing really inspires me. Today I thought I’d share a few ways that I can get myself out of the rut and get back to painting.

Obligation

The first way I get out of my rut is usually when I have some sort of obligation to paint something for someone. While this isn’t always inspiring, it is motivating. Sometimes the obligation is very specific, like a commissioned painting that someone has given me a picture to paint. Inspiration or no, that’s the subject matter.

Sometimes I have agreed to paint something, but given the freedom to find reference photos or ideas wherever I can. Often people ask about a subject matter, like a specific flower, location, bird, etc. The obligation part coming in when there’s a specific assignment that I’ve accepted, like a mural, or signage for an event.

Suggestion

When I am at markets I often have people ask about different subjects – Do you have any… This is something I file away, whether in the back of my mind or make a list on my phone. If people are asking about it, then that’s what they’re looking to buy.

When I get stuck, I refer back to this list of suggestions or inquiries that I’ve gotten and look for reference photo’s associated with that particular request or suggestion. Often those suggestions are subjects that I may never have thought of painting, so it gives me a good, new direction to go for inspiration, and often to stretch and increase my painting skills.

Seasons

I find that each season brings new inspiration. As the leaves start changing colors, I want to paint leaves and fall landscapes. When spring comes, beautiful flowers always come to mind.

Winter isn’t my favorite, but painting snow and winter scenes I have found to be quite fun. Summer always offers quite a lot of inspiration for me.

I have also found that the season will inspire me with a different season. I get tired of the white monotony of winter here in Alaska, and painting beautiful, bright flowers in the middle of the winter helps to boost my mood.

Color

Sometimes when I am at a loss, I pick a color. Sometimes it’s a primary color like Red or blue, sometimes it’s a watercolor color that I haven’t used in a while, like purple or Pyrrol Orange.

I then go searching the many free reference sites and Facebook pages with free photographs, for that color. I seem to always be able to find something inspiring that gets me excited to sit down and paint.

Free Photography Sites

When all else fails and none of the above inspire me, I just get onto different free for artists sites and start scrolling. Usually within minutes I’ll find something that either inspires me, or leads me in a direction to look for something more specific, like a colorful insect – maybe paint a bright ladybug. or a red flower – maybe I could find a beautiful rose.

There are so many fantastic photographer’s out there who are so willing to share their photos for free with artists. Make sure you know whether the site shares free uncopyrighted material or not. If it has copyrights, you cannot paint without express permission from the photographer. If you’re sure it’s free, you need to decide whether to credit the photographer for the picture or not. How closely did you paint it, did you make significant changes, did you use multiple reference images or just one?

Getting stuck is no fun, especially when you know you love to create. I hope these suggestions help get you out of a rut if you find yourself in one. Just a note, only a couple of these pictures are my own, so please do not use them as your own reference photos as the other’s are taken by friends and others.

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