Having a bad art day? Here's how to find your mojo

Photo: Diego PH

We’ve all been there, right? We’ve all had those days where you can’t even seem to draw a stick man right, let alone approach companies with a portfolio of work. I had one of those days last week – frustrated that my brain couldn’t quite connect with my pencil and create anything remotely decent. It’s in those moments when you start to believe you’ve lost all ability to create anything good. You start getting frustrated at the marks on your paper or the pixels on your screen, drowning in pencil rubbings or permanently embedding ‘Command-Z’ onto your thumb and index finger. You look at your work and want to throw it out the window – not just today’s, but a whole bloody decade of work: It’s all shit and it’s going out of the window. 

Or is that just me?

Of course, it’s just one of those days, and if you’re a creative person you will probably find that your opinion of your work will go up and down like a yoyo. In fact, I would bet any money that Leonardo Da Vinci had those days too. As an artist you probably have multiple ideas going through your mind all day.. Because of this, you will go from one idea to the next, trying to perfect your work, trying out new concepts and discovering new techniques. suddenly you find yourself out of your comfort zone, trying to push new boundaries. It’s because of this that having bad art days is perfectly norma – good, even. You need to push through them in order to try new things and progress.. So if you feel a little bit fed up with your work at the moment it is probably a good indication that you’re on the right path. 

However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that you don’t feel great about it. It’s uncomfortable, and at times a little soul destroying. So, here are some things that have helped me find my mojo when I’ve wanted to throw my work in the bin.

1. You’re not alone

It’s easy to look at everyone else’s work and think they’re winning at life, but what each artist chooses to present does not give the full picture – the roughs that went in the bin or the sleepless nights the work entailed. Each of the artists you admire will have bad days too – yes, even the famous, brilliant, award winning ones. There may well be people who look at your work and put you on a pedestal too, assuming you never have bad art days or make any mistakes, so don’t take for granted the achievements you’ve made in the past. Knowing that everyone else feels this way about their work sometimes lifts the load and helps you to take it with a pinch of salt.

2. You’re DIFFERENT

Your work is not the same as anyone else’s. You may be inspired by other people and it may have similar themes to other artists but no one will draw or paint or make things exactly like you can. Often finding a new spark in your work can be through acknowledging what makes you you. Stop trying to be like everybody else and focus on what makes you different. Is the discomfort with your work because it doesn’t quite fit in with what’s cool or it doesn’t meet others’ standards of perfection? It’s fine to be inspired by other artists, but make sure you only judge your work against your own work – competition with yourself is far healthier than trying to compete with someone who works entirely differently to you.

3. Get inspired

Have you ever thought that the reason you have lost the spark in your work is because you simply find it boring? Perhaps you’ve worked in the same way for the past few years and need to try something new. Perhaps you’re working with subject matters that just do not inspire you. Create work you care about – what is it you want to say through it? How can you convey that better? Doing work that bores you shows. There’s no use creating work you hate simply because it’s in fashion or because someone else has had success with it. People can detect authenticity a mile off so make sure you are genuine in your pursuit of creating inspiring artwork. 

4. Think back

Think of all the times you’ve been in this position before. Did you overcome it? What did you learn? My guess is that you either can’t remember (meaning it probably didn’t matter too much), or that is was over something you managed to overcome in some way. The point is, it’s highly unlikely you’ll still be suffering as a result of a handful of bad art days – in fact, these could well have been the catalysts for positive change. Keep looking back at all you’ve achieved so far. Remember what your work was like when you first started out – my guess is that you will have dramatically improved. Give yourself credit where it’s due and look back on all you’ve achieved.

5. Rest

The most effective way to restore your mojo is to rest. Yes, this is frustrating when all you want to do is overcome your work challenges, but trust me on this. Sometimes spending time away from your projects and letting your mind wander onto other things can be the mental break you need to get fresh perspective.. Spending time doing other things can also spur creativity (in fact, most great ideas come when you least expect them). Take a mental break and go for a walk – come back to your work with fresh eyes. Even better, take a full day off or as much as you can to recharge your batteries. Though you may feel you’ve lost time, you will always come back far more productive. You’ll thank yourself for it, I promise.

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