Thanks Diane for sharing your own struggle with getting the art train in motion again!
For some, the Strada Challenge comes too soon and they feel already “behind” if they decide to join in. So I’ve just suggested the 29-day Challenge in February.

Timing is everything Carol Ann – with this post, with Jen’s comment and my response, with the rhythm of your art practice. Changes happens. Nothing stays still.

I’m glad Richard Schmid’s painting is inspiring Melanie. And I think his work does combines those elements of style you aspire to : expressive and detailed.

Thank you Gail,
And ‘Diana’s Maple’ by Richard Schmid is lovely and loose while keeping a sense of detail.
I started my painting inspired by Andrew McDermott’s post on the Art of Loosening Up, (which I thoroughly enjoyed- I will try this again) so my underpainting is very loose, but the portrait calls for detail. So a big part of my resistance has been whether to leave it as is because there is something about it I like.
I have fixed proportions on the subject and will try to add important features without losing too much of the bold mark making especially on the grass.
I want to be expressive and detailed. Perhaps I’ll shift between the two styles depending on what each painting calls for until my style emerges.
This painting by Richard Schmid is very inspiring.
2024 free falling into foliage.
Thank you for nudging us unto action.

Thank you so much for sharing your own experience Melanie. I know it will be helpful to others facing resistance!!!
As to painting grass, I’m not exactly sure what you are going for but I wanted to share this example by Richard Schmid. I realise it’s in oil but there is so much to learn from it!!

Hey Jen…I’ve been there. And it’s an awful feeling!! I just accepted that was the way it was and took a break. I didn’t even try. I just did other things. Slowly though, the pull to create returned. And I took it slow. I took rubbish work and, with nothing to lose, put on music and wiped and scribbled. I also cut them up and collaged them together. I gave myself permission to PLAY and enjoy mucking about. I also looked at art books. And I flipped through my sketchbook of thumbnails. And one day, I couldn’t help but put paper to easel and start. Without expectation. Just paint and see what happens.

My advice? Take a complete break. Take a break until you feel the flame again. And, journal about what is happening and your feelings. It feels good to get it all out on paper. It’s only for you. Curse and cry as much as you want.

It’s okay. Art can come and go. Be okay with that. It’s a detour. It may feel like a disaster right now but…this too shall pass. The creative impulse will return strongly.

Flame is gone! Everything is dreadful! Each brushstroke or pastel mark land in a wrong place, wrong colour, wrong width/pressure/etc

Even doodling is a chore!

I tried every mind trick in the book to get other it – nothing helps.

Hurray to the year of disaster:(
I hope you’ll never experience this feeling of helplessness.

Thank you again for motivating me to get going again last year.

Having a dedicated studio space or creative corner is a huge help to me.
My dogs even love the studio and as I gain momentum they would walk in there and give a glance to see if I’m following.

I was disappointed to have an incomplete painting at the end of the year I set it aside to do a paintng for a Christmas gift.
But is was great to have a project ready for me to pick up where I’d left off.
I still found I was procrastinating, watching too many helpful tutorials though. Painting grass scares me – I bought some unison pastels and enjoyed mixing them to see how many greens I could create. That got me playing with my new pastels.
But looking at the dull grass on my reference photo I realised it was time to do something I had done during the 31 day challenge- get outside and look at grass outside (in light, in shade) all I did was colour swatch and pick a pallete for my painting and that was enough to inspire me to make a start. The last two days I’ve been checking proportions and tweeking the underpainting.

I think for overthinking planners (which is great until it become a creative handbrake) a very helpful piece of advice I’ve received from you is it doesn’t have to be perfect, the lessons learnt while painting are more important. So I will continue learning from tutorials (I’m so grateful for every piece of advice) and planning and thinking, but then just go for it, paint the painting however good or bad it is for now, like freelancing into it. I want to improve on foliage this year and even though I don’t have high expectations for my current work in progress it encourages me to know I’ve made a start and by the end of the year if I can even just paint grass well I will be happy with my progress.

Thank you for your encouragement, Gail