Lacking motivation to finish my painting.. Any advice?

I'm still sort of noobish here so I'm not sure if this is the right place/spot/topic for this, but it's my painting so why not?

I started this project (pic attached; I know its tiny but it was giving me a hard time) in the middle of January, which feels a lot like forever ago. I've been working on it in school during my side-by-side study hall and lunch period (which is about an hour each week day) and I've been taking it home during the weekends. I'm currently barely half done with it.

I know, my painting is coming along well, it can take people years for a painting to be completed, etc.. but I just want to get it over with, you know? Everyone else gets their projects done within a week or two and here I am, still working on this same painting, making virtually no progress on a weekly basis. I get teased for it also.. which I've accepted... but still. I would love to move on, but I don't want to throw this to the side.

I definitely have the time to work on it. I just don't have the willpower to. In class, I spend more time pacing around it and staring at it than I do actually painting it. It almost is as if I'm too wound-up/anxious to work and focus. Then during the weekends when I bring it home, I almost never touch it at all. I think it runs a bit deeper than just laziness.. Perhaps I'm intimidated by it? I just haven't been in the mood. =/

Does anyone else struggle with this? Has anyone been able to overcome it with advice they'd be willing to share? Thank you for reading.

Well, as you know, you can't rush art. Tell the people who are making fun of you to just buzz off. Everyone works at their own pace.

I think the painting is turning out beautifully! I looked at the painting before I saw your age, you paint like a professional! It's great. Don't rush it. You obviously have a special talent you should take advantage of.

If you're feeling overwhelmed (I do this with a lot of my paintings), start a new one... one that isn't as large or detailed. Once you finish that, you'll feel a sense of accomplishment and probably feel more motivated to get back to the elephant one.

i am an art major,

i have never finished a painting in my life,

i painted around 10 to 20 last year,

and none did i finish,

how ever i heard thats part of being an artist.

jengh --

Thank you! It's weird but it just comes naturally to me.. I actually haven't been painting that long, just for the past 2ish years. We're all good at something and that's just what I'm good at I guess.

I've always been a bit of a slow worker.. My last (and technically first) major painting project took an estimated 80 hours over the course of about 5 months.. At least now I have more of a sense of what to do so I'm hoping to see an improvement (even if it is marginal) in speed.. I'm just trying to keep improving on that so if I decide to go to an art college I won't be behind.

I've actually been tempted to start another painting project recently, an at-home one during the weekdays after school when I don't have my elephant. I think you're very right though.. A smaller, simpler project to do when I can't do my elephant would probably do me a lot of good.

Thanks!

getbiii --

That makes me feel better about having so many unfinished projects! Over the summer I started a few paintings, and some barely got past the sketch phase. Then I've got about a dozen abandoned pastel projects... heh, the life of an artist!

I have about 9384574 unfinished paintings lying around I finally started and finished one a few weeks ago and it felt SO good. I definitely recommend you do something lighter, possibly more abstract, maybe a painting for your bedroom? Do it on a nice stretched canvas so it doesn't need a frame.

80 hours isn't very long. My first major project was a 4x4 rainbow labyrinth and it took me approx 200 hours. I think I did about 3 small projects in between because that thing made me lose my mind.

no prob!

to me this is what art is..

Art is not a painting,

art is the process of making a painting.

a painting is evidence of art.

unless you were thinking of painting a portrait of a person then maybe you haven't even noticed but thoose "unfinished" paintings may actualy be finished.

after all why are they unfinished?

because thats where your idea ended for that painting.

so you reached the end... unless you still have the idea of what more to do with it, then it is still unfinished but you know where to go with it so there shouldn't be a reason why you can't continue.

and even unfinished portriats may also be finished...

i don't know how this sounds to you but is sounded better in my mind,

one of my best pieces was unfinished in my eyes and in my mind, i always felt that it needed something else... so i never showed it to anyone, one day i placed it by mistake in my portfolio and we had a critique by some very successful people, this peace, this unfinished artwork turned out to be my strongest and i was told it needed nothing more.

hope this helps...!

Holy crap that's one amazing artwork, why wouldn't you finish it Show us your completed art! Reminds me of my sister who used to paint a lot. Maybe you need inspiration from other painters? You have a talent!

Everyone's so supportive.. makes me wish I came here sooner!

I'm definitely glad I'm not the only one with unfinished projects! 200 hours.. wow... I know I could take that long because I'm rather compulsive and try to capture every detail, I just don't know if I could do that and still maintain my sanity! I guess 80 hours only felt like forever because I only had about 40, 45 minutes a day to work on it, so it spanned over the course of a few months. That, and I had no idea how to approach it.. It was some dead leaves in a river with all these weird and colorful swirls around it.. somewhat bizarre.. but I had to get the colors to blur just right and everything.

getbiii, I must say, I find your take on it very thoughtful. And very true now that I think about it! I've got several "unfinished" sketches like that. It always just felt like they were missing something, at least to me.. everyone else seemed to think they were great. Looking back through my old things now, I realize they aren't so bad.

I think I'll try to get a little bit more of it done this weekend, and then on monday when I get home start something new... I'll definitely be sure to put my elephant up here when I do manage to finish it. Thanks

no problemo!

im working on a painting right now as we speak,

i started it last summer,

guess where im barely at?

the backgruond 8-)

i had already done one and i liked it but i made a new one that suits my mood better

Wow! As long as it's turning out the way you like it then it's definitely worth the time though. Have you been working on it consistantly or just as an "every now and then" type thing? I guess the only problem I'd have with a project that went on that long is my paint drying out... but then again, you can always just mix more.

no, well i always had the idea, i started it and always wanted to continue it but i never found the time, i was taking a lot of clases and found myself only painting things that i needed to turn in for school.

i feel kind of strange thou...

this painting is of my ex, we were dating and broke up two months ago or three.

in the eyes of others i might seem obssesed or like a stalker,

but the truth is that this painting is what im feeling right now.

I often get this "artist's block" where I'm adrift in a dead sea of suddenly nothing coming out at all. It's like a faucet turned off somewhere and you are trying to squeeze water from a dry pipe, right?

What frees up the line for me is to find the right music to draw or paint to. Find some music that expresses in sounds the way you want someone to feel when they look at your painting. Is it serene and peaceful? Is it mysterious? is it nostalgic like looking at a familiar place? Then find some music, maybe from a time in your past, that makes you feel however, and play that while you look at your painting. Just listen and see if the music makes you feel anything as you look at it. If you find the right music (it's not hard...it's amazing what works, actually) then you will begin to "see" what you need to do next in the painting.

You will notice maybe some things you've done that need a little touch up that you didn't notice before, then that leads to filling in another space with color...just let the music play and if it starts getting stale, find another good song.

I swear I draw like someone getting a defibrillator shock to start their heart. I find good music, draw like crazy...it starts to fade in it's potency and the drawing slooowly starts to lose my interest, and then i go get another emotion -invoking song and WHAM! I'm back to life. It's like pulling teeth actually, trying to wrench a finished piece out of my head and hand and onto the page.

Art is supposed to be a struggle to produce because it's kinda of like giving birth in a way and it's hard but what is produced is a reflection of you.

Best of luck to you...

no, well i always had the idea, i started it and always wanted to continue it but i never found the time, i was taking a lot of clases and found myself only painting things that i needed to turn in for school.

i feel kind of strange thou...

this painting is of my ex, we were dating and broke up two months ago or three.

in the eyes of others i might seem obssesed or like a stalker,

but the truth is that this painting is what im feeling right now.

I don't see it as an obsessive/stalkerish type thing.. but I guess that could be because I get what you're saying (in a sense, not exactly of course... not trying to say that I understand your situation completely.).

I have/had (I haven't completely decided to abandon it yet) considered a new painting project based on a sketch I drew a little while ago.. I couldnt sleep one night about 2-3 weeks ago and my mind wandered and I got to thinking about this one guy whos been out of my life for a while now... well, I drew a sketch with some colored pencils, a sketch that basically symbolized him and how he left me feeling after it was all over, and I've just started feeling that way again. Right now it's nothing more than a sketch though, that I burried DEEEEP under a pile of papers on my desk.

It's definitely one of the most creative/meaningful things I've probably ever done, but I don't think I want to go through with it because.. well.. I don't think I'll want anyone to see it, and it's really... strange. The symbolism is strange and gorey and I'll be like the only person who will understand it.

... but it's for me, right? not them..

pilotgirl-

That's a very accurate representation of my "artist's block" .. And finding music to paint to is also a really great idea! Actually, looking back, it makes a lot of sense to me... I listen to music when I paint and now that you mention it, the times that I had something more calming or hopeful on repeat (I'm weird like that, I can listen to a song on repeat for hours at a time, days in a row, and sometimes even for a few weeks and still not be sick of it) and those would be my more productive weeks.. as opposed to last week when I was listening to something angry and I couldn't quite focus on my painting because I was too worked up. I've realized that and yet I've never quite put the pieces together... thank you!

I don't see it as an obsessive/stalkerish type thing.. but I guess that could be because I get what you're saying (in a sense, not exactly of course... not trying to say that I understand your situation completely.).

yup! well thats also why i decided to change the background, it used to be a painting i was painting out of love, now its kinda changed to a more darker painting of the same subject only out of pain.

i am an art major,

i have never finished a painting in my life,

i painted around 10 to 20 last year,

and none did i finish,

how ever i heard thats part of being an artist.

Haha I definitely recognize this. Have the same problem. Starting tons of things, never finishing them. I guess it's because a creative mind sometimes needs change to stay entertained.

At OP: Stanley Kubrik was one of those movie directors that took years to finish his movies ( in a world where hollywood dictates the deadlines ). But his hard work and perfectionism always payed off in the end. Don't make something that feels uninspired. When I need inspiration I read, listen to music, go for a walk or anything like that. Sometimes a great idea just comes in like that. Don't wait when you are thrilled by a great idea, immediately use that positive energy of yours. Or write it down somewhere !

Part of being an artist is giving your work of art its own life- allowing it to be and grow on its own. Its the best way. Sometimes its tough to be patient, but I've found that when I am, I'm always glad I took my time. Unless you are a professional and working against a deadline with $ involved, which is another story all together. lol.

yup! well thats also why i decided to change the background, it used to be a painting i was painting out of love, now its kinda changed to a more darker painting of the same subject only out of pain.

Then I definitely can't see how that would be interpretted as stalkerish. It might even help you feel better.. I know it tends to help me.

Haha I definitely recognize this. Have the same problem. Starting tons of things, never finishing them. I guess it's because a creative mind sometimes needs change to stay entertained.

 

At OP: Stanley Kubrik was one of those movie directors that took years to finish his movies ( in a world where hollywood dictates the deadlines ). But his hard work and perfectionism always payed off in the end. Don't make something that feels uninspired. When I need inspiration I read, listen to music, go for a walk or anything like that. Sometimes a great idea just comes in like that. Don't wait when you are thrilled by a great idea, immediately use that positive energy of yours. Or write it down somewhere !

It makes me feel good to know that I'm not the only person out there who'd rather make something perfect instead of something to satisfy a deadline! Now that is some good advice I wish I would have followed earlier when I had first started to think about straying onto different projects.. I'd come up with these great ideas and then I'd hestitate and now that I'm about to start a side-project none of those "great" ideas feel so great anymore. At least now I'll know better next time not to waste my energy, even if it does mean I have a few dozen unfinished things.

Part of being an artist is giving your work of art its own life- allowing it to be and grow on its own. Its the best way. Sometimes its tough to be patient, but I've found that when I am, I'm always glad I took my time. Unless you are a professional and working against a deadline with $ involved, which is another story all together. lol.

I must agree. My poor attempts at rushing always throw me off and end up making the entire thing take longer. I guess I'll need to develope more patience. lol, the deadlines and $ bridge is one I hope to eventually be able to cross, but as far as deadlines go, the only "real" deadline I have is to get it done before the end of the school year, mid-June. I have some senior friends who want to see it finished before they graduate, and I'd like to live off of the paint in the school's art room as long as I can. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of my own paint here at home.. it's just.. the colors all look so much prettier when I didn't have to pay for them.

There was a contest I was hoping to have it finished and entered in for though sometime soon, but it turns out that my canvas is too big and my painting doesn't qualify. : / Bummer, but oh well.

...So how's the Painting?

It's coming along, slowly but surely.

Here's some update pictures... The first being as close to a full-view as I can get, and the second being a close-up of the area I've been working on.

Basically, I finished the top row of the trees (with the exception of the orange one to the far left.. that's almost done) and below that I need to do just a few random shrubs and a rock or two underneath the trees to the right.

I'd like to think that finishing the tree/shrub part will take another week or two if I can't finish it this weekend, and then the ground and the rest of the painting afterwards will go quickly in comparison. (I'm weird and obsessively-compulsive. I can't do things out of order.)

hahaha, thats cool. Whatever works for ya. I love landscapes--it looks great! keep up the good work.

Looks great! You can really see the layers now...