"Painter's Block" Topic

I just can't seem to get motivated about any subject. Summer is a big project building time of the year for me.I bought the whole line of Blue Moon Western figures a few years ago. They hit my table and I am way beyond schedule. Movies haven't worked. Books haven't worked. Nice weather, decent work schedule, switch out projects. I am floundering. I want this by Fall-In. Let's try some alternative medicine. What do you prescribe? I am out of ideas.

Drink heavily.

Goals seem to work better for me if I write down some progress numbers and some rewards.

Set a number of how many minis to finish and when you hit that number you give yourself the reward---it may seem silly but really put it in writing---and put that paper up where you can see it every day

What motivates you elsewhere? Can you apply that to painting?

Why do you enjoy painting? What have you gotten out of it before? Has something changed that has taken that enjoyment away?

Sometimes putting the brush down and doing the things you need to do is the answer.

Instead of the Blue Moon Western figures, is there something else you'd like to paint/model? Maybe a plastic airplane or car? Or some terrain?

Go pull some weeds, sweat, and slap-at knats in the noon day sun. This behavior will jumpstart your desire to paint and talk to your little people and animals.

Take the time off and enjoy it. You'll find in 3 of 4 days if you love painting like I do you will be ready to back into painting.

I normally don't participate in this type of discussion because I don't think it is much more than blowing smoke, but it's early in the morning here and I'm killing some time before I go for my "old-guy" morning walk. It seems to me that you just don't enjoy painting figures, and that is probably true of lots of people who game. Consequently, painting figures is work you don't like doing… that's a hell of a bad recreational activity. I'm one of those odd types who thinks that gaming is like watching grass grow… people rolling dice, reviewing their rule books, measuring distances and moving figures that seem to lose their historic and artistic interest to the players because the dice and the rule books become what the process is really about. For me, painting figures is an escape. I put an old movie in the DVD player or listen to some smooth jazz and the tensions of the day pass away while I lose myself in the transformation of the metal into a painted figure. I actually think of the painting of the figure as a process of making that figure mine… different from all the ones that others own. I've been doing this for 40 years, and I'm still surprised/pleased when the painted figure transformation is complete. If you can't enjoy the process, my guess is there is no solution other than sitting down and making yourself work at it because for you it is work. I think that Joseph Campbell once advised us to "follow your bliss." My hobby is probably very strange to most of the people on TMP, but for all that I am following my bliss. You can see one example of where that bliss has taken me at link

Take a break and do something else. I've had times when I just didn't want to paint and forcing myself to do seems to miss the whole point of the hobby. I do find summer is a slow time for my painting since there are so many other things to do. When you start again, pick something you want to paint and don't be afraid to do a stop work on another project. This spring I finally painted up my Guards Camel Corp that were purchased 20+ years ago.

It's a hobby, not a job. When you don't feel like doing it, don't do it. When you feel like doing it, do it.

Yes, no-one is forcing you to do it. Take a break, I often do.

After I while I get bored of playing computer games and watching old war movies so it is back to painting.

If the problem is more that you are determined to do it but it all seems too daunting, then break the work into smaller chunks and set yourself some short term goals. Nothing motivates like success, and producing four finished figures in a week is far more useful than having 300 in various states of assembly, priming, basing etc but nothing actually finished.

> "For me, painting figures is an escape."

Absolutely! I call it my "zen" as it allows me to bring a kind of life to the metal or plastic. It's my primary stress reliever.

Life has been blocking my painting a lot these past couple of months!

Can't give you a perfect answer as it is about you not me :) Lots of good ideas in this thread

They hit my table and I am way beyond schedule

For me – this would be the killer – stressed about being behind would prevent me from even starting

You could try painting something else to break the block or just paint 3-4 of the Western figures

Throw out the schedule concept

Sometimes picking up the brush every day to do something even if very small can help.

Good luck

John

Recently broke my block, and have done this before.
One color on a unit a day. I paint at one time a Napoleoic battery, battalion, or cavalry regiment but usually 8 -12 figures at a time.
Now I'm doing more but still try my 1 color every day.

Sit down and paint one color a day for a small group of figures. Before long you will have them almost done and you can knock them out. That is I get over painters block.

Take deliberate steps to not use (or at least cut down) the Internet in the evening and instead spend an hour painting each evening for say 5 days – the sense of productivity might spur you on to continue.

War in 15mm. Actually you are an inspiration to me. I painted my knights in part by looking at your blog for a 15-20 minute period every night.I also loved your Western set. I normally use painting the same way I use reading as an escape. Even if I pick up a dud, I normally have the discipline to stick to it and get thru it! I am in a funk. I appreciate everyone's suggestions. Thank all of you.

Patrick, good luck with you struggle and thank you for the kind words… it means a lot to hear that you have gotten some inspiration from the galleries I have posted because I certainly have been inspired by the work of many others over time. Since writing my original remarks I have given some thought as to what I might offer that might be of some concrete help. As might be expected I didn't come up with anything very profound, Because I love the "work" I do it every single day, and all of my projects take months to complete some even more than a year, I always have "time-out" projects that offer a break from my marathon painting efforts. Those usually keep me in the hobby, but allow me to put the brush down for a couple days or even a week… things like scratch building some terrain or repurposing a broken toy for use with my miniatures. I know it's not much of a suggestion coming from a guy who has been called a painting machine, but even I need an occasional break and that works for me. Once again, good luck. Richard

Do you have a set of rules that excites you that you intend to use, with clearly defined forces/gangs and maybe even a first scenario to work towards? If not, this should be the first item on the agenda; it will give you something solid to aim for. It's the basis of success of all the hyper-expensive, big-selling, prescriptive and conformist miniatures games.

Actually, last night I had a buddy over. We just sat and had iced tea. I knocked out nine 15mm cowboys. "Mortimer,we're back!"

I knocked out that portion of the subject. Now on to a calvary column of sixty horse.