How to find new inspiration and overcome a creative block

Sometimes, you have so many ideas your brain is buzzing with the effort of not forgetting them before you’ve got them all down on paper. Or, absolutely nothing is floating around up there. Nada. Zilch. This blog post is about what I do when I have a creative block, how I find new inspiration, and a little about what inspired my new collection.

Go outdoors

You don’t have to be a scientific painter or gardener to be inspired by beautiful plants and flowers. Joy can be found in the colours and textures of branches swaying in the breeze or ripples on the ocean surface. Simply taking a stroll through the park or relaxing outside with a cool drink can spark ideas - the fine details of spindly cobwebs clinging to the fence or the cat curled up in the shady corner of your neighbours garden.

Photo of a sleeping tabby against camouflages against a concrete wall. — Sleeping cat, Utila

If you really can’t get outside right now, search ‘outdoors’ in your phone photos and be inspired by those. Maybe separate your favourites into an album that you can come back to at a later date. After all, I get 12,351 results when I search ‘outdoors’! 😂

Photo of white blossom trees with tower blocks in the background. Taken in Central Park, NYC. — Central Park, NYC

Where else to find inspiration?

Art galleries and museums are an excellent way of finding inspiration without comparing yourself. There’s something about looking at art from famous artists rather than from your peers that makes you feel less compelled to compare yourself in a negative way. Which leads me to… try not to search Instagram. There is a wealth of inspiration on the internet but Instagram can be a trap and getting pulled into the social media overwhelm doesn’t help anyones creative block. On the other hand challenges hosted by artists, illustrators and graphic designers on Instagram can be excellent ways of committing to creating every day and shifting the creative block. Set a time limit to seek out these challenges and then put your phone away in a drawer whilst you get creative.

Art classes are also a wonderful way to tap into new ideas, especially if you are trying a technique you haven’t used before. As well as classes in person, there is an abundance of choice on Skillshare, Domestika and even YouTube.

Change your surroundings

Stuck in a rut? Move your usual creative space to somewhere else. I love creating outdoors, it always puts me in a good mood and sets me up for productivity. Try switching up the kitchen table for the patio table, a seat at your local café or a blanket in the park. Changing your surroundings really does have a positive effect.

Don’t use ALL the paints

Another way to garner inspiration is to actually limit the number of materials you use. You can try this by type or by colour, for example using only soft pastels or fineliners, or putting everything away except your shades of green. Think emerald watercolour, sage green oil paint and landscape photos ripped from an old magazine, and get creative!

Once you do have some ideas, play around with them. It’s ok for your style to change and evolve, that’s part of being an artist. Each collection of artwork has different inspirations and those different inspirations can in turn inspire new styles of artwork. At the moment I enjoy minute details and using very fine watercolour brushes. However I also love working with mixed media and large expressive pieces. This may be a hint of something to come in the future!

Close up photo of large pink and green mottled tropical leaves. — Colourful leaves

Finding art inspiration in Utila

I hadn’t created anything for a while before arriving in Utila. The change in surroundings immediately gave me a wealth of ideas. I didn’t make any notes or start drawing straight away, but instead walked the same streets, studied the same plants and looked out for the same iguana as I walked past his prime suntanning spot everyday. Soon my ideas evolved and started to form more concrete images in my head of what I wanted to create for my next pieces.

Photo of an lying on top of a concrete wall. A large green palm leaf is in the background. — Iguana, Utila

I took plenty of reference photos of plants I’d never seen before, close ups of their textures and colours, panoramic shots of lush gardens and jungle, and colourful shots of the bustling main street with its glorious hand-painted murals of ocean life.

Photo of a wall mural in Utila, Honduras, featuring corals, small reef fish and a mermaid. — Ocean wall mural, Utila

I also have videos of sunsets over the rippling ocean and of the sound of rain on tin roofs and wooden decking during thunderstorms. Not only do these videos help calm and soothe the soul (something we all need in our busy lives) but they transport me back to the island whilst I’m putting the finishing touches on the new collection.

My new collection

Of course I knew before our trip that I would come back with a hoard of ideas for underwater themed paintings and patterns but for now I want to focus on the land based inspiration. Let’s sum it up as a green collection and a blue collection!

My biggest inspiration for this ‘green’ collection was the tropical gardens surrounding the classroom and pool where I completed my scuba instructor training (known in the profession as the IDC - Instructor Development Course). Every day for two weeks I walked the same red brick path between huge banana trees and palms. Watching hummingbirds flit about and blue land crabs scuttle back into their holes at the sound of footsteps, were perfect ways to take short breaks from the intense course and to fuel my creativity.

Photo of the lush green gardens at Mango Inn, Utila, Honduras. — Mango Inn Gardens, Utila

In my new collection (coming soon!) you will find swathes of banana leaves, curling vines and a few creatures and critters.

If you enjoyed this, why not read about what inspired the Alpine Tones Illustration logo and brand colours?

Inspired by Zermatt

Artist Inspiration