Unslumping the Art Slump!

Hello, everyone! Ever been in an art slump? Y'know, one of those moods where you just don't feel creative? Or maybe some negative feedback or critique has gotten you down, and you don't think you'll ever be good at painting again? Well, we at Cheap Joe's totally understand. Everyone gets in a slump every now and then. The important thing is that you eventually get back on the horse and keep creating!

So, for those times when you're feeling really down about yourself or your work, I've compiled a TON of inspiring art quotes to pick you back up :)

To start, I created one of my own. Because what better way to get out of a slump than to look fondly upon something you've made and feel great about? Plus, it's one of my favorite inspiring quotes, so it's win-win!

The quote I chose was "I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart: I am, I am, I am" taken from Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar.

I knew that I wanted this to look like it was handmade and not terribly precise like it was cranked out of a machine, so I started by free-handing the lettering with a teeny tiny size 12/0 Princeton Series 3750 Round Mini brush (the best brushes for minute details, in my opinion) and some Liquitex Acrylic Ink in Carbon Black on Kilimanjaro Original Bright White 140lb Watercolor Paper.

At this point, I couldn't believe I hadn't made a huge accidental blob yet. I was on a roll!

And after a little while, I had my completed quote!

Then it was time for the really fun part--flourishes.

I did a super-rough sketch of some flowers and vines draped over and around my quote. I wanted something quirky and loose enough to complement the hand-lettering, but not so much that it would be distracting.

Slowly but surely, I began filling in my flora with various American Journey Artists' Watercolor colors, like Skip's Green, Cerulean Blue Hue, and Shadow.

I didn't erase my lines before I painted on my watercolors because I knew I'd be lining it in ink, anyway. They'll be hardly noticeable in a few seconds.

Ta-da! The finished project, just waiting to be framed and displayed somewhere I'll see it every day to remind myself that I am a capable artist/human being, even on the days I feel like I'm not. And even though I did end up making a few ink splotches on accident, I just tapped my brush to leave more droplets of ink and make it look like I did it on purpose. Besides, the point of this project wasn't to be perfect. It was to be myself, and to see that just that is good enough.

Ready for some more inspiring stuff? Keep scrolling to your heart's content!

(http://www.edutopia.org/arts-integration-resources)

(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/09/inspirational-quotes_n_4414287.html)

(http://us9.campaign-archive2.com/?u=103f717efbf19eb180728204f&id=4a86eed487&e=64e3eac22c)

(https://mobile.twitter.com/skillshare/status/484769733162848257/photo/1)

(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/09/inspirational-quotes_n_4414287.html)

(https://mobile.twitter.com/skillshare/status/484769733162848257/photo/1)

(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/09/inspirational-quotes_n_4414287.html)

(http://craftwhack.com/)

(https://www.etsy.com/listing/192464566/henri-matisse-hand-lettered-quote?ref=shop_home_active_1)

(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/09/inspirational-quotes_n_4414287.html)

(https://krisztianna.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/artist-anxiety/)

And finally, just...

(http://inspirationfeed.com/inspiration/typography-inspiration/60-bold-typographical-statements-from-wordboner/)

I hope you'll bookmark this page so that, if you're ever in an art slump, you can look back at all of these quotes and remember that you are extraordinary.