I lost my passion for Art. What should I do?

Well, this is a topic every single artist will go through sooner or later. You can translate this passion into all areas of your life, not only in art. So maybe this thread will help you in other areas as well. This is just my opinion, but the way i think about it now plus my experience with it over the years, made me pretty comfortable when i have struggled with it again.

The thing why we struggle so much with our passion is that we are creatures who constantly evolve over time. Our brain is MADE for constantly growing and changing as it adapts to new information and circumstances. Brain cells and neurons can be rebuilt when they are damaged or lost. Or they can be changed when we try hard enough. So even our thinking process evolves every day. That means we all go through a different kind of stage in our lives, where we are actually get forced to ask ourselves on and on, 'if we made the right decisions', 'Are we going the right direction, 'does this or that makes me happy', 'does this helps me to grow', 'do i struggle or is it comfortable for me', 'do i still like it or do i wanna change something' and so on.

No worry, THIS is totally normal and you should be grateful that you are able to think these ways. That you are able to scrutinize the things in your life. If you would never struggle with this, it would mean you dont grow anymore as a human being. And we dont want that, right? We wanna be better and learn more.

So to push away that first tight feeling in your chest, let me tell you, that losing your passion for something is NOTHING you should worry about. Instead, look at it as a way of finding yourself again. Rebuilding your focus and actually being curious about what you learned and experienced over time and what you will do in the future, so you can use it to your benefit.

When you have the feeling of losing your passion then you have to realize first that something changed in your mind because of many different reasons. It can be a time when you are very stressed or maybe a little depressed, it can be the wrong environment you are currently in, it can be other people who influence you in a different way, or it can be that you are overwhelmed with something or that you are anxious. It also can be that something changed in your life that you are not in control of, so you have to rethink your current situation, and things you once loved are pushed back for the things you NEED to do.

🌱 So my 1. recommendation is to look at your life and yourself and see what has changed since you lost your passion for art. And you have to be honest with yourself to look deeply into it.
If you found the thing that changed, then you can probably work on that and see if that would help.

Little example. The thing that changed is a financial struggle. You have to work more to pay your bills and that makes you stressed out and overwhelmed. A good reason why you lose your passion is because you literally dont have any more energy to care for that. When you know now what issue you have, you can find ways to change it. Like finding a better job with better pay. Or to ask for help with the chores and household when you come back after work and so on.

🌱 If this is still not working, then go another step. The next thing i want you to do is go back to your roots. Why did you do art in the first place? You see, when you lose your passion it has a lot to do with what’s going on in your mind, so you have to dig deeper into it. Of course, there are a lot of other things you can actively do (i will tell you a few later), but you have to realize that our brain is so powerful, that it can influence your thoughts and whole life when it’s in a bad mood. You have to care for it. All - the - time!

So you should ask yourself, why did you start art in the first place? Was it when you were a kid and it helped you to calm down your mind, or to be away from the real-life shit you had to deal with, (that is why i started art as a kid. I wanted to be away from all the bad situations in my life. And art helped me to calm myself down). Or you started it later, as a teenager because this was the way you could express yourself the best. Or you started it when you were older, and it brought you some kind of piece in the early mornings when the kids are still asleep. Everybody has a different story, so find yours. If you know again why you love art so much, then it will make it easier to step into your passion again. We sadly lose our focus a lot why we began something in the first place? Remembering yourself about it, and bringing it back in the present can help a lot.

🌱 If nothing helps and your mind won’t get calm, then maybe you should try something more actively. There are a few things you can do to help your mind and passion to come back.

➥ Changing the Environment
Try to declutter your room or house from all the things which distract you. Sometimes we lose the focus of what we like to do when we have constantly other things around us. So clear your workspace, make room for everything that is not art-related, and help your mind to be less stressed. i do that very often when i feel unmotivated. I clean my whole area and put away what distracts my mind. It helps wonder for me.
Another point you can try out is, to change the environment where you normally do your art. When you have a specific room where you only do your art because your computer is there or your tablet and pen and paper, try to maybe move to another room. OR go outside and search for a quiet place in nature, or sit in a cafe while you have other people around you. Depends on what you prefer. Change your view and your mood will change as well. When you are someone like me (more introverted and shy to go somewhere), i just can recommend you to try it out. It gives me always a good feeling when i challenged myself even when i felt anxious at first.

➥ Idea Book
Buy a little book where you write down ALL the ideas which come into your mind throughout the day. I know as an artist we have so many things in our minds, that we easily can stressed out because we have the feeling of forgetting a great idea and which idea we should do first. To help your mind to slow down more, a little book where you write everything down will help to keep you more focused without having the fear of forgetting something.

➥ Write down your Goals & Dreams
Sometimes we lose our passion because we lose our vision for the future. We have so many things in our minds that we totally forget where we planned to go and what we wanted to achieve in the future. People dont take enough time to sit down for at least 10 minutes each day and to think about their goals again. If we dont do that each day we can lose track and in the end, we can lose our love of art, because, when we dont have a goal, we tend to get bored and lose ourselves. And when this is the case we start procrastinating and then 1 day with no art can lead to 1 week with no art and that can lead to many months without doing any art at all. In the end, we dont find it interesting anymore because the habit of not doing it constantly is in our way. So make sure you sit down for 5 or 10 minutes (best in the morning), and think about your goals and dreams you have with your art, be crazy, and never forget:
EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE

➥ Look at other Artists' work
Well, this thing can be a positive outcome for some and a negative for others. Because we have two sides here. When you look at other artists’ work, ask yourself this: Do you get jealous, unmotivated, and lose hope for your own journey when you look at other artists’ work and how 'well' they are doing? OR Are you someone who needs to watch other artists’ art and journeys to kick your own butt to be better and to be inspired by them? Be honest with yourself when you ask yourself that. If you are the first one then maybe dont try to look too much at other artist’s work at that time. if you feel inspired then go for it and let inspire you.

➥ Ask your Community
When you are active on social media you maybe have a community who knows your stuff and how you do things and maybe they have some ideas for you. Ideas to make you more inspired or challenged. Of course, never forget that this is your art and you should do what you want but sometimes when we get stuck, we need some other views over our work and they have probably ideas you never thought about and which will make you more motivated. You can also do some collaborations with others if that inspires you again.

➥ Fill your visual Library
Sometimes we lose our passion because our visual library is empty. What do i mean by that? As an artist, we constantly fill our brains with things we can use for our art. This can be watching a movie, reading books or comics, other artwork, going to museums or other exhibitions or conventions, doing hobbies, doing walks outside in nature or cities, traveling, and many more. With all of these things, you build up emotions, ideas, memories, and stories to create art out of them. But when we stop filling our brains and life with more things we dont know, then we struggle with finding new ideas and in the end struggle with doing anything at all. So make sure that you watch new movies, read new books and stories, find a new hobby, talk about other topics with friends and strangers, and go to places you never were before. Doesn’t matter what you do, but you will create new memories and experiences and with THAT you will have enough fuel to start over again.

➥ The Real World
Yes. The real world is always good for being inspired and getting the drive again to fall into your passion. We often lose ourselves in the digital world, in movies and games. But life can be so beautiful, fascinating, or shocking, that we should focus more on the NOW and the PRESENT instead of being in a fantasy world all the time. Real life can make you feel alive when you do it right. Go out, explore the world, learn more, and fail. Do everything to make you feel better about yourself. Probably you are not in the best mood or situation, maybe you feel depressed, sad, anxious. No matter what. Life can help you to find purpose in life again. Maybe this is the reason why you lost your passion. Maybe the passion to enjoy life. Change that!

➥ Look, Feel & Hear more deeply
This might sound weird but i will tell you what i mean by that. The world is a very fast and hectic place 90% of the time. People dont stop to breathe or to slow down a bit. We always want everything faster and better. But because of that, we totally forget to look into the details, which you can only see when you slow down and stop for a moment when you look, hear, and feel deeper. Artists get their inspiration from their eyes, ears, and heart most of the time. Everything flows into our artwork, that’s why it’s so important to have a visual library. Our brain is constantly receiving information from the outer world that there is no room for the little things. That’s why i want you to slow down for a bit and concentrate on the details.

An example: Let's say you see a beautiful flower that grows next to a bench in the park. Kneel down next to it and look deeper. Do you see the little water drop on one of the leaves? How it reflects the little bug who sits in front of it? What a nice inspiration for artwork, right? Maybe a creature whose head is translucency and you can see the inside of the head like the raindrop on the leaf. Or maybe a tiny mushroom guy who does his washing routine in a little water drop. This is just an example of seeing deeper. You can do the same by listening deeper and feeling deeper. Try to stop and look into the little things in life. You can get amazing inspiration out of it.

➥ Time to Relax
The last thing i wanna mention is, of course, time to relax. Sometimes the only way of coming out of this art hole and getting back to your passion is, by cutting art out of your life for a few days. Dont do any art-related things and dont even think about it. Let it be where it is and take a break. Do other things. Travel, go out with friends, read a book, do some self-care routines, or whatever comes into your mind. But try to avoid art for a while. Maybe you just need a few days away from it to refill your energy again. Think about it this way. If you would eat Pizza every day, you would get bored of it and would lose interest in eating it. When you eat something different now for a while you will slowly like eating pizza again. It’s the same with art. Sometimes we just need a little break from it.

________________

The thing why i love passion so much is because you need it when everything else is falling down. Passion is your helping hand and the kick in your butt when you are alone and when nothing seems to work out. It is always by your side and remembers you that at least ONE thing is there to fight for. And you know, we all love to fight for what we love the most. And passion is one of them.

But there is also something you have to think about.
When nothing works, in the end, *i will copy this section out from my book.

Well, when you've tried out so many different things when you've pushed yourself when you tried to inspire yourself, and still nothing works over many months, it is time to stop and take a break. A break with yourself and your art. Go back and start from the beginning and ask yourself, 'Do I still love art? Is it my priority at the moment? Is it still the direction I wanna go?'. People and life are a constant change and we need to realize that sometimes our interests change as well. Even when you loved to draw your whole life, since you were a little bean and you couldn't think about anything else, life can turn out differently. Situations pop up and suddenly nothing is like before. And that is nothing to regret or to be angry or upset about. That can be a totally normal thing. I told you before that even when you are older you can still change your path in life. When you don't feel the joy anymore with the things you loved in the past and you really tried everything to keep it, but still there is nothing you can do. Then maybe it’s time to think about your life again. To go to the next level, to jump into another world. Something you enjoy more.

I don't mean when you lose inspiration or the drive to do your art, that this means automatically you don't love it anymore or you should skip it immediately. As an artist, I know you need to overcome those times very often without giving up of course. And sometimes it takes a bit to come into the love and fun again. Never give up just because you have a bad time!

But for example, maybe you were always a concept artist but now you are more interested in 3D. Or more into visual effects. I have heard people often change their art path. From an animator to a painter. From 2D to 3D. From digital to traditional. From games to commercials. Everything can happen. And maybe the one area isn't so exciting anymore for you that you should try something else. That doesn't mean you should forget the other thing, but switching and seeing what excites you more is important.

Sometimes it is not about giving up. It is about changing your life to your best. To be happy again, to explore new things in life, to change direction because of many reasons, and maybe come back later. And that is totally fine. Even when you think art isn't your life anymore. You can switch to any other area you want. You can jump into a totally different career path. For example, start building your own dance studio, sell cocktails in Thailand, or be a banker. Just make sure you give your art block a bit of time to come back before you jump around.

Art blocks can come over and over again on your journey so be aware of that and try out everything you can to come back into the spirit before you give up.

„Life is not about mastering a skill till you are a pro.
It is about exploring the beauty of this world.
About learning & growing as a human being.
About finding the balance between happiness & sadness.
A life to live in your pace, your imagination & your own transition. And if you feel you need to change,
then do it.„

I really think that life is not only about choosing something and then just keeping it because you always did it. When you did art since you were a little kid but suddenly with the age of 50 you dont find any joy in it anymore but you feel free and happy when you teach yoga classes or when you switch to the game industry or any other art field. - Well then do it! Nobody tells you to stick with something.

Life is a constant change and so are you. Don't listen to people who think a person must be like this and that. Who said that? Life is there to do what you want and not to please others. So I highly recommend you, if you feel your art block is not because you have a lack of inspiration or you need a just a break, but instead its a lack of joy in the things you once enjoyed then go inside yourself and ask yourself what you want in life now. Maybe your time came to go another path. Maybe you will come back to it one day or maybe not. It all lies in your hands. But don't feel bad for your own change and transition.

It is normal.
It is good,
It is life.