Something New

I’ve been drawing for some time now, and throughout the years I’ve noticed something that happens every once in a while: I hit a creative block.

I start to feel like I’m drawing the same thing over and over again. I want to create something new, something different, but somehow I get stuck.

Why?

Is it a lack of imagination? Is it a lack of creativity? Or is it simply part of being an artist?

Lately, I’ve started looking at creative block a little differently. Instead of forcing myself to come up with something completely new, I’ve been going back through my own repertoire and pulling out bits and pieces from things I’ve created in the past. A shape from one drawing. A figure from another. A pattern, a pose, a texture, or an idea that I may not have explored fully the first time.

By combining those pieces in different ways, I’ve started creating compositions that feel new and interesting to me.

Maybe creating something new doesn’t always mean starting from nothing. Sometimes it means taking what you already know and seeing it through a different lens.

Color theory has also become a big part of that exploration for me lately.

For years, I paid close attention to the color wheel. Complementary colors, analogous colors, warm colors, cool colors—I tried to make sure everything made sense according to the rules.

But sometimes, even when the colors technically worked, the artwork didn’t feel right.

So I started experimenting.

I began introducing colors that might be considered “odd” or unexpected. Colors that I normally wouldn’t place next to each other. Instead of asking myself whether a color combination was correct, I started asking a different question:

Does it feel good?

That small change gave me a new sense of freedom.

Creating new color palettes and simply going with what feels right has become an exciting part of my process. Sometimes an unusual color completely changes the energy of a drawing or painting. It can make something feel louder, calmer, stranger, warmer, more playful, or more alive.

And once I gave myself permission to break some of the rules, I started feeling that excitement again.

I’m realizing that creative blocks may not always mean that creativity is gone. Sometimes they might be telling us that it’s time to experiment, rearrange, explore, and get a little uncomfortable.

As artists, we build a visual language over time. We collect colors, shapes, characters, ideas, techniques, memories, and experiences. Maybe the challenge isn’t constantly inventing an entirely new language.

Maybe it’s learning new ways to speak with the one we already have.

For me, right now, that means mixing old ideas with new compositions, experimenting with unexpected colors, trusting my instincts a little more, and allowing myself to create without worrying so much about whether everything follows the rules.

Sometimes the thing that brings creativity back is simply giving yourself permission to do something different.

Something unexpected.

Something new.