I need help. Please help if you can.

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I figure if anyone can help its another aspie. This is my situation, i am good at art, i say this not to boast but because i am serious about it, and i don't just do it to relax, its very important to me. Anyway, my problem is this. I was pretty good at it, drawing and painting in particular, got a lot of praise and compliments and things from people and teachers, and being someone who makes art has become part of my identity. I now however have an obsession with the thoughts i have while i try make art. It has got to the point where every time i pick up a pencil, my mind becomes full of pressurised questions, where i repeatedly ask myself, do i know what i am doing, is this right, what do i need to do, what am i thinking. I basically get so obsessed with the thoughts i cant do anything any more, and the more i try to stop thinking the things, the more i think, because its basically just another thought, telling myself to stop thinking!
If anyone can help me, please please do, i am driving myself crazy going around in circles!

Hello InsomniaGirl,

Well, there is a time to think about your art and a time to create art. Thinking of art is for example necessary to develop yourself on a technical level, your own personal style, and how to create unification.

However, the most important abilities are above the intellectual level. These have to do with feelings and senses for beauty. All great art, both writing (abstract phase) and performing (concrete level), is generated when there is a metaphysical connection between a high entity/spirit and the artist. And it is true that thoughts/words can impede such a channel.

To go to the extreme, in painting and drawing it is possible to create subconscious art. I got the idea from the philosopher Alan Watts when he talked about great artists who generated somekind of chaotic and random pattern. In this wild pattern they saw complete drawings/paintings after a while, which they painted/drew on this pattern so that others could see it too.

What I would like to say further is that it could benefit you when you don't take your art too seriously. Abundant seriousness causes stress and rigidity which are not conducive at all. You should strive for a right balance of seriousness and fun while making art.

Also, when you feel stressed like you have described, I recommend you not to try create art at all. Take time to make your mind more calm and peaceful -- for example use healthy techniques like doing exercise, taking a walk in nature (forrests, beach, etc), and meditation. This empitiness is your foundation to make art.

I hope this will help you a bit.

Have a nice weekend.

Hi, thanks for taking the time to reply and give thought to my problem. Yes taking things too seriously is a thing i do when something is important, i find it hard not to do, even when i am aware i a doing it. Someone else kindly pm me about my difficulties and suggested a person who teaches meditation to check out, i found his guidance useful. It kind of ties into the emptiness you describe also. The idea of being in the moment and actually not trying do anything, being guided by a connection to all things rather than a simple verbal prompt inside my head is something i want to explore more. I shall also definitely check out the name you mentioned. Do you making artwork, and if so have you experienced performance anxiety, and frustration and not being 'emptier', or more still' in order to do anything.

It sounds like perfectionism. But perfection in art is always going to be subjective. And perfection can be boring anyway. Is the Mona Lisa perfect? Is Dustheads perfect?

The only real mistake you could make is to stop drawing. A pencil has an eraser. It's not like you're giving someone a tattoo.

Try working with a different medium. Try something you haven't used before. Get a large sheet of paper, close your eyes and just explore with the new medium. I think that an important part of art is the relationship of the artist to the art during the process of creation. Try to focus on the process rather than the end product.

Thanks for your message, i was actually going to ask your advice after reading some of the things you wrote in the pornography topic, but you beat me to it
I like the idea of concentrating on the process. I am thinking about how i might be piling pressure on myself by imagining an 'art' market somewhere that i guess i have been hoping to receive my work. I mean i know how the art business works on a basic level as far as making sales, but that not the market i mean exactly. It's perhaps more a sense of art with a capital A judging me, but that is so impeding making anything. That is why some of the things you said, that called into question the existence of art was interesting to me.

Hi, i am interested in art as well. Listening to music while drawing usually helps me to let go of the pressure and some of the thoughts. Don't worry about your work going wrong , you can always paint over it, erase it or start again. Hope this helps and good luck with your artwork.

A lot of the art that people purchase probably wouldn't be considered high art (or art with a capital A). So I suppose it depends on who your audience is and what you want to do with your art. There is always a demand for visual material though we don't usually think of it as "art." Comics are starting to get the attention accorded to high art (being displayed in art museums) but they still tend to have less of a high art association-than for instance sculpture or painting.

Any artist worthy of the name suffers from the curse of perfectionism; I'm afraid it comes with the territory and can be depressing and painful. The day you are satisfied with something that you have created is the day to give up. I've never been satisfied with anything I've written, but over the years I've learnt to know when to stop and say 'enough is enough' - otherwise nothing would ever get finished.

As for only visual works being commonly referred to as art, that is incorrect. Art describes all artistic creation. You and I are both artists - you draw, I write.

I can relate to this. It's gotten to the point where I don't know when to stop, or spend hours thinking if I should simply draw something in to improve a piece. This has caused me to nearly miss deadlines, since I'm taking an art/animation course in school.

I tend to hesitate when planning to started on a new piece, and when experimenting with different mediums since I'm so used to using one or two mediums only. This has sometimes limited any creativity/ inspiration I've had.