[Feral]

Here's my problem -
I've been a freelance illustrator for 10 years now and I'm running up against motivational problems.
I'm finding it harder to actually sit down and do the work - being freelance, it's not my own work, but work for hire - so the subject isn't a problem, just my methods.
I get a brief of what the client wants, so the subject is fixed - although I do have a certain flexibility with the image.
So that said - I have a subject, I have a deadline , I'm just struggling to sit down and pick up a pen/stylus/paintbrush.
I thought maybe a break from it would help but now its even worse!
I seem to have lost the desire to paint
I know everyone goes throught down periods once and a while but I can't seem to shake this block (I thought maybe I would attempt some work "just for me" but when I pick up the pencil I end up saying "I can't be bothered")
If anyone has any suggestions they would be greatly appreciated (and a job change isn't something I'm contemplating - a lot of work went into building this business - I just seem to have lost the fun)

Thanks in advance

Feral

[watmough]

go to the museum.

[balistic]

And failing the museum, go pick up a new book or magazine about art. Not just something with pictures, but something with some biographical insight on the artists. I know it always helps me to read about other artists' problems

It's hard though, I know. I have a very hard time doing work when I have "serious" things on my mind . . .

Maybe you could try changing up your working space a little, too. I don't know what yours is like, but mine too often has "businessy" stuff in it . . . bills and checks and whatnot . . . it's probably better to have a place where you can forget about all that and just play.
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brian.prince|light.comp.paint

[Gort]

Quit smokin' weed.


Seriously . . . I change my work space around probably once a year. I get burned out real easy, so I'm always doing something like that to start fresh. If you have a laptop, try going outside someplace really nice with it and your skectchbook. Change of scenery is always refreshing.
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- Tom Carter

"You can't stop the waves but you can learn to surf" - Jack Kornfield

[ozan]

if i were you, i might change what i was doing. by that i mean, work in a totally new style or with a new medium. do something crazy. create a new challenge for yourself. this from a commercial standpoint might set you back a bit. but if you have ten years experience, you must have some clients that like you and would be will to make a shift with you. my 2 cents.

what do you do btw? im curious because i've been working fulltime freelance for the last 8 months and have made on average 4.35 dollars an hour. i work 40+ hours a week. doing rgp books and card games is not working very well for me. i'm learning a lot, but cant sustain this as a job.
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ozan

[Impaler]

I'm just going to echo balistic and watmough. Go to your central library or college library and look at something new. You may have seen the same Sargent sketches over and over, but what about the Asian masters? How about Mayan architecture? There's an entire world of information out there, some 69 billion people that existed before you. Your pursuit is hidden somewhere inside that.
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QED, sort of.