Burnout

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Herb the bitter

New member
Well after about nine years of steady painting I am finally facing my first serious burnout. Haven\'t picked up a brush in three months.(have played with a little greenstuff though). Not even checking CMON every day.

Due to having kids(three year old twins and a six month old) I usually can\'t start painting until at best 8:45 at night at which point I have usually been picking up the Playstation controller instead. If I make it to the table, I have been enjoying the conversion work I\'m doing, it\'s just getting started is hard.

I know it\'s blasphemy, but I don\'t even want to buy any minis as I know I don\'t have any time to paint them.

So what\'s the best course of action? Force my way through by making myself paint, or waiting for the blahs to pass?
 
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hakoMike

Active member
I know the energy drain. I have a 7, 5 and 2 year old and the demand for time and action is relentless. At the peak of it I could not sit on a chair/couch for more than 5 minutes without passing out. With your children\'s ages I can only imagine how much more it is for you.

Don\'t sweat it. As many parents here can attest, your priorities have to shift right now. I\'ve been painting less than two years and I\'ve taken multiple breaks of a month or more. The nice part is that the shift isn\'t permanent, and eventually you will get to paint with your kids.

And I hear you about starting late... I typically can\'t get a brush in paint before 10pm after the day\'s hullabaloo is over.
 
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EricJ

Active member
I say don\'t worry about it, if you\'re enjoying sculpting and converting, do it! Eventually you\'ll end up with something you\'ll probably want to see yourself paint, and voila! you\'ll be painting again. I don\'t think forcing it is usually good, particularly if you\'re already working on other aspects of he hobby, that should lead you back to it naturally. :)

I\'m basically in the same place, haven\'t painted in 2 months nearly, but having a blast working with greenstuff, and learning that.
 
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Ritual

New member
Forcing yourself is no good, and there\'s no reason to either. Painting is supposed to be fun, and if it\'s not then don\'t paint. Sooner or later you will want to paint again, believe me! :)
 
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funnymouth

Active member
it happens, painting is cyclic for me too, short term and long. sometimes there are other things i would rather do with my (very) limited personal time than sit alone and paint. for me its often study, paint or game, talk with the GF or hang with my drinking buddies; all things i really like, and need to ..... feel whole. the mood will strike you. perhaps you will see something that inspires you, or maybe you just want to take a \"time out\" from the real world. in any case, we will be here to talk shop and shoot the sh!t.
 
L

Legacy Account

Active member
I force myself to paint now or I\'d get nowt done. I find cleaning my palette helps get me in the right frame of mind. Nothing like having a clean bit of porcelain to mix paint on....:)

Then again, I didn\'t paint for 8 or 9 years!
 
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MarkusTay

New member
Join the club

I usually paint in 8-year cycles, with minis being the most important thing for a year or two, then reading, etc...

I\'m in a reading phase now, polishing off about 5 novels a week. That will only last so long, then it\'s on to something else. Maybe now that I\'ve relocated I can start brewing again....

Mmmmmmmm... beer....

:flip::bouncy:lol
 
D

demonherald

New member
It\'s funny that while our hobby is based very much in fantasy and make believe it\'s biggest limiting factor is real life..
This happens to everyone ..I generally just leave it until I want to do it..
Also putting away or getting rid of half finished or pain in the ass projects really helps..
If ever your looking at a model and seeing it as a TASK to finish rather than a PLEASURE you will always have a problem..
Similarly duff brushes and paints that we sort of learn to \"put up with\".
There\'s nothing better than sitting down to a nice clean painting table with clean water and new brushes set to tackle a fantastic looking model..
 
wiccanpony

wiccanpony

Official Freak Bar Witch
:(:(:( I’m on the other end of the spectrum ...I want to paint very badly, but between injuring my elbow and being sick from every damn bug the kids drag home. I’m way behind....... I sit at my table and look at all the primed minis and sigh.
 
P

philologus

Subgenius
I have 3 boys; 12, 7, & 4. They all enjoy painting. The 7 year old is finishing a razorback tank. My wife also paints so we set up a table for the boys in our painting room and we make it a family thing. As for finding time. I try to paint at least 15 minutes a day. At least some momentum is maintained and you can see progress.
 
M

Medved

New member
just leave it for now. wait until that hunger comes back, go to a few conventions, see some other people\'s work in the flesh or go to a gallery.

pushing green stuff around is great late at night. Its your hobby and you\'ve won quite a few awards, just let it flow where it wants to go.

only when you have got to the point where you could willingly lose the hobby do you want it back.
 
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johnboyjjb

Active member
Invite someone over to paint. I am most inspired by the company of someone else painting. If not, I make deals with myself. Paint for 10 minutes then go read or play whatever I wanted to do in the first place. Also, doing something you want to do instead of the standard minis is helpful.
 
Shawn R. L.

Shawn R. L.

New member
Art........burnout seems to go with the territory. It interests you------>you like it--------->you love it---------->your obsessed with it---------------> your sick of it------------>you put it away-------------->then you start it all over again!
 
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hakoMike

Active member
Try this: make your paints inaccessible, then place a couple unpainted minis in obvious places around the house and at work.

They will silently taunt you after a while.
 
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dougaderly

New member
I burn out on occasion myself but have been forcing myself to stick with it. I\'m one of those personalities that starts 50 projects and only finishes 1, so if you are that type, I\'d say slog through... I myself find that although getting rolling is tough, once I\'m going I can\'t stop, and I feel your pain, I have a 4 year old daughter and a 7 month old daughter and they don\'t allow me to touch a thing at least until 9 pm, and by then, it\'s 4 cups of coffee to stay awake until about 1am painting, if I can stay awake that long. But I find sculpting and painting to tap the same desire in my brain to create, so you may not be painting right now because of the sculpting. Eventually the balance will shift back!

Now this has me thinking, how many of us here have kids anyway?
 
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calcipher

New member
I took a 4 year break....youll be back to painting before you know it. I found it to be the best way for me to relax
 
Sand Rat

Sand Rat

New member
Burnout happens. Dont force yourself to go back, just give it time. When you are ready, you will go back to the table, brush in hand and start again.
 
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