Mastodawn

Carolyn Sehgal Oct 11, 2025

Some days it is just hard to be creative

This year has been a lot. I moved, my kids are doing many activities, I work, and so much more that I try not to talk about much because I like keeping my personal life as personal as I can. I work on good news blogs, which switched to bi-weekly because it was getting harder to keep up with, as well as art posts when inspired. However, even with the changes in frequency, I have found this year harder to keep up with.

As time went on, the blog that gave me joy became a drain on my creativity, and while I did much of it to push myself, it really never had the intended effect.

Leak

So as a result, I have been noticing lately that a lot of these side projects are hindering my ability to create new things. I get behind on projects that are for clients and then have no time or energy to work on new work that will hopefully help me grow creatively. With the added schedules my kids have and home projects that need doing, I am barely making time to do the minimum and have no time to make new work. Plus, I would love to get my portfolio out to potential clients or agents who might think my work/style is perfect for their project.

Then add social media into the mix, where it is getting harder and harder to be seen in this age of algorithms, not to mention being an artist in the age of attention-seeking AI slop. It all makes being a creative even more demoralizing because they take up the attention and gobble up your work into their models so they can steal your style. It is disheartening that people would rather use this than look for a human artist to make the art.

All of this has been weighing on me lately, and the work is feeling uninspiring and forced. I really want to create work I am proud of in this world. I am finding my work has stagnated, and I think I am finding that I spend more time on work that I know some of you love, and while I appreciate you all for that, it in turn doesn’t grow more work and really isn’t always my best.

Sprout

I need to focus on things that will hopefully help me be seen by people who may hire me or appeal to an agent. I need a break from trying to get appeal that doesn’t pass the algorithms’ standards. Too often I create work that only a few see, and if I want people to pay me for my work, I need to create things that inspire me more. Often artists say make the thing you want to get hired to make so people can see what you can do; however, I am not doing that enough, and as a result, I am not getting hired often if at all.

My readers probably wonder what this means.

Map

It means that my blog will go back to more sporadic art shares. And good news shares because I need those to have hope for the world, but even that may have to be scaled back to once a month for me to be able to sustain the amount of work that goes into one post. I need to find new art inspiration and focus on creating because I want to, not because of some internet challenge or forced creativity of my own making. I will probably also not be posting for the rest of the year. As I said before, this year has taken its toll on me, and I want the people who like my work and want to see it to want to open my emails when they see them, not ignore them.

I am trying to give myself 3 months to recharge and will reassess what is working for me as we enter 2026.

I truly hope you all stay subscribed and still want to hear from me after this hiatus, but I just cannot continue to make content that I am having a hard time motivating myself to do. And I do not want to share subpar work with you all. Those of you who have been readers for a long time have hopefully gotten to know me well enough to know that I truly value your time and attention and want to share my messy and failings, but I also want it to be work I am proud of even when it fails.

I have many social media platforms, and if you’re following me on any or all of them, I will continue to post things like good news or art when it pops into my head to do so. I am particularly fond of the app SuperNova at the moment and highly recommend it. I am just trying to have a healthier relationship with social media at the moment, so switching the phone off happens more often than me picking it up to check the socials.

Navigator

Thank you all so much for the time and attention you’ve given me, I hope to see you all in the new year, refreshed and ready to create new art.

Till next time keep failing creatively, and in the new year with more art ramblings and good news 🤪.

Thank you so much for joining me on my journey.

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Carolyn Sehgal Jun 14, 2025

Failing Creatively: Starving Artist vs. Thriving Artist

Which one am I?

We all want to be the thriving artist. We buy the books, post the things, submit to the shows, submit to the agents, and have the sustainable career that other artists have. Is it all really about mindset or is there more to transitioning from the “starving artist” to “thriving artist”? Or is it as simple as jumping on the bandwagon of every art challenge you see to build your career? Maybe all we have to do is have that unique voice? Let’s dive in and see if we can make something of this idea.

I think the most important thing is to make sure you are making some art for you, and in that vein, working to improve your skills. Whether it is because you are down the rabbit hole of online classes from other artists, or because you are obsessed with Inktober, I feel like it is important to always be working on something you enjoy so that you have examples to show potential agents, art directors, etc., so that you can have a body of work that you’re proud of. In my own case, this is my creative fail of the article because especially with two very active kids’ schedules, I struggle to keep up with design/illustration work, let alone my own creative interests, so that I can get hired doing what I want. My biggest pet peeve is people who tell you their class is the key to success only to find that not much changes after you try their class/method. I have wasted many a dollar trying to find the key to success and haven’t gotten there yet. So please do not waste your money on something that promises to have the secret you’ve been missing. Often their message is the same: work hard, put in the effort, network, and you will succeed.

I want to make it clear that I do not think other artists are wrong to promote their methods or ways that they can help you get your work out there. I have tried plenty of them and some I got a lot out of and some I tried really weren’t the right fit for me in the end. If there is an artist you connect with who offers a class or workshop and you will get real value out of it, you should go for it.

I do not agree with, though, the artists who sit there and tell you how they know the secret to the six-figure salary. It is never true and drips of AI tech bro energy. Sure, I can plug in my photo and turn myself into Superman or some sick twisted Studio Ghibli copy that doesn’t capture the true essence of Miyazaki. But that doesn’t mean I have all the answers, nor does it mean that AI can design the solution.

In reality hard work is the road less traveled and people forget how far it will get you in life.

Real mastery comes from hard work, or at least regular practice that develops your style. It is the only consistent advice that all artists will preach: make something every day, good or bad, it is a step towards what will be your style, and someone will love that style and you will be successful.

So here is my unsolicited TL:DR advice to go from starving artist to thriving one:

Follow the likes of the 10-minute artist Adam Ming, spend a few minutes every day making something, anything. It keeps your own art fresh and helps you see what works and doesn’t work for you.
Hone your skills like Scott Thigpen and do the Disney 500 to practice your technique.
- Side note: I never miss a post on Scott’s Substack. It is by far one of my favorites. The humor reminds me of my favorite Mel Brooks movies in written form.
Take your sketchbook with you everywhere and draw from life like Paula Borchardt. I love seeing her sketchbook pages and the stories behind them.
Avoid social media as much as possible. It is a great tool for making connections and getting your work seen, but it also invokes the dreaded “am I good enough?”. Self Doubt is the last thing you need.
Make art you want to make as much as possible. We all take the less than desirable projects, but if you’re not creating the work you love, it will show in the result.
Have a good support system. Do not make time in your life for people who ask you how you will make a living as an artist. You need people who support your creativity and want to see you succeed.
- Shout out to my husband for always supporting me leading the creative life that makes me fulfilled.
Finally, avoid the AI bros and get-rich-quick schemes. They are snake oil meant to tempt you, but they will not truly give you the life you want.

Time to talk about the old movie that inspired this post. This week I introduced my husband to a more obscure Hitchcock film, Rope. It is about two young men who think they can commit the perfect murder, and how it falls apart so splendidly. I am a big fan of classic thrillers, particularly Hitchcock because he truly was the master of suspense. The connection for me is that we are all striving to be perfect, successful, or thriving at our craft, and that doesn’t always happen, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t create.

Heist 1,000 turtles rescued

I think of myself as a starving artist type. I make an effort to get my work seen, but I am not the artist all over your feed burning out posting daily. I get regular work, but I wouldn’t be able to fund my life off of what I make. That said, I have regular income from graphic design projects and time to be with my family, so maybe that makes me a thriving artist 🤷‍♀️?

SlipperyDisgustingBladeRadioOld art from 2020 … the path to thriving artist is paved with practice.

How about you? Are you the starving artist or a thriving one? I would love to hear where you think you fall and why.

Till next time keep failing creatively, and see you next week with some good news.

NOTE*: I poked at the AI tech bros in this post, and the reality is AI art, writing, etc., is built on theft, so I am not a fan. If you have an issue with that, I understand that you may believe AI is the second coming; however, I think you’re wrong. We do not have to agree. You do not need to comment on how wrong I am. I will not respond to it. Just delete the comment.

** If you’re interested in the apps I use that do not use AI, I wrote a piece about it: Apps to avoid AI. It is by far one of my most popular posts.

Apps To Avoid AI