One of the most difficult things about any relationship of friendship is to find oneself in a situation where you are aware of the problems a friend is facing, but unable to actually effect an escape from that situation. I don’t know whether this is a situation which afflicts artists in particular, but it is certainly not uncommon in our area of activity.
A friend of mine is, and has been for some time, afflicted by an “artist’s block”. He is two thirds of the way through a commissioned portrait, and finds himself incapable of finishing it. To some extent I am familiar with this condition. Regular readers off this blog will be aware that I went through a similar period of artistic incapacity in the first half of this year. It was probably not so serious for me because my output (or lack of it) affected only me. I was thoroughly fed-up, but never felt that I was letting down somebody else. The condition is aggravated by the fact that, typically, suggestions one imagines to be helpful appear to have no purchase whatsoever on the problem. I’ve tried suggesting a practical strategy to my friend, but clearly this is ineffective.
It is hard to know what to do in these circumstances. “Been there. Done that.” doesn’t seem to have any purchases on the problem. In a situation where a friend is evidently in trouble it is hard just to watch, helpless to do anything but express sympathy. Even having experienced something like this it appears to be vacuous to say things like, “I know that this will not go on forever, and you will emerge from it.” “Will” is dreadfully unspecific! Somehow it seems even worse to say, “Yes: I was there until recently but now I’m up and running again.” Somehow personal experience seems to lack transferability.
I live in hope.