If you're going to paint like it's your job, should you be a nice boss and give yourself weekends off? I thought about it, but really, I just got to the point where I couldn't keep myself out of the studio. I didn't go in with a mission or set any goals. I just went in and looked around at first. Then, I was drawn toward a couple paintings that just needed some work, and I found myself tweaking them a bit. I really like the way they shaped up. I then picked up some blank canvasses that I had prepared last week and started a few more paintings, just started them, with no sense of urgency. I like where they are headed as well.
I learned a few things by doing this. One of which was that I can't rush my art. This is not an excuse to procrastinate, or avoid working. (The last thing that I need is another excuse to do that.) It simply is what it is. I can't really say, "Today, I'm going to COMPLETE three paintings...", which is what I did last week. I can START three or four or however many I feel inspired to start. But then each individual work has to emerge. Each in its own time, each one creating its own pace. This sounds way to earthy crunchy for my taste. The whole reason that painting hasn't been my "job" is somewhat because of that kind of "artsy' attitude; "waiting for inspiration", "not quite feeling it today". There is a trap there that I don't want to let myself fall back into, but on the same note there IS a creative process that, really, can't be rushed. So, realizing that, and being a business person that understands that time IS in fact money, where is that happy medium? Not only where, but how do I find it?... And how do I balance the business end of this with the creative end? How do I do it in such a way that they are not only both amply fed, but allowed to actually prosper?
They are hard questions to answer. If I had answers sooner, I'd be further on my way. But isn't that the story of all of our lives. "If only I'd known then what I know now..." The fact of the matter is simply this: "YOU CAN'T!!!" No one can. We can speculate, we can try and predict, plan and prepare, but until you actually go down that road, you'll never know. So here I am, on that road. I'm not quite sure what I'll find. Could I be better prepared? Maybe. But, I could spend my whole life preparing and run out of time to DO. You can sit and dream forever, but it will never happen if you don't actually do anything.
If your looking for help there are some great sources out there. Most of the ones I have are stuck on my other computer. One that doesn't necessarily provide all the answers, but gives great food for thought and some inspiration is: http://www.caku-art.com/ There are a lot of great ideas and some real useful information.
Until next time, take care.
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