The Artist's Journey

A creative person lets the override of imagination into all facets of their life. Not by choice but because they have become a creature of habit. To the point that your mind was taught to search for unexpected, quizzical, satirical, etc. ways of approaching art. As artists we want to catch people off-guard with the intent to foster shock and awe. 

But it seeps into our bones. Our goals and accomplishments are riddled with harebrained ideas and spontaneous solutions. It can bleed into the food you eat, or better yet, are willing to try. Your sense of fashion needs to represent you in a more meaningful way. The deeper you trust your intuitive creativity, the more instinctual and reactive you become. Yes, it can and will be a bittersweet skill set. 

Why do I say that? We function in large communities where we experience others not as interested in a wide breadth of ideas. Most people only want to know the most efficient path to getting what they want. Here is the hard part to hear: Some of us creatives are just too creative. I am sorry. Let us take a minute. No really. Look up at the ceiling for a moment and think if a little more structure for your creative practice would help.

Would you create more? Often this is where I say, draw for 30 minutes every day, blah, blah, blah. That is the goal, but most reading this do not have a dedicated art space they can walk into right now and start creating art. The 30 minutes you were supposed to paint is how long it took to clean up the dining room table before finding, setting up, prepping, and starting to paint. I realized artists need an extra one to two hours to set up their supplies and get settled before making art.

There are roadblocks an artist must work to overcome if this is important to them. Balancing creativity and structure are the key to an artist’s success, in their artistic practice and their business. Enjoy your art but make sure it is sustainable. Not because I think you should not do what it takes to make amazing art, but because I want you to be an artist when you are ninety years old; Not give up when you are twenty-six because you do not believe in budgets. Do not give up, do not give in.