An Off Week…

I am having an OFF WEEK. I am sitting at the computer in my studio, going through photographs of models, trying to get inspired. TRYING…but it’s not working. These are some of the sketches I’ve done. They pretty much reflect my state of mind. I don’t like any of them. The truth is, I could probably develop them into some good stuff if I had the spirit to do it. But I just don’t right now.

I usually don’t blog about days like this! But hey, this is part of the life of an artist too. I’m going to stop filtering it out. This kind of day/week/mood hits from time to time. If you’re an artist who pursues your career with any kind of regularity, you know about this. A really good thing I can note here is that I don’t take this as seriously as I used to. I know it’s just part of the game and it doesn’t mean I have lost my chops. It doesn’t mean I won’t be inspired again soon. Inspiration always hits again eventually.

It is also important to note, though, that just sitting and waiting for inspiration to hit is not exactly the best approach. I’ve found it’s far better to actually do some drawing or painting. Even though it’s one of those periods where I don’t like ANYTHING that I’m turning out, by continuing to draw I am making myself a lot more available for inspiration when it DOES strike again. I think it’s also true that moving the body when the mind isn’t interested sometimes gets the mind interested.

There’s another issue that I should address here, too. CASHFLOW. Being an artist who makes one’s living from one’s art carries some special challenges. One is balancing the business self with the creative self. For me one of the hardest things I ever have to do, and it occurs every few months, it seems, is letting go of my financial concerns so that I can create art.
Creating art while the mind is thinking, “Gotta bring in some money to pay the mortgage!” doesn’t work very well. No big surprise there. But sometimes it is HARD to stop thinking about the mortgage, especially in a month when sales are not what you wish they were.

Nevertheless, it’s what you have to do. In fact I venture to say it’s one of the tests of whether or not you’re a committed artist. Learning to put aside those thoughts and just create for the joy of creating is a major life skill. And amazingly, when you do put aside those worries, when you’re done creating and ready to “start worrying” again, things seem much more manageable!

Okay, I feel better than when I started writing this blog entry. I think I’ll draw some more, and maybe this time I’ll do something I don’t hate!