I have a solo show in about 5 months. It is going to be at Caldwell Snyder Gallery,in San Francisco, opening June 4th, 2014. What will I make? Will it be more interesting than what I’ve made before? There is a certain amount of worry beginning to pile up, of course, in not knowing. If the work is going to be any good at all then I really shouldn’t have any idea, at this point, of what it should look like. It should be brand-new, but nonetheless it’s scary and the prospect of making 15 paintings that I have not seen before is daunting.
Every year I revisit my process and the way I work. I have realized that little and often is the best way for me to get things done. I try to paint three hours a day without stopping, keeping my attention and focus very high. Sometimes this goes to four or five hours but I try to do at least three hours. I write down how long I’ve spent to keep track of how I am doing. I also have a rough idea as to how long it will take me to make each painting. I add up all those hours ahead of time and I come up with a big old number and then I divide by the number of art making days I have – this gives me an approximate idea of a schedule, some answer to what it will take to make this work and if it is even possible.
This is, after all, a practice and when I think about it that way it seems to take the stress off of me. I know if I just show up and not worry too much about the enormous task at hand, in this case creating 15 paintings, that I will be able to figure it out. Bit by bit. The point isn’t to be super efficient, but rather to enjoy the process rather than being stressed all the time.
I love the idea that “your vocation should be your vacation”. I tell myself, as well as my students, your art making should be the best time of your day and that it’s a lovely escape from the predictable routine of your life. It is also a time when you can feel more like yourself than at any other time in the day. This is a big clue – or rather a reminder – to make sure I am staying true to making work that really pleases me. If I am excited and love what I am in pursuit of, then it is fairly certain the emerging work will be personal and unique when it is finished. It will automatically fit in with the rest of my work, even though hopefully it is different than what has come before. But mostly, it should feel like me, to me.
Oddly, I notice I have the most difficulty painting when I’m not painting. When I actually get to the studio and I pick up a paintbrush and I start mixing the paint things always get easier. It’s almost like the hardest part of making art is when you’re not making art. The more you do the more you do but also the inverse is true the less you do the less you do.
Have you ever stopped for a few months only to realize that it has suddenly become super challenging to get back into it?
With inspiration, Nicholas
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Hi! I’m
Nicholas Wilton
the founder of Art2Life.
With over 20 years experience as a working artist and educator, I’ve developed a systematic approach that brings authenticity, spontaneity and joy back into the creative process.
Join me and artists from all over the world in our Free Art2Life Artists Facebook Group or learn more here about Art2Life.
I’ve learned the hard way not to stop for a few months, no matter what the temptation. Remembering how to paint again is just too painful. Even stopping for a few weeks is precarious. Better to keep on even with half an hour two or three times a week so your brain and heart and belief remember where you really belong!
I definitely feel this way sometimes. Sometimes it’s only after the weekend. I find that if I just get in the studio, start cleaning or organizing something, pretty soon I’ll pick up the brush and start something.
Again it astounded me, that you fell daunted by 15 empty panels. You know, I have one large panel staring at me in white innocence….
I will remember your words: have fun, your vocation is your vacation. Love that.
Thank you for sharing. Lena
Yes, my philosophy is pure physics. Newton’s Laws of Motion (momentum).
Newton’s Laws:
1) “every object in state of uniform motion will remain in that state unless an external force is applied.”
Otherwise translated as: Recognize being stuck as being stuck (resistance is persistence) & When on a momentum wave, ride that baby all the way to shore!
2) “the relationship btwn an object’s mass (m), it’s acceleration (a), and the applied force (f) is F=ma.”
Basically, the more acceleration desired, the greater the force required.
3)”for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
If action is taken in any form, something will happen… for certain. It’s not possible otherwise.
The greatest internal force we have to move our inert selves is our WILL. And when our will is lacking, we must find external forces to assist in the movement, which comes in the form of friends, God, and other outside inspiration whereever you may find it.
It’s the way of the world. Philosophy and Physics bundled into one.
My mother passed away in March 2013. I had to travel to the other side of the country. A chunk of time was devoted to her bedside before she died. The funeral. My father. My parent’s home. It was a good four weeks of ‘other’ thoughts – and definitely far away from creating artwork. I had nicely returned home and then found myself in and out of hospital passing a kidney stone. This was at least three weeks of ‘fog’. Sleeping. Eating. Living. It was all difficult and sporadic. During this time creating artwork, again, was the furthest from my mind.
In between my kidney stone attacks of pain I was able to put one foot in front of the other. I was able to nudge my art career ever slightly forward. Too, I find myself inching forward in a lockstep fashion right now after the Christmas/ holiday break. I prepare panels. I research. I do documentation. I file. I do mundane and less critical ‘tasks’. I save my bright and alert moments for the ‘creation time’.
I subscribe to the ‘Fake it till you are it’ methodology. Sooner or later that primed panel will have an underpainting. That underpainting will be the basis for another work. I just start… anywhere… and one step follows another. I am actually surprised how much ordinary and mundane work is involved around the ‘creation of’ and ‘finishing of’ a painting. I feel that as long as I am moving forward and still in gear, I can carry this momentum forward. To make things easier I start with really small panels and gradually work up to larger pieces. Eventually I will get into that forgotten ‘stride’ I so like to be in. It never gets easier. It is always hard to stop and start. Sometimes, to just get going… I copy one of my successful pieces and make small changes/ variations to this new piece. I build my courage and re-acquaint myself with the medium. I do put a ‘faith’ into finding my way back. I knew I did it before and, therefore, I should be able to do it again. So I fell off the horse… yeah, and so I get back on. Maybe it is a faith. Maybe just muscle memory. I hate visiting this place. I do find myself there from time to time. But it feels so good when I am ‘back’. It just happens. And being ‘there’, being ‘back’, just the once, gives me the courage to start over when I have to. To start again. To start small. To start slow. All little steps to get back to that feeling – where everything is right. Ha! Until next time I fall/ stumble again! And so it goes.
I read this great quote that said walking is actually the act of falling forward. Love that…
I have thought of your words everyday since I read it!
I have 2 studios. One is for making art. The other is for making of art happen. I spend way too much time in the later.