About 4 months ago I had an Achilles surgery to fix a chronic injury caused by over training for long distance running. I am now on the road to recovery and am not only walking and hiking but also starting to be able to run again. I am doing only 5 minutes of running in an hour hike but it is a start. It is a baby step that in time will lead to more, which hopefully will get me running again.
These small steps, literally, will eventually add up. I have noticed in so many areas of life that it is these small steps that seem to be the most efficient way to accomplish something. I think it has to do with the fact that having the pauses in-between the attempts, the spaces when you are not trying, that allows you to recalibrate from the knowledge gained from the previous effort. In other words, instead of trying to accomplish one massive undertaking in one fell swoop; it is done from many efforts, utilizing time.
This, of course, relates to how I structure my art process. I find that coming and going frequently in my art practice gives me the best results. I often have wondered why. As I have been trying to run again, and applying the same thinking to my physical recovery I have come to some possible conclusions.
Firstly, if you start and stop more often, then there will simply be more moments of starting. I find that the first 30 minutes of making art, especially if I am returning to a half completed painting, are the most potent. If I am paying attention I often can accomplish a tremendous amount in this time. Breakthroughs generally happen during the beginning. I believe it has something to do with having objectivity. When I first start painting I am able to see the painting more clearly, more objectively simply because I have not been looking at this particular painting. After a few hours, and for me this is around 3, I lose the objectivity and my decision-making becomes compromised. Seeing things for the first time, repeatedly, seems to accelerate learning.
Secondly, and I think this one is really important, has to do with time. If on Monday I work briefly on a painting and then return to it on a Tuesday, I can look at Monday’s efforts having more life experiences, in this case one day, to better be able to adjust Mondays paintings to feel more current – more like Tuesday. It is subtle but I actually see that there is knowledge gained from working even briefly on a painting that then can be utilized when you return. This “find your way as you go” puts time on your side and uses, relies on actually, the notion that we are being influenced by everything around us all the time.
Coming and going often better allows your outside world to enter and influence the inside world of your art. Increasing the breaks, which increases the number of efforts can dramatically embolden your art.
Is this your experience? What works best for you?
In anticipation, Nicholas
3 Comments
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.
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It’s really timely that I’m reading your thoughts on taking small steps and starting and stopping frequently. It’s quite encouraging because even though I see how the starting in again is a potent time, during my time away and even while I’m back in the process, after that first half hour or so passes, I still wonder if I’m going to be able to paint something I would like to see and share with others…
Hi Nicholas,
I really had a ah-ha moment reading this. “the coming and going” the “coming and going-time to see the image reflectively” does give another perspective to see that there is somewhere that needs developing. I find the first 30 minutes hard, or at least the starting is, so I spend first part of my painting session preparing paint and then just playing with it on another piece of paper. This seems to get me into the moment and I return to the painting I am working on more focused. It may only be ten minutes, but I need to break the ice, work through the artist block to get rid of the doubt, and find my direction confidently again.
Love reading your comments, espeacially before I head off to the studio
Felicia
I’ve noticed this too — that the first 30 minutes or so of painting are usually the best. But, I have a sign in my studio that says “Show Up”; “Don’t Leave”. I tell myself not to leave because, the minute I sense a struggle, I want to run off rather than sit there and work things out. I will note the exact time of these “wanting to leave moments”. Then, an hour or two later, I will look @ what I painted that would not exist if I’d left. There does need to be a balance — we cannot forever be emptying the well — we need to refill it now and then. This rhythm is different for each of us. Time is different for each of us. Without children, a job, or very many responsibilities, I have much more time than you. But, being 71, I also have much less time than you. I am driven to paint as many hours a day as I can because I don’t know how much time I have left.