The other day while scrolling through Instagram I came across a quote that I really relate to. "You will never always be motivated. You have to learn to be disciplined" (Author Unknown). I think most artists can relate to the "but I have to be in the right mood to create art" feeling, however how do we get past this feeling and just get on with the creating? This is something that took me a long time to work through and still some days when life gets in the way it can be a struggle. I think the thing I found is that I needed to start thinking about my artwork as a process and like any process there are steps you take to achieve the desired result.
My process: The first thing I like to do is to make sure there is some sort of order to my workspace, if my workspace feels too cluttered so does my mind. Secondly I find that music is something that helps me to quiet my mind and start my creative process. There is no specific song or genre of music just whatever I feel like listening to on the day. Finally I like to set an achievable goal for the amount of time I have ahead of me, be it one hour or half a day. For instance I select a small area of a portrait like the eyes or the nose and I aim to complete this area in that time. Because if I set the goal small and achievable at the end I feel a sense of accomplishment, which in turn helps me feel motivated to keep going.
Creating art is and always will be a very personal thing and therefore everyone's process will be unique. After all that is what makes art so wonderful. I hope you enjoyed my first blog post I hope to write another one in the not too distant future...
Happy creating.
Ash
