Sometimes I feel like quitting.
Have you ever noticed that what one must do just holds no interest?
For example, if my job was yardwork, I’d be dying to paint. My job is painting, so I’m dying to do some yardening.
What causes this?? A lingering rebellion from adolescence? A streak of stubbornness? The thing called “resistance” by Steven Pressfield in The War of Art?
When sales are slow or studio tour visitation is low or attendance in drawing lessons declines, I wonder why I push onward. The work has no sense of importance and certainly no urgency. I don’t feel the press of any deadlines, so I dink around home, avoiding the studio.
It takes discipline, thought about what is ahead, planning, optimism, leaning into past experience and sheer determination to use my “down” time wisely.
What’s a Central California artist to do??
Come back tomorrow. Maybe I’ll have an answer or two.
What do you do when you feel unmotivated?
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