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George Rhys Artist

The Muse Does Not Motivate   

10/10/2016

7 Comments

 
I am bothered by the admonition coming from multiple sources: Work! Work every day! Work a lot! Work whether you want to or not!

Here comes my resistance. I’ve been told to do yoga every day, to play the piano every day, to write every day, to meditate every day, to exercise every day, and, yes, to paint every day.

Picture
View from the Crosswalk Cafe, Acrylic on Canvas, 18 x 24". I was inspired by these shapes and colors right across the street. I am motivated to explore the interrelation of architectural and organic forms, partly because I am both artist and mathematician.
Why does it matter to so many people that every artist work every day? Of course it matters to the art material manufacturers and vendors, and the magazines, and the art workshop leaders, and the contest sponsors and the writers about art who need to urge others to do something, maybe because they themselves need urging. But come on.

I am not convinced that forcing oneself to do something—just do something, anything—is going to spur ones evolution. I see plenty of evidence to the contrary. I would not want to start churning out poorly thought out multiple versions of a stale inspiration just because I haven’t taken the time to generate a fresh original vision. I dig my heels in at the notion of painting just anything I see or think of, like the tourist who shoots hundreds of snapshots but composes none of them. Nothing against artists who copy themselves just to keep busy, nor against tourists who photograph everything—or the painters who resemble them.

I’m just not made that way.

I have more ideas than I know what to do with. But I suspect that maybe everybody does, they just don’t notice them or act on them.

A while ago I wrote about “just doing stuff.” I am not talking about that now. This is different. Taking on a project, and musing ones way through it is not the same as forcing oneself to take up a daily discipline. Picasso talked about starting a drawing and not knowing where it would go. That’s “just doing stuff.” I don’t recall him suggesting that anyone has to force herself into it.

There are many artists who work every day, and I am sure that on many days they are less than eager but they do it anyway. That’s fine. They don’t have to be forced to work against their will by some essayist. They are compelled by something else, and I think I know what that is.

You’re hot on the trail of something and you don’t want to stop. Sure, some mornings it is hard to get started, but what gets you going is a larger, internal purpose.

Look at live art, art that has stood the test of time, and you can feel it. It’s a powerful experience. You can sense that artist exploring, pushing ahead, and fully engaged. (And sometimes I don’t get that feeling, and those works leave me cold.) Those artists kept at it because they were almost there. They were on the verge of “getting it” and couldn’t let loose.

It’s the impossibility of actually “getting it” that keeps us going forever. If we ever got it and kept on getting it, things would become boring, because that could happen only if the task was too easy or we were deluding ourselves. Get bored, and we will have to force ourselves to continue—but we won’t get any better. More practiced, maybe, but not better.

Think of Monet and his haystacks or his Rouen Cathedrals. I get the sense that Monet said to himself something like, “I’d like to try that haystack backlit, or on a foggy day,” except he probably said it in French. I find it hard to believe that he forced himself out there to perform a drudgery. Maybe he did, but I don’t see it. Not in him and not in many dozens of other artists. Instead I can feel them swept along by a great purpose.

That, in fact, is what I believe makes a great artist great. A mission. Artists who have stood the test of time were in pursuit of a large idea, and were motivated by it. El Greco wanted to portray spirituality, Cezanne to signify solid form, Matisse to interlock great shapes of color. You can disagree with any of these interpretations if you like, but if I have incorrectly named their large goals, still my point remains that they had such goals.

It is purpose that motivates the artist to work steadily—not a magazine essay or quips about inspiration.


Picasso said “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” I disagree. Inspiration can occur at any time.
​
I just read in one of Robert Genn’s newsletters that Grant Wood said “All the really good ideas I ever had came to me while I was milking a cow.”

Authors on creativity commonly cite the shower as the birthplace of many of our finest epiphanies.

​And, finally, consider the still-relevant 17th century French philosopher and mathematician Rene Descartes. This prolific thinker received his best inspirations while lying in bed, which he undertook prodigiously. It was while flat on his back, watching a fly on the ceiling—or so the story goes—that he conceived the profound mathematical invention that linked geometry and algebra: Cartesian coordinates.

Inspiration is everywhere.

But “they” are right; inspiration is over-rated. And the muse does not motivate. That’s the other half of why it is pointless to sit around waiting for her—it’s too easy to just keep sitting and chatting with her!

So this is what it comes down to:
The casual artists, the hobbyists, paint for the pleasure of it. There is no point to forcing themselves to work because then it would not be pleasure. Leave those good people alone!

The more serious artist has a meta-purpose, a purpose behind the immediate purpose. If an artist feels that forcing herself to work is a good idea, then she must believe that her art has significance and value. She has to discover the meaning of her work—its mission—which will motivate production, and she will be compelled to report for duty regardless of her mood or level of inspiration.

Read, think, discuss, experiment, practice—but don’t let anyone tell you what to do every day. Learn how to stimulate your own inspiration and find your purpose; then action will come.
7 Comments
Bruce Bingham link
10/17/2016 06:32:30 am

I always like that quote by Picasso about inspiration, that it will find you working. He has a point about showing up and being available for that one spectacular stroke of genius where you really 'knock it out of the all park' and later wonder, Wow, how did that happen? Yet, you make a good point about inspiration being available and often when we are doing some mundane action and not actively searching for our muse. Where are you? Why did you leave? Come out right now!!! When we find ourself under pressure to preform with our art to make money, fill workshops, supply our galleries with fresh work, all too often artist plateau ad burnout frequently follows. We forget the joy of creative problem solving and artistic exploration. So there is a difference between preforming to produce artwork to sell, and practicing and playing with a concept that's exciting because it's fun and feels like you're just about to find something very personal and unique. IMHO I feel practicing and playing is how we find our inner joy and our personal voice that can't be forced or pigeon holed into a production line of paintings that will sell. Unless of course you're overly inspired by a paycheck, which can be tempting, but that's not the reason we picked up a paint brush as kids now was it?

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George Rhys link
10/17/2016 10:04:34 pm

Wow Bruce! We agree so thoroughly that you just anticipated the subject of my next essay! I agree that the pursuit of material reward for art is counter-productive. I'll have to write it immediately.

Regarding Picasso there was a sentence in my post that I deleted as possibly distracting but maybe I should have left it in. I believe that his quote was true for him primarily because he was always working. He would paint seven paintings a day. He had found a way to make his work flow easily--maybe even too much so at the end. So I believe that Picasso's mind was relaxed for much of his day in the way ours would be while driving in the country or taking a shower. So of course his inspiration came then. But for people who struggle, not so much. We must all find our own methods to attain a meditative frame of mind.

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Bruce Bingham link
10/18/2016 06:47:29 am

Well it's nice to stand on common ground George, however fleeting as the sands shift. I'll look forward to you next post. And in response to each of us being wired a little differently, I thinks it's really important to acknowledge and honor that. You really need to know yourself in order to set yourself up for success. That's a big thing for me, how can I, knowing that I might loose interest quickly, make this project successful. Or how can I, knowing that I don't have the patience for alot of detail choose a subject that lends itself to my strengths. What are those strengths and where do I need to improve? Basically if you're sloppy you're sloppy and don't try to make yourself into something you're not, like a neat freak when you get a chance to create. Just honor who you are and where you are. That's when I feel the most satisfied and successful, what ever that means to me. I'm sure we'd all have a different definition.

Roberta link
10/17/2016 09:59:29 am

I really like what you've written here, and I think for the most part I agree with you. I do believe in the benefit of daily practice, however, that doesn't mean painting every day for me. Daily sketching has shown to have benefits for me. That sketching isn't always studied and serious though.It's usually some quick doodles at the end of the day.

I do feel the pressure to paint daily, particularly to produce a daily painting (which is different than just sitting down to work on an existing piece every day), is not good on many different levels. The daily painting movement, IMO, is having a negative effect on the impact, value, and importance of art by producing a glut on an already depressed market.

I tend to do my best work in spurts. I'll have a few days in a row where I'll work like a madman, and feel the work is good, but then things taper off and I struggle in front of the canvas. I may keep trying, but I know the work is for the garbage can.

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George Rhys
10/17/2016 10:34:38 pm

Yes, I like your term "daily practice," sort of like scales for a musician, to keep you limber, proficient and in the game. And, like you, I have strong periods and not so strong interludes; unlike you, I suppose, I choose other activities or even indolence. You make your doodles no matter what. I want to guess that your doodles and your struggles in front of the canvas are motivated differently. Your doodles well up from inside of you. You may have to push yourself a bit to get started, but they come up fairly easily. Like a Karma Yogi you relinquish the fruits of your actions.You have no concern about them heading for the garbage can; you know they support your big purpose. Is that a fair characterization?

I sometimes wish I would make daily drawings, and I have tried, but I fall out of the practice before long. We're all just made differently.

But the struggles come because somebody's words are pushing us--a magazine article or teacher or even ourselves. That's what I'm opposing.

Reply
Timothy Mazzaferri
12/26/2016 09:16:47 am

George, I really like what you are espousing in this blog post. I never thought of it this way, but what you pose makes perfect sense to me. One of my favorite reads is the book Mastery, by Robert Greene. In it, he portends similarly that reaching the goal is truly overrated. Having the goal is all important and the motivation to continue the aspiration and drive to push toward it is the essence. Your application to artistic goals especially painting, has helped me to better understand and appreciate someone who has been in my life for over 46 years and has recently come around to dedicating herself to her mission. Thank you.

Reply
George C Rhys
12/27/2016 11:41:43 pm

And, Timothy, thank you for the recommendation of the book Mastery, as well as for reading and leaving a thoughtful comment!

Does your someone have a website? Hope you'll let me know.

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