Picking up the paint brush, again and again

I've come to the conclusion, that the hardest thing in life is repetition, the grind. Doing what you know you need to do- to be proactive- and to be productive- Every- day. When I feel like it, when I don't feel like it. When I feel like it- there is nothing in the world I would rather do, I mean really? Art=Dream Job. It just doesn't get better- I was built for this. Then there's those days common to us humans, where even the best things in life just don't seem that desirable and I don't want to paint and be creative. It's the last thing in the world I want to do. If I have to repaint that face for the fifth time, I'll just scream! Despite all that, you go to work anyway. I've found ways to help fight the don't feel like it blues. Music, heroes, and friends.

Music just helps set the mood. Is it going to be fighting music, melancholy music, get up and go? Epic? whatever is needed, music can help get there, but it doesn't do anything at all for me when I get stuck on a project that I just don't know how to fix.

That's when heroes come in- the best of the best. I sit here, and I look at them. I know they've had the same struggles as me and they got through it either by sticking it out or help from friends and mentors. I read about them, what they said, what others said about them, and what their hands crafted. They make me feel better and worse all at the same time. They inspire. I see how far I need to go and how far they have come. I study techniques and observe skills. I covet. I admire. I despise. I love. Then I go back to my project and I work again. If they can do it- may I can too.

Last of all friends. Not the least important mind you. Having a good set of friends with similar passions can be quite motivating when it comes to the painting department. Even better if you work with them. They know what  it's like to go through lulls in the creative juices and how to keep squeezing art out when it doesn't feel like there is anything left for the day or the week- or the rest of your life. They encourage, they tell you when it looks stupid and the most helpful ones tell you how to fix it. These are the indispensable ones on bad days and on good days, because they can make any day turn out great.

So here's a post for the creative lulls of life. They come, they go. The trick is to keep going anyway.