The Need For Art

I want to create more art. I feel like I don’t spend enough of my time creating art. So why don’t I remedy this problem by just creating some dang art!? I feel it’s a more complicated scenario than one may initially think…

I think the problem is rooted in the fact that I don’t always love the process of making art. Sounds kinda weird, right? If I don’t love the process, then why do it? While I may not always love the process, I typically like the final product that comes from creating something unique. Maybe this is what people are referring to when they say “art comes from struggle” because I truly do struggle sometimes while in the middle of creating certain pieces of art. And I feel this can negatively affect my art too, as it sometimes causes me to rush to the finish. The faster I get it done, the faster I will like it, and the sooner I am done with the struggle. Seems like a good idea, right?

But it’s very obvious to me (and probably to many other artists) that art that is created in a rushed environment can feel fleeting. The final result may feel great in the moments just after it is finished, but how do you feel about it a day later? Two days later? A week? A few months? Years even? This is where it gets tough for me, because for some pieces that I have created, my appreciation and love for them has grown quite a bit over time. But sadly, for my more recent pieces, I do not share the same sentiments.

I suppose my problem is two fold: I need to spend more time with my art, to refine it and not feel like it has been rushed. But at the same time, the longer I spend working on a single piece, the more of a hurdle it feels like it is to finish, as the process of creating it feels like a struggle. It’s the classic “if I don’t finish this now, I will not feel the motivation to finish this later” mentality. Overall, I’m not sure what the answer is.

On a similar note, I don’t want the art I create to feel uninspired. That is also a problem, especially if I am trying to force myself to sit down and make some art. Finding inspiration from every day life is tough, as I feel like what typically inspires me are new experiences. New experiences lead to new ideas, which is not something you come across very often if you are passively going from day to day, like most people live their lives. It’s not impossible to go out and find inspiration somewhere in the world, but that would require even more time and effort from me to put into my art, and I’m already not putting in enough time as it is now.

I don’t know, hopefully this doesn’t come off depressing or anything. My only goal in writing this out is to organize my thoughts on the subject, and to see if I can find some sort of a solution. My hope is that I can come back to this post later, and brainstorm some ideas as to how I can make this whole situation better. But for now, those are my thoughts.