Time and Energy to Paint/Craft with a Dayjob
March 4, 2016 5:08 AM Subscribe
You have a day job but you really wish you could be a serious artist and produce stunning work. How do you find time and energy after work to paint when all you want to do is to go to bed or switch off your brain?
I have had productive weeks where I felt my time after work and before bed was utilized properly but recently my brain has been rebelling at what feels like a second shift of work. I feel like I'm "working" all the time while I'm conscious and I'm feeling burnt-out.
I'm just feeling extra-toasty this week due to an overly-full schedule of stressful events that could not be re-scheduled (I take part-time art classes at night and right now my time-table is just too full but things should get better after next week because I'm going to drop a class. I may as well note here that I never had formal art school training and going to art school full-time at my age is just financially impossible without marrying money or a trust fund. Which is why I take "leisure-track" part-time classes.)
I have considered getting up early in the morning to paint but it doesn't work out with the household schedule because the other people in my house start getting up at five plus. I don't think I can wake up at 4 a.m. and function. After work, my brain is fried and I just want to sleep or vegetate. I have trouble prying myself off the couch. I find myself staring numbly at my computer screen at rubbish until it's time for bed.
I try to stay in on weekends to get stuff done (I don't have much of a social life anyway) but some weeks I have engagements I am unable to decline. A lot of the weekend is spent doing household chores/errands I am unable to do during the weekdays and cooking a huge pot of soup so I can eat without having to cook from scratch on weekdays when I'm busy.
Is there a way out of my paralysis? I feel like I'm engaged in a constant battle of wills with my self-control and a lot of that self-control is already used up by the grimmer parts of my day job. I feel that I could produce great work if only I can work on it consistently and for enough hours but I just cannot seem to do it.
I have had productive weeks where I felt my time after work and before bed was utilized properly but recently my brain has been rebelling at what feels like a second shift of work. I feel like I'm "working" all the time while I'm conscious and I'm feeling burnt-out.
I'm just feeling extra-toasty this week due to an overly-full schedule of stressful events that could not be re-scheduled (I take part-time art classes at night and right now my time-table is just too full but things should get better after next week because I'm going to drop a class. I may as well note here that I never had formal art school training and going to art school full-time at my age is just financially impossible without marrying money or a trust fund. Which is why I take "leisure-track" part-time classes.)
I have considered getting up early in the morning to paint but it doesn't work out with the household schedule because the other people in my house start getting up at five plus. I don't think I can wake up at 4 a.m. and function. After work, my brain is fried and I just want to sleep or vegetate. I have trouble prying myself off the couch. I find myself staring numbly at my computer screen at rubbish until it's time for bed.
I try to stay in on weekends to get stuff done (I don't have much of a social life anyway) but some weeks I have engagements I am unable to decline. A lot of the weekend is spent doing household chores/errands I am unable to do during the weekdays and cooking a huge pot of soup so I can eat without having to cook from scratch on weekdays when I'm busy.
Is there a way out of my paralysis? I feel like I'm engaged in a constant battle of wills with my self-control and a lot of that self-control is already used up by the grimmer parts of my day job. I feel that I could produce great work if only I can work on it consistently and for enough hours but I just cannot seem to do it.
Best answer: It sounds like your artistic aspirations are all about being "serious," and producing "great work." You are apologetic about not attending a full-time degree program in art, as if that marked you as somehow inferior. It seems to be all about how you'd be perceived from the outside. No wonder it's a slog! What's wrong with doing work that's fun and meaningful and restorative for you?
posted by jon1270 at 5:20 AM on March 4, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by jon1270 at 5:20 AM on March 4, 2016 [7 favorites]
Obviously there are artists and writers who indeed work a second shift after a tiring full time job and I am sure there are techniques to learn from them. But it is worth remembering, as part of being kind to yourself, that a significant number of artists have outside support of some kind. Most that I've known have a spouse/partner with a regular job, they have family money, or they patch together funding from things like grants and adjunct teaching. Comparing your output and artistic growth to people with those external supports is only going to make you feel down on yourself.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:00 AM on March 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Dip Flash at 6:00 AM on March 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer: You can't have two lives, but if you RUTHLESSLY simplify your obligatory activities you can find some time. Bear in mind though that this should be approached like having another job. Put yourself in the frame of mind that you would need if suddenly you had to get another job to survive. So, no, or VERY LITTLE hanging out. Learn to meditate and do some exercise so you are relaxed and able to focus. Keep you life simple. No entertainment wasting time, and everything else must be organized and confined to as little time and space as possible. Think efficiency. So cooking, cleaning, laundry, car maintenance, etc, must et rid of things you don't need. Get rid of things and situations that rob you of time and energy and forget your other interests. Make a plan. Keep a notebook, audio recorder, sketchbook with you at all times and record ideas you get as well as you can so that when you are doing art you can have some ideas ready. You need to organize those ideas also. Keep a pile or file of sketches or notes in the right place, handy and available but not creating a problem. Set some kinds of goals, like, I will paint ten pieces and contact galleries. Likewise, set up your art space cleanly, neatly, with efficiency in mind. Devise your "system", how you will do things. Everything from stretching canvasses, if you are going to do that, or how you will clean and store your brushes. Have if ready, in place and understood BEFORE hand. YOu must have a SPACE to do art. Things must be ready to go. If you can't dedicate a space to you art practice then you need to have your things ready to be taken out and used quickly. Do not deviate, unless you realize you need an improvement. This is so you are not distracted and waste time. If you can, be alone. If not, try to get people to leave you alone. When friends call, don't answer. Think of it like becoming a monk part of the time. Also, MAKE SURE YOU GET ENOUGH SLEEP. You can not squeeze more time or energy out of the day or yourself. Understand that you will doing only essential things and ART (also, for you, an essential thing. You will have to say "no" to a lot of things to say "yes" to art practice.
posted by Strawberry Jam at 6:01 AM on March 4, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by Strawberry Jam at 6:01 AM on March 4, 2016 [7 favorites]
Oh, I just divide my day into two days when I'm trying to make something. Like after work I literally come home and go to bed. Ideally I'll set an alarm to sleep for my preferred amount of time, which is about "15 minutes of falling asleep time spent reading plus 25 minutes of actual sleep." This is followed by 5 minutes of waking up and stretching, then a big cup of coffee. Sometimes even a shower. Then I'm up for the next five hours of my day and ready to work, with a meal in the middle of it. That puts you up to bedtime and you're ready to go again.
Right now, you're just exhausted. Of course you're staring blankly at a wall. YOU'RE VERY TIRED.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 6:03 AM on March 4, 2016 [13 favorites]
Right now, you're just exhausted. Of course you're staring blankly at a wall. YOU'RE VERY TIRED.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 6:03 AM on March 4, 2016 [13 favorites]
Car naps. Mid day. Short ones.
posted by amtho at 6:14 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by amtho at 6:14 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Even if you're not yet exhausted -- a short respite can help you stay more relaxed, and more focused, so you have more energy for longer.
posted by amtho at 6:15 AM on March 4, 2016
posted by amtho at 6:15 AM on March 4, 2016
A friend worked extra hours at the day jobs for several years in order to save up for living their dream: doing art almost full time with just a little work. It was a very wise decision, though the first part must have been really tough.
posted by mumimor at 6:16 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by mumimor at 6:16 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
My approach is the opposite of making art my second job. Instead, it's my joy and my self-care. I try to never feel like I "should" be doing anything with art, and instead try to make a judgement free space for myself where I can do a little during stressful times, a lot when I have more mental space, and approach with happiness and anticipation.
For me, I really love being in the zone and painting one of the few places I find that in my life. I certainly never get in the zone at work. So I get a lot of reinforcement for sitting down to make art by the feeling of calm and focus I get.
Of course, often times I feel drained after work and I want to just sit and read junk on the internet so I use Tv shows and podcasts as motivation to get started. I put my computer on my desk, start up a show, and tell myself I'll just organize supplies or put a little paint down onto a piece. This gets me away from the couch and once I start messing around a little, while distracting my higher brain functions with the TV show, I usually get sucked right into the creative process.
Right now it seems like you're super-stressed, doing some negative thinking around your creative process, and putting a lot of pressure on yourself. My hope would be for you to be kind to yourself and find the mental space where you can retrieve the positive reasons for painting, and use those as motivation.
posted by Squeak Attack at 6:17 AM on March 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
For me, I really love being in the zone and painting one of the few places I find that in my life. I certainly never get in the zone at work. So I get a lot of reinforcement for sitting down to make art by the feeling of calm and focus I get.
Of course, often times I feel drained after work and I want to just sit and read junk on the internet so I use Tv shows and podcasts as motivation to get started. I put my computer on my desk, start up a show, and tell myself I'll just organize supplies or put a little paint down onto a piece. This gets me away from the couch and once I start messing around a little, while distracting my higher brain functions with the TV show, I usually get sucked right into the creative process.
Right now it seems like you're super-stressed, doing some negative thinking around your creative process, and putting a lot of pressure on yourself. My hope would be for you to be kind to yourself and find the mental space where you can retrieve the positive reasons for painting, and use those as motivation.
posted by Squeak Attack at 6:17 AM on March 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
You need:
1. A permanent Art Setup of middling quality somewhere in your domicile. Whatever your art, it's got to be in the space in which you normally live and easily accessible.
2. A plan. What is something you can do in 20-30 minutes that will help long-term? Paint happy little trees, sculpt body parts out of modeling compound, sketching ellipses, or other? n.b. I am totally not an artist so you have to figure this part out.
3. The freedom from having to produce anything great. This is part of your process to be a good artist, and right now maybe you have to paint 1,000 shitty happy little trees. And for each one, tell yourself, "This little tree is so happy he doesn't give a shit at all about being shitty. Yay little tree!"
As mentioned above, I don't really know about art, but I am a musician who's had a desire to make music for a very long time. I've dabbled with playing and singing my whole life, but it's only been really recently that I've started to make actual progress with guitar, and a big part of that was getting an inexpensive (but still very decent and playable) guitar that I could leave sitting out in the living room, and then every time I find myself sitting down I'll pick it up. Right there, I'm already getting a lot more time on instrument than when I had to go into the basement and take my super nice guitar out of its case (because I'm not leaving a Gibson out where it could get knocked over or pissed on, oh no).
Then, justinguitar.com has a beginner practice schedule which I've found to be incredibly helpful. E.g. one exercise is called "one minute chord changes"; pick two chords, play one, switch to the other, switch to the first, and count how many times you can do that in one minute. And yes, set a timer, and stop after a minute and recover a bit before moving on to the next. Boring and repetitive! But oh so necessary for my long term goal of "playing a song".
posted by disconnect at 6:21 AM on March 4, 2016 [7 favorites]
1. A permanent Art Setup of middling quality somewhere in your domicile. Whatever your art, it's got to be in the space in which you normally live and easily accessible.
2. A plan. What is something you can do in 20-30 minutes that will help long-term? Paint happy little trees, sculpt body parts out of modeling compound, sketching ellipses, or other? n.b. I am totally not an artist so you have to figure this part out.
3. The freedom from having to produce anything great. This is part of your process to be a good artist, and right now maybe you have to paint 1,000 shitty happy little trees. And for each one, tell yourself, "This little tree is so happy he doesn't give a shit at all about being shitty. Yay little tree!"
As mentioned above, I don't really know about art, but I am a musician who's had a desire to make music for a very long time. I've dabbled with playing and singing my whole life, but it's only been really recently that I've started to make actual progress with guitar, and a big part of that was getting an inexpensive (but still very decent and playable) guitar that I could leave sitting out in the living room, and then every time I find myself sitting down I'll pick it up. Right there, I'm already getting a lot more time on instrument than when I had to go into the basement and take my super nice guitar out of its case (because I'm not leaving a Gibson out where it could get knocked over or pissed on, oh no).
Then, justinguitar.com has a beginner practice schedule which I've found to be incredibly helpful. E.g. one exercise is called "one minute chord changes"; pick two chords, play one, switch to the other, switch to the first, and count how many times you can do that in one minute. And yes, set a timer, and stop after a minute and recover a bit before moving on to the next. Boring and repetitive! But oh so necessary for my long term goal of "playing a song".
posted by disconnect at 6:21 AM on March 4, 2016 [7 favorites]
My partner and I have very different ways of dealing with this.
He is the type who can live well on 6 hours of sleep. He manages to produce artwork basically every day of the week and twice on weekends. He can stay up later than I can and he can actually get quality work done on weeknights.
I need 8 hours of sleep, no ifs ands or buts. When I come home, my brain is fried and I usually work on something mindless like some easy knitting, cutting out pattern pieces, things like that. Prep work. I try to be kind to myself about it. On weekends I can work on something more difficult and usually I give myself Saturday to do whatever I want and then I do my chores (cleaning, gro sto) on half of Sunday.
I envy him his productivity but after 5+ years of our relationship I have grown to understand I just can't work like he does.
posted by fiercecupcake at 6:27 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
He is the type who can live well on 6 hours of sleep. He manages to produce artwork basically every day of the week and twice on weekends. He can stay up later than I can and he can actually get quality work done on weeknights.
I need 8 hours of sleep, no ifs ands or buts. When I come home, my brain is fried and I usually work on something mindless like some easy knitting, cutting out pattern pieces, things like that. Prep work. I try to be kind to myself about it. On weekends I can work on something more difficult and usually I give myself Saturday to do whatever I want and then I do my chores (cleaning, gro sto) on half of Sunday.
I envy him his productivity but after 5+ years of our relationship I have grown to understand I just can't work like he does.
posted by fiercecupcake at 6:27 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
On non-preview:
"3. The freedom from having to produce anything great."
YES. If it helps, you can think of the shitty little trees you paint during the week (or whatever your medium is) as counting toward that 10,000 hours of practice you need. Even shitty little trees help.
posted by fiercecupcake at 6:29 AM on March 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
"3. The freedom from having to produce anything great."
YES. If it helps, you can think of the shitty little trees you paint during the week (or whatever your medium is) as counting toward that 10,000 hours of practice you need. Even shitty little trees help.
posted by fiercecupcake at 6:29 AM on March 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
There are only so many hours in the day. That is a fact. It is what you do with those hours that matter. Housework? Can you pay for a cleaner? Maybe drop a class or two to pay a cleaner to go do your chores for you? You write about the household - are the chores divided up fairly or are you doing more than your share? You spending your entire weekend on chores & errands could be a place to start.
Other than that, do what the rest of us do - I am a pro creative and I Make Stuff in little pockets of time. Have a travel watercolour set with you and paint in your lunch hour. Doodle when waiting at the dentist. Most of us don't have long extended periods where we can be creative - it's about making most of the time you have (and find a way to eke out ten more minutes here & there).
Chin up & onwards! :)
posted by kariebookish at 6:45 AM on March 4, 2016
Other than that, do what the rest of us do - I am a pro creative and I Make Stuff in little pockets of time. Have a travel watercolour set with you and paint in your lunch hour. Doodle when waiting at the dentist. Most of us don't have long extended periods where we can be creative - it's about making most of the time you have (and find a way to eke out ten more minutes here & there).
Chin up & onwards! :)
posted by kariebookish at 6:45 AM on March 4, 2016
I don't paint but I pursue other hobbies and this is something I've been struggling with a lot lately as it's become more and more apparent to me that pursuing these creative things is vitally important to my well-being. I work a job that pays the bills and then some but it's not very satisfying creatively.
Like you, I feel like between work, family, and chores I don't get enough time to spend doing the things I want to do. A lot of days I come home and I just want to veg. Then some days I come home planning to work on a hobby and something else comes up. Before I know it it's 10:00 PM.
What works for me, first of all, is having everything ready to go. I don't want to spend any of my precious free time setting up anything. So if you can either have a dedicated space for your art or a way to quickly pull it all out of a closet, that will help. Before I had a dedicated workspace I had various kits, kept in boxes or fishing tackle boxes so I could just whip everything out when I got the urge. Now I have a workspace set up in stations so I can just dive right into whatever I want.
Then, even if I'm tired or just want to lie on the couch, I'll force myself to spend a half hour doing something. I'll say "just one half hour, then I can rest." More often than not once I start that half hour, I get into it and it will stretch to a couple hours and my evening is now productive.
You also have to give yourself a break. Your art isn't going to go anywhere. If you can't get to it, you'll get to it the next night. Real life is tough. Try to look at any little bit of time spent creating as a gift.
posted by bondcliff at 6:47 AM on March 4, 2016
Like you, I feel like between work, family, and chores I don't get enough time to spend doing the things I want to do. A lot of days I come home and I just want to veg. Then some days I come home planning to work on a hobby and something else comes up. Before I know it it's 10:00 PM.
What works for me, first of all, is having everything ready to go. I don't want to spend any of my precious free time setting up anything. So if you can either have a dedicated space for your art or a way to quickly pull it all out of a closet, that will help. Before I had a dedicated workspace I had various kits, kept in boxes or fishing tackle boxes so I could just whip everything out when I got the urge. Now I have a workspace set up in stations so I can just dive right into whatever I want.
Then, even if I'm tired or just want to lie on the couch, I'll force myself to spend a half hour doing something. I'll say "just one half hour, then I can rest." More often than not once I start that half hour, I get into it and it will stretch to a couple hours and my evening is now productive.
You also have to give yourself a break. Your art isn't going to go anywhere. If you can't get to it, you'll get to it the next night. Real life is tough. Try to look at any little bit of time spent creating as a gift.
posted by bondcliff at 6:47 AM on March 4, 2016
Great advice above. 2 more things:
1. Stop looking at your phone. Instead, keep a pocket size sketch book and pen with you ALL THE TIME. When there are little snippets of time, instead of reaching for your phone, pull the sketchbook out. Even if you have only a minute or two, look at what's around you and draw, doodle, sketch without regard to creating a finished product. Make this a habit. You'll start to see light and shapes and patterns like an artist all the time, not just when it's your designated time to make art.
2. Schedule time for your art, just whatever your routine can bear. Treat it like an appointment and guard that time - don't let anything else interfere. If you make it a priority, you can accomplish a lot just by plugging away on a regular basis, a little bit at a time.
posted by MelissaSimon at 6:49 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
1. Stop looking at your phone. Instead, keep a pocket size sketch book and pen with you ALL THE TIME. When there are little snippets of time, instead of reaching for your phone, pull the sketchbook out. Even if you have only a minute or two, look at what's around you and draw, doodle, sketch without regard to creating a finished product. Make this a habit. You'll start to see light and shapes and patterns like an artist all the time, not just when it's your designated time to make art.
2. Schedule time for your art, just whatever your routine can bear. Treat it like an appointment and guard that time - don't let anything else interfere. If you make it a priority, you can accomplish a lot just by plugging away on a regular basis, a little bit at a time.
posted by MelissaSimon at 6:49 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
The thing that's consistently gotten me to "work" on my own stuff is to commit to doing whatever it is every day but with a big caveat: the commitment is only to doing it for a very short period of time (eg: 5 mins).
I find that sitting down to do the thing is the real "work" and on good days I work for much longer than my committed time. Other days I don't, but that's ok too, I've allowed myself that. Some weeks I'll only do the bare minimum every day, but at least I'm doing something...
posted by soplerfo at 7:02 AM on March 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
I find that sitting down to do the thing is the real "work" and on good days I work for much longer than my committed time. Other days I don't, but that's ok too, I've allowed myself that. Some weeks I'll only do the bare minimum every day, but at least I'm doing something...
posted by soplerfo at 7:02 AM on March 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
You know, it's a reality of life that most artists have day jobs. In the city where I work, where you'd think there would be tons of opportunities - and there are - I'm reliably informed that there isn't enough paid work in the arts to support even ONE artist full-time. Pretty much ALL artists make their income from teaching posts.
Now here is tel3path's timetable for doing serious stuff outside of work. This applies to people working full time and doing part-time Master's or PhDs and things, as well as to artists.
Work 40 hours a week, do $ART 20 hours a week. That makes 2 hours every weekday, and 10 hours on either Saturday or Sunday. On the 7th day you rest.
If you're taking classes outside of work, you'll have to count those hours towards your 20 hours because time doesn't bend for you any more than it does for the rest of us.
I don't know how feasible this is based on your schedule, but maybe you could do your 2 hours of artwork at the beginning of the day rather than the end. Of course, you're best off having your workout first, so you might have to cut your workout down to half an hour instead of an hour. If all this doesn't fit into the morning then find a gym and do your exercise by signing up for a class there every day after work.
Or maybe you have no real option but to do your 2 hours after work, in which case your only choice is to schedule those 2 hours and just fucking do it.
Your mind will be thinking about your project while you're at work, so a lot of ideation will get done in the background. I think you'll find those 2 hours very productive, in the end.
posted by tel3path at 7:04 AM on March 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
Now here is tel3path's timetable for doing serious stuff outside of work. This applies to people working full time and doing part-time Master's or PhDs and things, as well as to artists.
Work 40 hours a week, do $ART 20 hours a week. That makes 2 hours every weekday, and 10 hours on either Saturday or Sunday. On the 7th day you rest.
If you're taking classes outside of work, you'll have to count those hours towards your 20 hours because time doesn't bend for you any more than it does for the rest of us.
I don't know how feasible this is based on your schedule, but maybe you could do your 2 hours of artwork at the beginning of the day rather than the end. Of course, you're best off having your workout first, so you might have to cut your workout down to half an hour instead of an hour. If all this doesn't fit into the morning then find a gym and do your exercise by signing up for a class there every day after work.
Or maybe you have no real option but to do your 2 hours after work, in which case your only choice is to schedule those 2 hours and just fucking do it.
Your mind will be thinking about your project while you're at work, so a lot of ideation will get done in the background. I think you'll find those 2 hours very productive, in the end.
posted by tel3path at 7:04 AM on March 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
Weird suggestion: listen to some of the podcast interviews John Lee Dumas did when he was hawking his Freedom Journal kickstarter a couple months ago. Your goal should not be producing some massive wonderful piece of art (or making $20,000 a month in your side business or becoming champ of your squash club or saving $[bigbucks]), that's too big and paralyses us so that's really a "vision". Your goal is something that's reasonable to achieve in 90 or 100 days like have spent 50 hours painting or produced 100 sketches or whatever (or called 50 leads or worked on your backhand drills for 600 minutes). Then you check in every ten days and see how your 100 day goal is going. If you've done nothing or it's not going great, be super honest, why not? Can you change something in your environment or schedule to meet your aspiration? Do you have to be more realistic about what's possible in 100 days given your other responsibilities? Do you actually, personally want to achieve this goal?
Someone taught me a similar process a while back and it helped me get healthier, improve in a sport I play and start a side business. And also ditch some things I though I should want to be doing. I know it may sound methodical and business-world and unfun but I have a very mentally- and hours-demanding job too, and a framework helps me more than just wanting it and doing endless unrealistic planning and assuming energy will strike to actually act. You'd be surprised what you can achieve in 100 days yet committing to ten isn't too tough.
Also if hitting the sofa is a problem, can you book a room at the local library or somewhere every Wednesday night to work on your art? Alternatively, can you get rid of the rest of the household for an evening or two? Can you reduce the prep to start doing something every day (the ol' "put the piece of floss on the toothbrush for the next morning" trick)?
posted by jamesonandwater at 7:19 AM on March 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
Someone taught me a similar process a while back and it helped me get healthier, improve in a sport I play and start a side business. And also ditch some things I though I should want to be doing. I know it may sound methodical and business-world and unfun but I have a very mentally- and hours-demanding job too, and a framework helps me more than just wanting it and doing endless unrealistic planning and assuming energy will strike to actually act. You'd be surprised what you can achieve in 100 days yet committing to ten isn't too tough.
Also if hitting the sofa is a problem, can you book a room at the local library or somewhere every Wednesday night to work on your art? Alternatively, can you get rid of the rest of the household for an evening or two? Can you reduce the prep to start doing something every day (the ol' "put the piece of floss on the toothbrush for the next morning" trick)?
posted by jamesonandwater at 7:19 AM on March 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
Can you get your partner on board that Sunday until noon is your time during which no chores or distractions will be tolerated? Or another time that could work for you. I find that I have to plan with military precision what I'm doing every day (when I have a job that doesn't let me doodle at work.)
You may have only limited times where you can do art, but what you have, you have to prioritize.
You could also consider switching what you do. I used to be someone who worked really big, so I'd have to spend time stretching five or six-foot canvases or tracking down someone who would let me put a mural on their wall. Or doing big etchings and having to get press time. This only works when you are an art student with a scholarship and nothing better to do. I switched to very small paintings the size of a playing card, and I'm kind of amazed how quickly I get them done. You didn't say what medium, but if you're painting, you likely have a lot of shortcuts to try (switch to drawing to simplify tools and allow you to set up anywhere, switch from oils to acrylic to cut dry time, switch to small watercolors, carve erasers instead of blocks, etc.)
posted by blnkfrnk at 7:19 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
You may have only limited times where you can do art, but what you have, you have to prioritize.
You could also consider switching what you do. I used to be someone who worked really big, so I'd have to spend time stretching five or six-foot canvases or tracking down someone who would let me put a mural on their wall. Or doing big etchings and having to get press time. This only works when you are an art student with a scholarship and nothing better to do. I switched to very small paintings the size of a playing card, and I'm kind of amazed how quickly I get them done. You didn't say what medium, but if you're painting, you likely have a lot of shortcuts to try (switch to drawing to simplify tools and allow you to set up anywhere, switch from oils to acrylic to cut dry time, switch to small watercolors, carve erasers instead of blocks, etc.)
posted by blnkfrnk at 7:19 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
I would approach your current job to see if you can roll a modified schedule. I have had the luck of working 4/10 hour days a week for childcare reasons, but plan on retaining that schedule once my kid is in grade school. I personally don't mind working a few extra hours each day, especially when it means I get a full day to dedicate to another task.
Even if you're working splits, you'll have one full day off to approach your side gig, and that's pretty fantastic. It changes the ratio of when you can sit down and dedicate time to working on projects, and since it'll typically be a weekday off, social engagements aren't necessarily a huge concern.
posted by furnace.heart at 7:26 AM on March 4, 2016
Even if you're working splits, you'll have one full day off to approach your side gig, and that's pretty fantastic. It changes the ratio of when you can sit down and dedicate time to working on projects, and since it'll typically be a weekday off, social engagements aren't necessarily a huge concern.
posted by furnace.heart at 7:26 AM on March 4, 2016
I'm in a similar situation, but I'm a writer. I think that one thing that is really important is that you set things up so that you are doing something, even something super tiny, that feeds you as an artist every single day. So I've used the app Wunderlist and made a list called "daily," showing things I strive to do every day (practice yoga, take a walk, etc.). And I've added some art-related things to that list.
1. Recognize that being an artist is not just about what you do, but also about how you think (though this can be used as an excuse for not doing work, so be careful). So in order to keep my brain "on writing" every day, I've added "read a poem" to my daily to-do list. So every day I take maybe ten minutes to carefully read a poem. I've found that doing that has changed my thinking - I am much more engaged in my art. I think about the poem I've read at other times during the day, and it kicks off ideas I can use in my own writing. I usually end up reading more than one poem, though I have to keep the task small, so I only require one. Is there a painting equivalent?
2. Working, even a tiny amount, every single day. I require myself to spend ten minutes writing every day. (I have a lot of anxiety around writing, so I had to keep it super small to deal with the anxiety - I started with five minutes, and when that got easy, I changed to ten - I realized this morning, I'm ready to move to fifteen). Since I'm not a visual artist, I'm not sure how this would work for you, since I don't have to really get out any equipment. Maybe sketching.
The point of both of these is that you are an artist every day. You are doing something artistic every day. I've been writing for ages, but I feel that I have finally figured out something that is working for me. I used to feel like I had to have giant blocks of time to be a writer, but by doing these two small things, I've gotten more real writing done in three months than I had in the previous year. The crap on TV is less enticing. I look forward to feeding myself as an artist. I'm excited about reading that poem.
And if any of this is related to anxiety, I highly recommend the book Art and Fear.
posted by FencingGal at 7:28 AM on March 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
1. Recognize that being an artist is not just about what you do, but also about how you think (though this can be used as an excuse for not doing work, so be careful). So in order to keep my brain "on writing" every day, I've added "read a poem" to my daily to-do list. So every day I take maybe ten minutes to carefully read a poem. I've found that doing that has changed my thinking - I am much more engaged in my art. I think about the poem I've read at other times during the day, and it kicks off ideas I can use in my own writing. I usually end up reading more than one poem, though I have to keep the task small, so I only require one. Is there a painting equivalent?
2. Working, even a tiny amount, every single day. I require myself to spend ten minutes writing every day. (I have a lot of anxiety around writing, so I had to keep it super small to deal with the anxiety - I started with five minutes, and when that got easy, I changed to ten - I realized this morning, I'm ready to move to fifteen). Since I'm not a visual artist, I'm not sure how this would work for you, since I don't have to really get out any equipment. Maybe sketching.
The point of both of these is that you are an artist every day. You are doing something artistic every day. I've been writing for ages, but I feel that I have finally figured out something that is working for me. I used to feel like I had to have giant blocks of time to be a writer, but by doing these two small things, I've gotten more real writing done in three months than I had in the previous year. The crap on TV is less enticing. I look forward to feeding myself as an artist. I'm excited about reading that poem.
And if any of this is related to anxiety, I highly recommend the book Art and Fear.
posted by FencingGal at 7:28 AM on March 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
When I worked fulltime, I'd spend my commute time & lunch breaks thinking through projects I was working on in the art studio. I kept a notebook in my purse for any epiphanies or ideas - and ended up solving many artwork problems during my FT work hours. This habit had a few additional bonuses:
It took the edge off of work stress
It energized me to go right to the studio after dinner
It provided actionable tasks once I did go to the studio (instead of 'ok, now make some art')
It reminded me everyday that I was first and foremost, an artist & that my day job was not my whole existence.
I can also suggest a book called The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp. She's a choreographer, but the exercises she provides for getting past creative paralysis are on the mark.
posted by jenmakes at 8:28 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
It took the edge off of work stress
It energized me to go right to the studio after dinner
It provided actionable tasks once I did go to the studio (instead of 'ok, now make some art')
It reminded me everyday that I was first and foremost, an artist & that my day job was not my whole existence.
I can also suggest a book called The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp. She's a choreographer, but the exercises she provides for getting past creative paralysis are on the mark.
posted by jenmakes at 8:28 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Writers Write. Is a quote a friend of mine who wants to be a writer has tattooed on her hand. It would work in your case too, Artists Art? OK maybe Creators create.
Her take on this is any writing helps. 5 minutes here 10 minutes there in & around her busy day at full time work & as a shared custody mum, she doesn't have to sit down & churn out War & Peace to be considered a writer. Why do you feel you have to spend huge blocks of time on your artwork. Have an area set up full time. Spend 20 minutes while waiting for say the rice to cook for dinner. Sketch on your commute if you can, or if driving just daydream at traffic lights about what you'd like to paint. Listen to podcasts on the subject. Spend half an hour in the morning before work. Spend a couple of hours on the weekend before heading out to your big event, you don't have to spend all day every day slaving away to create and as others have said you don't have to sit down to create thinking today I am going to create a masterpiece. You might sit down & think, I'm going to work on my shading, a quick sketch of something, a certain technique. Maybe that sketch will inspire something bigger, maybe you'll never look at it again. But you created something & you worked on your skills, you got your brain used to thinking art.
If you want to create something you have to turn up. Waiting for the "perfect" amount of time the perfect mood is just your brain going this is hard lets find reasons not to do this. By sneaking in small doses of creativity your brain doesn't get a chance to get in your way. OH we're not doing anything "important" & it's only for 10 minutes so I'll get out of your way & let you sketch.
Of course you feel too tired to "create" for hours after work so your brain steers you to screens as they are easier. So allow yourself screen time, after you've done x for 15 or 30 minutes. I can veg all night. Chances are once you slip into the creating zone you won't want to stop, and if you do no worries you've already done half an hour more practice so good on you.
posted by wwax at 9:01 AM on March 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
Her take on this is any writing helps. 5 minutes here 10 minutes there in & around her busy day at full time work & as a shared custody mum, she doesn't have to sit down & churn out War & Peace to be considered a writer. Why do you feel you have to spend huge blocks of time on your artwork. Have an area set up full time. Spend 20 minutes while waiting for say the rice to cook for dinner. Sketch on your commute if you can, or if driving just daydream at traffic lights about what you'd like to paint. Listen to podcasts on the subject. Spend half an hour in the morning before work. Spend a couple of hours on the weekend before heading out to your big event, you don't have to spend all day every day slaving away to create and as others have said you don't have to sit down to create thinking today I am going to create a masterpiece. You might sit down & think, I'm going to work on my shading, a quick sketch of something, a certain technique. Maybe that sketch will inspire something bigger, maybe you'll never look at it again. But you created something & you worked on your skills, you got your brain used to thinking art.
If you want to create something you have to turn up. Waiting for the "perfect" amount of time the perfect mood is just your brain going this is hard lets find reasons not to do this. By sneaking in small doses of creativity your brain doesn't get a chance to get in your way. OH we're not doing anything "important" & it's only for 10 minutes so I'll get out of your way & let you sketch.
Of course you feel too tired to "create" for hours after work so your brain steers you to screens as they are easier. So allow yourself screen time, after you've done x for 15 or 30 minutes. I can veg all night. Chances are once you slip into the creating zone you won't want to stop, and if you do no worries you've already done half an hour more practice so good on you.
posted by wwax at 9:01 AM on March 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
This is the eternal problem, and talking to any artist will let you know you're in the same boat. I have friends that work low-mental-impact jobs, or have found (better-paying) jobs in shops fabricating things so they can use their skills but are often more part-time or short-term so they can also take time to focus on work.
I have a day job that I can mostly leave at work and gives me some free time to do things like work on my website or do some writing (like, art-career related writing). I also run a business that is related to my personal work and in a way an art project of its own. So personal time for my own work is hard to carve out, when I also want to work out and have a bit of a social life.
I'm busier than most people and pretty rigorously scheduled. I have made an effort over the last couple of years to get real about making my own work and showing it. What helps is working on things in short bursts and accepting and being ok with a slower time table. 20 minutes is still working. Having a space to leave things out so it is there is essential. Luckily I do photography and some sound work, so I can combine lazing on the couch after work with working on the computer (and if I'm working on photos I can also get some dumb tv in, if I'm feeling like it).
Classes are good to force yourself to take the time and get there. Collaborating with other people helps to give you some accountability and also take out the time to meet with them and work. Doing things like committing to a show or talk or something you don't feel quite ready for will motivate you to make that leap.
Eat well and exercise and sleep well and keep yourself as healthy as possible to keep up the energy. It IS hard, and I've always felt like I've had two jobs (and now I have more, and have also started teaching with an eye towards being able to do that as part-time income instead of my day job. Also I've found I really enjoy teaching, thank god!).
I think accepting a longer timeframe is pretty essential. I've been chipping away for a couple of years now at working on my own body of work, and finally I have some series of photos I'm happy with, and some prints of them, and some shows lined up. And it's taken me a year to get a website together for a new business offshoot I've been working on, but here it is. Etc. Keep at it!
It's also worth realizing that by choosing a life as a full-time artist, you would also have to spend a huge amount of time on self-promotion and managing your career, and even if you manage to make the majority of your income by selling work to galleries you will have to be making work that the gallerists and curators want to sell. I know people who show in big-name galleries and they still have teaching jobs or other jobs. Choosing a different full-time job because you like benefits or whatever is a lifestyle choice you have made and also a valid one.
posted by jeweled accumulation at 9:29 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
I have a day job that I can mostly leave at work and gives me some free time to do things like work on my website or do some writing (like, art-career related writing). I also run a business that is related to my personal work and in a way an art project of its own. So personal time for my own work is hard to carve out, when I also want to work out and have a bit of a social life.
I'm busier than most people and pretty rigorously scheduled. I have made an effort over the last couple of years to get real about making my own work and showing it. What helps is working on things in short bursts and accepting and being ok with a slower time table. 20 minutes is still working. Having a space to leave things out so it is there is essential. Luckily I do photography and some sound work, so I can combine lazing on the couch after work with working on the computer (and if I'm working on photos I can also get some dumb tv in, if I'm feeling like it).
Classes are good to force yourself to take the time and get there. Collaborating with other people helps to give you some accountability and also take out the time to meet with them and work. Doing things like committing to a show or talk or something you don't feel quite ready for will motivate you to make that leap.
Eat well and exercise and sleep well and keep yourself as healthy as possible to keep up the energy. It IS hard, and I've always felt like I've had two jobs (and now I have more, and have also started teaching with an eye towards being able to do that as part-time income instead of my day job. Also I've found I really enjoy teaching, thank god!).
I think accepting a longer timeframe is pretty essential. I've been chipping away for a couple of years now at working on my own body of work, and finally I have some series of photos I'm happy with, and some prints of them, and some shows lined up. And it's taken me a year to get a website together for a new business offshoot I've been working on, but here it is. Etc. Keep at it!
It's also worth realizing that by choosing a life as a full-time artist, you would also have to spend a huge amount of time on self-promotion and managing your career, and even if you manage to make the majority of your income by selling work to galleries you will have to be making work that the gallerists and curators want to sell. I know people who show in big-name galleries and they still have teaching jobs or other jobs. Choosing a different full-time job because you like benefits or whatever is a lifestyle choice you have made and also a valid one.
posted by jeweled accumulation at 9:29 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
In addition, every person I know who is a "full-time" artist, even with a fairly high-profile career, either lives a very low-income lifestyle, or has a partner with a steady well-paying job, or has had some luck with family supporting them with money or real estate, and STILL does other work on the side.
posted by jeweled accumulation at 9:32 AM on March 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by jeweled accumulation at 9:32 AM on March 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
What things about your situation are under your control?
a. Your job - can you switch jobs in order to not be so fried at the end of the day?
b. Your living situation - are you able to live alone or with people who don't get up at 5am? Are you able to live in a place where you can utilize a garage space, or can you live somewhere where you can have two rooms, a bedroom and another room to dedicate as an art space, where no one else would intrude?
c. Your expenses - can you change your expense profile in order to make option a or b viable?
d. Your time/obligations - if the passion strikes you to create, let household chores, etc slide. Outsource some of it - have groceries delivered, have a housekeeper come and take that off your plate, hire someone from CL to come and cook for you once a week (this is what I did) so that you have healthy meals but don't spend the time on prep.
e. Make an appointment on your calendar for creative time, don't leave it loose like "I'll get to it when I have some free time.".
You appear to be in the (common!) situation of having put your obligations in front of your passion. Totally understandable. But by re-framing your thinking, you can make this work.
posted by vignettist at 9:55 AM on March 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
a. Your job - can you switch jobs in order to not be so fried at the end of the day?
b. Your living situation - are you able to live alone or with people who don't get up at 5am? Are you able to live in a place where you can utilize a garage space, or can you live somewhere where you can have two rooms, a bedroom and another room to dedicate as an art space, where no one else would intrude?
c. Your expenses - can you change your expense profile in order to make option a or b viable?
d. Your time/obligations - if the passion strikes you to create, let household chores, etc slide. Outsource some of it - have groceries delivered, have a housekeeper come and take that off your plate, hire someone from CL to come and cook for you once a week (this is what I did) so that you have healthy meals but don't spend the time on prep.
e. Make an appointment on your calendar for creative time, don't leave it loose like "I'll get to it when I have some free time.".
You appear to be in the (common!) situation of having put your obligations in front of your passion. Totally understandable. But by re-framing your thinking, you can make this work.
posted by vignettist at 9:55 AM on March 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
You perhaps need more sleep so your creative brain is awake during the evening. I find that I can go to bed quite early several days of the week and then have the energy to stay awake and do creative things in the evening with a minor shot of caffeine. Basically what I have to do is get at least nine hours of sleep two to four nights a week.
In order to go to bed at eight or eight thirty I give up on the housework. Well, actually, I give up sitting at the computer, sleepy and glazed, intending to get some chores done but actually only surfing metafilter until 11 PM without getting anything done.
If you can't do creative work in your downtime because it requires discipline and focus, can you find mindless pleasures that will also feed your artistic brain, such as watching documentaries on the type of art you produce, or following other artists on deviant art?
If your art is seeming like work, perhaps you are pushing in the wrong direction. It may be, perhaps that you are studying painting and your brain has temporarily slapped enough paint on canvas. You might find yourself re-enthused with making art if you change mediums and themes, so instead of doing landscapes on canvas, start doing geometric abstracts with sharpie markers on sea-shells. Instead of trying to draw the human figure in charcoal try modeling it out of Plasticine instead.
Finally, consider trying to create some bad art. You may be getting performance anxiety which is making creating art seem like a big daunting task. So instead of trying to do your art school homework as assigned to you, try to do three quick and lousy versions of the assignment. Deliberately exaggerate the features in your work - stretch proportions, make it mawkishly sentimental, or exaggerate the colour values so that it looks rather like an old negative rather than being realistic.
posted by Jane the Brown at 1:24 PM on March 4, 2016
In order to go to bed at eight or eight thirty I give up on the housework. Well, actually, I give up sitting at the computer, sleepy and glazed, intending to get some chores done but actually only surfing metafilter until 11 PM without getting anything done.
If you can't do creative work in your downtime because it requires discipline and focus, can you find mindless pleasures that will also feed your artistic brain, such as watching documentaries on the type of art you produce, or following other artists on deviant art?
If your art is seeming like work, perhaps you are pushing in the wrong direction. It may be, perhaps that you are studying painting and your brain has temporarily slapped enough paint on canvas. You might find yourself re-enthused with making art if you change mediums and themes, so instead of doing landscapes on canvas, start doing geometric abstracts with sharpie markers on sea-shells. Instead of trying to draw the human figure in charcoal try modeling it out of Plasticine instead.
Finally, consider trying to create some bad art. You may be getting performance anxiety which is making creating art seem like a big daunting task. So instead of trying to do your art school homework as assigned to you, try to do three quick and lousy versions of the assignment. Deliberately exaggerate the features in your work - stretch proportions, make it mawkishly sentimental, or exaggerate the colour values so that it looks rather like an old negative rather than being realistic.
posted by Jane the Brown at 1:24 PM on March 4, 2016
Some great advice here. Some things that have worked well for me:
Take a shower immediately when you get home from work. The shower will stimulate your body and cleanse your mind for work.
Keep the personal dynamics of work out of your home life, for example, I distanced myself from people who want to constantly ruminate about work politics both at work and off work.
Some mundane work tasks can be made into artwork time. For example, I had to work a switchboard and made ink drawings during phone time, and I had to open mail and those became collages with stamps and ephemera.
Figure out how to descend in to focused creative time that will put you in a frame of mind to work. For example, I follow a guy on Facebook named Stephen Ellcock, who is an extraordinary curator, and uses Facebook to post a constant flow of great material that will bump you right into hyperspace. I look at his page while I am eating breakfast and by the time I've wolfed down my porridge I'm inspired and ready to work. Thanks, Stephen!
I use mundane organizational tasks to put me in a frame of mind to work. I call it "nesting". Ordering things or commuting are automatic enough to allow my mind to wander, and it's become a source of creative flow.
I hope some of these are helpful. If you make the work a lot, it will seem vital to you. A lot of creativity is momentum.
By the way, if you have some technical painting issues, happy to answer questions you may have that may be helpful. Good luck.
posted by effluvia at 2:21 PM on March 4, 2016
Take a shower immediately when you get home from work. The shower will stimulate your body and cleanse your mind for work.
Keep the personal dynamics of work out of your home life, for example, I distanced myself from people who want to constantly ruminate about work politics both at work and off work.
Some mundane work tasks can be made into artwork time. For example, I had to work a switchboard and made ink drawings during phone time, and I had to open mail and those became collages with stamps and ephemera.
Figure out how to descend in to focused creative time that will put you in a frame of mind to work. For example, I follow a guy on Facebook named Stephen Ellcock, who is an extraordinary curator, and uses Facebook to post a constant flow of great material that will bump you right into hyperspace. I look at his page while I am eating breakfast and by the time I've wolfed down my porridge I'm inspired and ready to work. Thanks, Stephen!
I use mundane organizational tasks to put me in a frame of mind to work. I call it "nesting". Ordering things or commuting are automatic enough to allow my mind to wander, and it's become a source of creative flow.
I hope some of these are helpful. If you make the work a lot, it will seem vital to you. A lot of creativity is momentum.
By the way, if you have some technical painting issues, happy to answer questions you may have that may be helpful. Good luck.
posted by effluvia at 2:21 PM on March 4, 2016
I commit to 20 minutes a day of art/craft- related activity. Some days that just means organizing my supplies, or flipping through books for inspiration. Other days I have the time, energy and desire to do significant work on one of my projects and go well beyond the 20 minutes. Committing to that amount of time isn't too much of a burden, and it has made my art practice a habit.
I am not so much of a social person either, nor do I have much time for it (FT job plus child care eats up most of my time). But I did join a guild for my creative pursuit, and simply going to the monthly meetings energizes me, I find.
posted by medeine at 3:02 PM on March 4, 2016
I am not so much of a social person either, nor do I have much time for it (FT job plus child care eats up most of my time). But I did join a guild for my creative pursuit, and simply going to the monthly meetings energizes me, I find.
posted by medeine at 3:02 PM on March 4, 2016
If your art is starting to feel like work, maybe you need to take a step back and reassess your thought process and assumptions around what art means to you. Why *exactly* does it feel like work? Because you hold yourself to a super high standard that you can't live up to yet? Are you stuck in a particular technique that is difficult for you to master? Is coming up with new ideas super taxing when you're tired after your job?
Each of these has a solution: try to figure out what is going to make your art feel good to you again. Something that lifts you up and relaxes you rather than adding more stress. Also, cut yourself some slack and stop beating yourself up, because every artist thinks they kind of suck sometimes. I know a lot of artists, including some fairly well-known ones that support themselves just with their art, and we ALL complain about not being as good as we want to be. It's, like, stamped into your brain once you pick up a paintbrush or something.
I find I work best when I don't give 100% until I have a solid idea of something I want to paint. I just doodle and play with my art supplies and learn about them more and sometimes I make stuff that's really awesome this way. Sometimes I'll discover a technique that will inspire a 'serious' piece. Then when I know for sure what I want to do, I can sit down and do it, knowing that I'm just going to go back to playing as soon as it's done and don't pressure myself to come up with another idea right away. Often one piece will lead me into a couple others, sometimes a lot of others, and then the inspiration fades and I wait for the next big thing to come down the muse pipeline. This way it stays fun, but I'm also creating a body of work that I'm proud of without trying to wring it all out of my head in one go.
Also, if you're just going to numbly stare at the computer after work, try watching some art tutorials in your medium of choice on Youtube. There are sooooo many good ones. You might find enough inspiration to make some art while you're watching :) I really like the real time "sketch and chats" because it's like sitting with another artist while you both work. I just found Drawabox, and I love the way he explains composition. Here's his channel for the videos.
posted by ananci at 3:08 PM on March 4, 2016
Each of these has a solution: try to figure out what is going to make your art feel good to you again. Something that lifts you up and relaxes you rather than adding more stress. Also, cut yourself some slack and stop beating yourself up, because every artist thinks they kind of suck sometimes. I know a lot of artists, including some fairly well-known ones that support themselves just with their art, and we ALL complain about not being as good as we want to be. It's, like, stamped into your brain once you pick up a paintbrush or something.
I find I work best when I don't give 100% until I have a solid idea of something I want to paint. I just doodle and play with my art supplies and learn about them more and sometimes I make stuff that's really awesome this way. Sometimes I'll discover a technique that will inspire a 'serious' piece. Then when I know for sure what I want to do, I can sit down and do it, knowing that I'm just going to go back to playing as soon as it's done and don't pressure myself to come up with another idea right away. Often one piece will lead me into a couple others, sometimes a lot of others, and then the inspiration fades and I wait for the next big thing to come down the muse pipeline. This way it stays fun, but I'm also creating a body of work that I'm proud of without trying to wring it all out of my head in one go.
Also, if you're just going to numbly stare at the computer after work, try watching some art tutorials in your medium of choice on Youtube. There are sooooo many good ones. You might find enough inspiration to make some art while you're watching :) I really like the real time "sketch and chats" because it's like sitting with another artist while you both work. I just found Drawabox, and I love the way he explains composition. Here's his channel for the videos.
posted by ananci at 3:08 PM on March 4, 2016
Response by poster: Thanks for all your practical suggestions. Here's what I did：
Last night, I taped the "Power" button of my PC shut and went to bed earlier than usual. I set my alarm to wake me up at 6:00 this morning (Sat). I groaned when the alarm rang but it was ok once I was making breakfast. I didn't check my email as usual while eating breakfast (because the Power button had been taped shut) and when I finished breakfast and freshening up/changing my clothes, I just left the frying pan/dishes in the sink and set up for painting immediately.
I started painting at about 7:30 a.m. It was hard going because it had been very long since I've painted for a long stretch of time.My stomach started rumbling at around 11:30 a.m because I had my breakfast earlier than usual today. I finally stopped painting and started cleaning up (washing brushes and palette etc.) at 12:00 a.m. While I'm not exactly satisfied with the quality of my work, the time had passed quickly and I've indeed finished my art class homework and something extra.
I probably should have stopped earlier because I didn't get around to eating a quick simple lunch until after 1p.m. The rest of the day was spent doing all the household chores and cooking ahead for the week I usually do on weekends.It was a rush but it seems that housework expends to fill the time available because I was able to finish just before dinnertime! I just finished and had dinner. After writing this, I shall shower and turn in early tonight and hope to repeat the same thing tomorrow (taping my Power button and setting my alarm for 6 a.m.) I hope this will work as well tomorrow. Fortunately, I do not have to leave the house this weekend. Next weekend will be more challenging because I have to attend a wedding.
When I penned this question last night, I thought my problem was due solely to my day job and lack of time/energy caused by it. However, I had an epiphany after reading jon1270's answer. I realized that besides the nitty gritty logistical problems of earning a living, maybe my inertia is caused by my ambivalent feelings about producing artistic work. Yes, you're right, deep down I do not feel like a real artist. I feel a Real Artist would have gone to art school and graduated with an art degree and have won all sorts of awards and competitions by my age, sold paintings, held exhibitions etc.
My deepest darkest fear is that I am just a silly middle-aged woman with no talent, a dilettante who has latched onto art as compensation for my professional lack of achievement/shaky self-esteem, a pathetic hack with artistic pretensions who really should leave art-making to the real pros (who were probably brilliant prodigies at age 18) and just concentrate on making money and building my pension fund like most ordinary adults my age. I fear that people would laugh at me if they actually saw my work and every time I produce something I feel is bad, it only confirms my suspicion that I am a fake and not an anointed Real Artist with Talent. Deep down, I feel that what I really need is a booming voice from the heavens telling me that I really am Talented and that I can stop worrying but of course that is not going to happen...
posted by whitelotus at 3:05 AM on March 5, 2016 [6 favorites]
Last night, I taped the "Power" button of my PC shut and went to bed earlier than usual. I set my alarm to wake me up at 6:00 this morning (Sat). I groaned when the alarm rang but it was ok once I was making breakfast. I didn't check my email as usual while eating breakfast (because the Power button had been taped shut) and when I finished breakfast and freshening up/changing my clothes, I just left the frying pan/dishes in the sink and set up for painting immediately.
I started painting at about 7:30 a.m. It was hard going because it had been very long since I've painted for a long stretch of time.My stomach started rumbling at around 11:30 a.m because I had my breakfast earlier than usual today. I finally stopped painting and started cleaning up (washing brushes and palette etc.) at 12:00 a.m. While I'm not exactly satisfied with the quality of my work, the time had passed quickly and I've indeed finished my art class homework and something extra.
I probably should have stopped earlier because I didn't get around to eating a quick simple lunch until after 1p.m. The rest of the day was spent doing all the household chores and cooking ahead for the week I usually do on weekends.It was a rush but it seems that housework expends to fill the time available because I was able to finish just before dinnertime! I just finished and had dinner. After writing this, I shall shower and turn in early tonight and hope to repeat the same thing tomorrow (taping my Power button and setting my alarm for 6 a.m.) I hope this will work as well tomorrow. Fortunately, I do not have to leave the house this weekend. Next weekend will be more challenging because I have to attend a wedding.
When I penned this question last night, I thought my problem was due solely to my day job and lack of time/energy caused by it. However, I had an epiphany after reading jon1270's answer. I realized that besides the nitty gritty logistical problems of earning a living, maybe my inertia is caused by my ambivalent feelings about producing artistic work. Yes, you're right, deep down I do not feel like a real artist. I feel a Real Artist would have gone to art school and graduated with an art degree and have won all sorts of awards and competitions by my age, sold paintings, held exhibitions etc.
My deepest darkest fear is that I am just a silly middle-aged woman with no talent, a dilettante who has latched onto art as compensation for my professional lack of achievement/shaky self-esteem, a pathetic hack with artistic pretensions who really should leave art-making to the real pros (who were probably brilliant prodigies at age 18) and just concentrate on making money and building my pension fund like most ordinary adults my age. I fear that people would laugh at me if they actually saw my work and every time I produce something I feel is bad, it only confirms my suspicion that I am a fake and not an anointed Real Artist with Talent. Deep down, I feel that what I really need is a booming voice from the heavens telling me that I really am Talented and that I can stop worrying but of course that is not going to happen...
posted by whitelotus at 3:05 AM on March 5, 2016 [6 favorites]
Thank you for the update, whitelotus. That voice telling you you're a fake or undeserving of the title artist is often referred to as the inner critic. I came across the concept in art journaling circles and it was helpful for me to know I was not alone in having a mental voice that undermines my goals. Here's a blog posts with some links you might find helpful.
My inner critical voice is one of the reasons I try to focus on how I enjoy the process of making art, and focus less on the product. You won't get a booming voice giving you outside validity, but there's are ways to work towards giving yourself have inner validation.
posted by Squeak Attack at 8:54 AM on March 5, 2016
My inner critical voice is one of the reasons I try to focus on how I enjoy the process of making art, and focus less on the product. You won't get a booming voice giving you outside validity, but there's are ways to work towards giving yourself have inner validation.
posted by Squeak Attack at 8:54 AM on March 5, 2016
Response by poster: Thanks Squeak Attack. I'll look into this inner critic concept. What happened on Sun morning today:
I set my alarm for 6 a.m. and was duly woken up. My first thought was that I didn't want to be an artist if it involved waking up at 6 a.m. on a Sunday. Then I told myself not to be a wuss because I've held day jobs in the past that required me to get up everyday at six or even earlier. Once I got myself out of bed, it was alright.
As per yesterday, I had breakfast, left my dishes in the sink and started setting up for painting immediately. Unfortunately, things didn't go that well today and I had to toss the first 2 drafts. I wasn't satisfied with the final result either but I thought I'll show it to my teacher and see what he says. It didn't help that there was some kind of construction drilling going on outside (on a Sunday!) so it was really noisy. I then spent the rest of the day doing my usual weekend chores.
Tomorrow I go back to the salt mines. Will I be able to keep up the pace throughout the week with all the distractions of the day job while churning out 10 000 hours' worth of crappy paintings? *doubt*
posted by whitelotus at 11:50 PM on March 5, 2016
I set my alarm for 6 a.m. and was duly woken up. My first thought was that I didn't want to be an artist if it involved waking up at 6 a.m. on a Sunday. Then I told myself not to be a wuss because I've held day jobs in the past that required me to get up everyday at six or even earlier. Once I got myself out of bed, it was alright.
As per yesterday, I had breakfast, left my dishes in the sink and started setting up for painting immediately. Unfortunately, things didn't go that well today and I had to toss the first 2 drafts. I wasn't satisfied with the final result either but I thought I'll show it to my teacher and see what he says. It didn't help that there was some kind of construction drilling going on outside (on a Sunday!) so it was really noisy. I then spent the rest of the day doing my usual weekend chores.
Tomorrow I go back to the salt mines. Will I be able to keep up the pace throughout the week with all the distractions of the day job while churning out 10 000 hours' worth of crappy paintings? *doubt*
posted by whitelotus at 11:50 PM on March 5, 2016
Best answer: "My deepest darkest fear is that I am just a silly middle-aged woman with no talent, a dilettante who has latched onto art as compensation for my professional lack of achievement/shaky self-esteem, a pathetic hack with artistic pretensions"
Well, what if your worst fears were true and you actually were that? You'd still have as much right to make art as anyone else. There's no Art Police out there that will come screaming up and bust you for possession of oil paint with intent to distribute - intent to distribute via *crappy paintings nyaah nyaah*!!!
Like seriously, you could be the worst artist in the world according to the opinions of everyone alive today (who could be wrong, BTW), and it still wouldn't change the reality that you are an artist! And you must art!
FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO ARTY.
posted by tel3path at 8:15 AM on March 6, 2016 [5 favorites]
Well, what if your worst fears were true and you actually were that? You'd still have as much right to make art as anyone else. There's no Art Police out there that will come screaming up and bust you for possession of oil paint with intent to distribute - intent to distribute via *crappy paintings nyaah nyaah*!!!
Like seriously, you could be the worst artist in the world according to the opinions of everyone alive today (who could be wrong, BTW), and it still wouldn't change the reality that you are an artist! And you must art!
FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO ARTY.
posted by tel3path at 8:15 AM on March 6, 2016 [5 favorites]
p.s. I am in no way suggesting you are the worst artist in the world.
posted by tel3path at 9:13 AM on March 6, 2016
posted by tel3path at 9:13 AM on March 6, 2016
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One thing that helps is prepping my work so that all I need to do is sit down and work on it. The "chores" of setting up and cleaning up really deter me from painting (because it's just more work!). So if you can arrange your work to make it easy for you to approach with a glass of wine after a long day of white-collar job... you'll be in a better place to create. Also: a Room of One's Own is important. ;)
posted by Dressed to Kill at 5:20 AM on March 4, 2016