THE "P" WORD
You know what I am talking about. We all do it. Especially artists. I do it too.
PROCRASTINATE
Why do we procrastinate?
Just to get us all on the same page:
Procrastinate means to put off doing something until a future time; to postpone or delay needlessly.
If we have a great idea for a painting or a series of paintings, or we are excited about a particular painting, subject matter, style or technique, or we are just passionate about creativity, art making and process, why in the world would we procrastinate?
One reason: FEAR
Fear leads to procrastination. If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you know that I often say:
ACTION QUIETS FEAR
But fear of what, you might be asking? Fear of failure. Fear of not measuring up to yours or someone else's standards ( like another artist you know or admire or your teacher). Fear of succeeding and then not being able to to repeat your success, Fear of not knowing what to do in the middle of a painting and then getting stuck. Fear of feeling like you have to show your work to other people (possibly to prove that you have been working). Fearing that you will finally have to admit that you are a serious artist and not just a hobbyist. The fear of quitting your class because it is within your comfort zone and working alone in your studio is not. And on, and on, and on….
But you know what? All of these fears, and any others you can think of, are just in your mind. They are not reality. And there is nothing you can do about having them anyway. You are going to have fears. We all do. I most certainly do. So, accept your fears, whatever they are. Know that they are going to be there no matter what you do. Accept that there are going to be fears and paint anyway. You will feel so much better doing rather than worrying. Once you begin to paint, most, if not all, of your fears will dissipate. Once I am painting and on a regular painting schedule, the fears go away and it becomes all about painting and creativity and process and fun. You will not have time to be fearful.
Action does indeed quiet fear.
Try it. Try painting for a month on a regular painting schedule (4 days a week for 3 hours each day) and see what happens. See if your fears go away. And then let me know about your experience.
Best,
David
