All Systems Go!

Moulin de la Galette by Renoir (1876)

Artists are supposed to be unpredictable and spontaneous types. They dress peculiar and do not toe the line. Look back in history. No sooner had the world loosened up a little after the French Revolution when the artists were rushing to the forefront of rebellion. I include all creative folk in this general statement. Conventions were thrown out like a stale baguette. Enlightened thinking was all the rage and the more outrageous the better. It was not long before artists were all high on absinthe and every manner of misunderstood medication. 

Is this really the case? Sure it is romantic to view artists as strange. There are many artists who covet this label. They do crazy stuff. Put a urinal in a gallery and call it a fountain and lo you are a sensation for your cheeky notions. I like this myth about artists. There is far too much conventional thought going on right now. Thanks to the shenanigans of some greedy financial custodians the world is now run by accountants. So lets celebrate the crazy artists and let off some steam.

There is just one thing though. The crazy artists have financial portfolios too (those that have cracked the big time) and the rest of us have internet accounts to pay each month. We need to have a system in place to  make this all work. Look at the music scene. Do you think the rolling stones kept on rolling because they were on drugs all the time? Forget it  - those guys work a system that has kept them going into old age. Famous artists like Picasso, Monet and too many to mention lived on into advanced years. Renoir could barely hold a brush, but kept going until his last moment. 

We can learn something about these great artists. They had a system and stuck to it. This system meant they got to work every day. They painted following certain rituals in preparation. Their minds were free to focus on what mattered. The concept, the light, the brushwork and so on. A chaotic mind leads to a chaotic life and all that is produced is nonsense. 

Embrace creativity. Vent your emotions on the canvas or the stage. Write a book that shakes the world. Take a risk with your art today. Just keep yourself grounded with a system that works for you. Even lightning needs certain conditions in place before it strikes.