I get so inspired and go off on a kick where I paint...then later Ill want to draw....then photograph...why cant I seem to see things through to the end without getting bored and moving on?
2006-10-13 09:03:47 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Visual Arts ➔ Drawing & Illustration
Some of the best art in the world wasn't finished before being displayed. Maybe your muse is trying to tell you something.
2006-10-13 09:09:10 · answer #1 · answered by Aaron 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Leonardo Da Vinci had the same problem. What he did was work on something until he got bored, then start the second project. When he got bored with that one he would come back to the first project and so forth. That is the sign of a very creative person. Being creative and all that is good but it means nothing if you don't have the discipline to finish things up.
You can train your mind to develop discipline. Take on an activity that forces you to keep a routine in which you will see little progress for 2 or 3 moths when you start seeing the progress you will also see progress in the discipline area. Good luck, show us a finished piece.
2006-10-13 09:39:12 · answer #2 · answered by Lumas 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Making art is like making love, you've got to listen to your passion, one can't simply "make art for the sake of making art." Experimenting with different mediums is natural and fantastic, the issue here seems to be procrastination. When you procrastinate, you don't give something your best shot, you don't finish, because you don't have to answer to anything. When it's not done, you have an excuse not to show. Or you can present shoddy work and say "Oh, well, there wasn't enough time." You can create false scenarios where you "Save the day" by waiting until the last minute to make a piece. Sometimes the looming deadline is the motivation, and not the joy of creating the piece itself.
Examine your fears, and what it means to finalize a piece. What would it take for your passions to overcome your fears? It is an excruciating process to be an artist, it is constant public exposure, where you reveal yourself to others through your work: that's freakin' scary!!!
Staying true to your work, mastering your skills, listening to criticism and not letting it destroy you, not taking it personally, these are some of the things that help you to finish pieces.
Try Twyla Tharp's "The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life." Sage advice from a successful artist herself who is no stranger to the difficulties of the muse!
Hope this is helpful!
2006-10-13 09:40:01 · answer #3 · answered by jpi5 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try mixing your media. Do a drawing, finish by painting part of it, include a photograph. Or just leave the individual pieces imcomplete for a while, and see about coming back to them later. You could also reconsider your definition of "finished", or just tell your muse not to have such a short attention span.
2006-10-13 09:13:26 · answer #4 · answered by francesfarmer 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
While you're off on one of your "kicks" and start to get itchy to do something else, try remembering the reason for your initial inspiration.
If that doesn't work, then tell yourself that for one week (or however long it takes) you're going to work in one medium only. And stick to it!
I mainly work in pencil, but often have these urges to go off to another medium. When I find myself not finishing a piece, this is what I do.
Good Luck!!
2006-10-13 09:14:43 · answer #5 · answered by Rembrandt11 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋