
Poster exhibit at the Pompidou Center
I've noticed that working on my art takes a different type of motivation then when I do work for other people. When I work at a job or do client work, it's all done on someone else's deadline. But when I work on my own schedule, I find I need new ways to keep producing work without that external pressure.
"Only finishing work that has a deadline stems from honoring other people's needs more than your own." writes Jessica Hoffman in her book
With creative work, it's easy to give up when things get too hard. We might get frustrated with a technique, set down our tools, and then not pick them again. Without that pressure from the outside, we might convince ourselves that it's better to give up.
Those who continue to make art are those who have learned how to continue—or more precisely, have learned how to not quit.
—David Bayles & Ted Orland Art & Fear
It's been shown that when students graduate from art school, many of them never make art again. The process of making art is one of continually stopping and starting again because if we stop and don't start again, we have actually quit.
So how do you keep the momentum going without burning out? One idea that really clicked for me is the idea of not pushing yourself too hard. Steven Pressfield talks about this in relation to horse training in his book
Probably the best way I've found to keep the momentum going is to do a little work at the same time every day. I find that working a little every day (seven days a week) goes a lot further than working longer only a few days a week. It's just easier to work at the same time of day because that's what we're in the habit of doing.
You try to sit down at approximately the same time every day. This is how you train your unconscious to kick in for you creatively.
—Anne Lamott Bird by Bird
Finally, something that really keeps me motivated is looking at the work of fellow artists. You know that feeling you get after seeing an art exhibit that you love? You just want to go home and make some art yourself. David Bayles and Ted Orland agree that learning from other artists makes us brave, "What artists learn from other artists... is courage by association."
Since it's not possible to constantly visit museums and galleries (especially now with the pandemic) I try to recreate that inspiration on my own. I read a lot of books about artists and try to learn about their process as much as possible. For living artists, I check out their websites and follow them on social media. Simply seeing other artists putting work out there inspires me to do the same.