How To Enjoy The Process

There will be many times when we won't look good—to ourselves or anyone else. We need to stop demanding that we do. It is impossible to get better and look good at the same time. Remember that in order to recover as an artist, you must be willing to be a bad artist. Give yourself permission to be a beginner. By being... See more

My entire philosophy of how I organize myself as a working painter can be summed up by something George Carlin said: “Just keep movin’ straight ahead. Every now and then you find yourself in a different place.”

You hear a lot in art school about how painters must continue to “grow” and “evolve”—but I think those are such bullshit words. There is... See more

Having 'potential' in your mind, feels better than failure in reality. This ego-cushion prevents millions from creating their life's work. Once you feel it- physically- that cushion becomes painful, like a tumor you have to remove. And you only get it out one way. By identifying not with goals, but with output. You should feel dead inside if you... See more

“Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of [lightning] to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself.” 

— Chuck Close, artist

I think that one of the things, again, my son has been such a blessing to me over the past couple of years because I think that is an example of I almost missed him. I was so focused on solving him and preparing the path for him with his ADHD and his challenges there that I was exerting my efficacy on his life, and I almost didn’t know him. And... See more

“It’s the everlasting switching that’s the dangerous thing, not what they choose — while others actually build a life in which things gain meaning and significance, this is not true for the restless.” writes Sheila Heti in How should a person be. She continues with “The antidote — to build on things they have begun and not abandon their plans as... See more

I’ve found myself wanting to get out of the liminal place I’ve been floating in — wanting it to be done already, wanting to arrive in clarity, wanting to feel more certain or sure about what I’m supposed to be doing and how I should be doing it. Part of me feels like this pressure to “get there” comes from the false belief that there is anywhere... See more