
Waiting for the Muse
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[caption id="attachment_751" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="San Francisco based Artist & CEO"]
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Collectors will ask me if I have to wait for the muse to show up before I begin a painting. The answer is no.
Why? Two reasons. Number one, too often it would be a very long wait. And number two, the landlord will not wait for their check.
The fact is that it’s during the act of creating that I receive inspiration. And the more I paint, the more chances I have to be inspired.
Now if I’m working on a painting and I really feel like it’s working against me, it’s just plain ugly. Then the best strategy is to walk away.
I’ll let it sit and when I return I can see it with much more clarity. This perspective helps me understand what's working and what's not.
It’s kind of like life and relationships. I get along with most of my paintings but every now and then I come across a real pill.
And that’s okay because these pills give me feedback and I learn the most from them. After I’ve critiqued the failures I destroy them so that I may release them.
So no, there’s no waiting for the muse if you want to earn your living as a painter. When I show up, creativity and inspiration show up.
