Grand Teton National Park, July 2012

Are you learning your personal rhythms?  For me, this continues to be one of the most difficult aspects of the creative life.   Nothing is static- talent, energy, optimism, ideas, hand skills… everything ebbs and flows.  The flowing part is great.  I love that.

What about the ebbs?  After a quarter century of image making, a few things are becoming clear.  I need to remind myself of them, so I’ll share them here in case you might be encouraged, too.

1)  Expect the rhythms of life- times of filling up and times of pouring out.

I can plan on January being a harder month than May.   Creative energy has ups and downs, like everything else in life.   Are you wisely accommodating your personal rhythms?  Are you avoiding feeling bad about yourself for having them?

Are you giving yourself permission to have a season of renewal?

I can’t produce art all the time without burning out.  The creative well must be replenished from time to time.    Are you giving yourself permission to take time off?  Time to read, watch instructional videos, go to museums?  Time to daydream?

Sometimes the best way to grow as a painter is to stop painting for a while.

Resting in Yellowstone, 2010

2)  A peak must be reached by climbing

Peak performance is made possible by the climbing we do to reach the peak.   Are you expecting periods of time spent feeling awkward, unable to control the paint, or stumbling around searching for an idea?  Even wondering if you have any talent after all?   Climbing is hard.

In those seasons, I need to think, “Oh yeah, this again.  Right on schedule.”

3)  Peaks cannot be maintained indefinitely

If growth is the goal, we have to leave the last peak to reach the foothills of the next one.  Sorry, self, but we’re moving on toward higher peaks, which means that in between you may experience some valleys.   So grab some trail mix and let’s go.

(Yes, self, I’m saying that going higher is going to sometimes feel like going lower on the way.

Any questions?)

Onward and upward.

Hiking in Dubois, WY July 2012