I'll begin by confessing I have not done any art thus far today. This may or may not change and certainly was not the plan for today. What can I tell you, I have no artistic discipline. I have been avoiding my blog though. I knew I was several days behind and the thought of trying to catchup just put me off. Today I am pleased with myself if only because I am (as of this post), caught up on my blog and I have uploaded all my latest pieces to the website. Luckily I am more disciplined with Instagram.
I am actually glad that I signed up to Instagram. I debated it for a good while as I had recently deleted my personal account. As it turns out, the artist community on Instagram are a lovely supportive lot. Also being able to follow other artists at all levels can be quite cheering. Instagram reminds me how long it has been since I uploaded work, and therefore how long it has been since I did any. That little nudge is often enough to make me do something.
Anyway, all up to date and I thought I'd write about the parallel between art and exercise. One thing I noticed was happening with me was I felt I needed to complete a piece of work (even just a sketch), every day. This meant that every day I thought about doing art it was with the pressure of knowing if I started anything I needed to complete it, and that it should be completed to a good standard. As soon as you start adding provisos like this it puts you off. Well it puts me off anyway. I found that this was stopping me from getting on and doing something, or at least making me far more anxious about starting than was necessary.
Out walking one day while listening to an art podcast, it occurred to me that art and fitness are a lot alike. I do regular exercise mainly. While I always want to be more toned and fit than I am, I mainly keep at it most days so that I don't lose any ground. Some days I do a lot and some a little. Some days my calorie burn is great and another day it is miserly. The point is I keep at it because I know that any exercise is good exercise. Good or bad, by doing it I may have increased my muscle mass or fitness a little, or at worst I have at least ensured I've stayed fit enough to do better next time.
As I walked I realised I needed to look at my art in the same way. Not every day will result in a masterpiece, or even a finished piece. Many days you are just building up a little muscle and stamina, moving your skill level or confidence up a notch, or at worse you are stopping yourself from slipping back. Each piece of work you do, even uncompleted, is a little exercise in its own right. You wouldn't go out and do a three hour hike and immediately assume you were fit enough to climb a mountain. So why would you assume one completed piece of art will magically elevate you? Just as my ultimate aim is to be as slim, toned and fit as is reasonable for me, my ultimate aim for my art is to be a really good artist. Just as my exercise includes all manner of things now and I appreciate that I'll likely only be really fit in one area, so my art includes all manner of subjects and medium now, but one day I'll likely have one area I'm really getting good at. I'll still dabble in the others of course. These things come with time.
For now I'm pushing for the fitness and will change it up as it suits me. Just as I'm pushing for technical ability. I'll change it up as it suits me. As with anything done regularly, your ability will increase with time and as it does you may find a particular discipline which you do especially well in that takes precedence. That's my artistic aim and my physical aim. I say this recognising that I may well stay with an assortment of exercise formats and artistic styles. And that is fine too. As long as I feel I am making the most of the body or ability I have then I know I'll be content.
The takeaway point is this: every bit of art, no matter how small is like doing exercise. You can only ever benefit from doing something, no matter how small. No one activity is going to get you where you want to be, it's the accumulated body of work (in both senses), that will tell the time and effort you've put in. Appreciate every little effort and know it's a journey that may have no end.
Side Note: I've made a provisional start back into yoga this week. Well, stretches anyway. It's a start.
Comments