I Know Now

Never for long, go do something fun. I find I get ideas from experiences.

Drive? Motivation is the word for it.

Blaine creativity comes and goes. That does not mean it is gone.

A clear head will lead to much better work. Enjoy the journey.

Dave

I don't find myself losing the drive so much as seeing it get buried by other priorities.
Family, job, house, bills, sleep, etc.

Joe Burgess
jb-imagery.com

Blaine,

For the last 40 years, I've had to maintain a Drive for Art...For that's how I paid my bills.

i've never lost a drive for art, and i've never been on drugs.

in any case i've always done some kind of art. stained glass, photography, digital art, colorization, and so on. if your an artist you have to create. it's simply a compulsion.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

............... I find I get ideas from experiences.

Never lost my drive-just wish there were more time for painting.

Blaine

When you get the answer on how to get it back, let me know :) Happens to me EVERY time I finish a new painting

generally if it stops after each painting it means you have a creative reserve. sort of a stockpile of creative energy where you have to build it up again. it will happen to me if i'm pushing the creative boundaries. you go mind blank. only time fixes it. typically i'll get a good idea while i'm doing the thing i'm doing. or i'll sort stuff like textures i took. something mindless so your brain can relax again.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Abbie - that's probably just mental exhaustion.

With me - it's just being alive fatigue. I find myself just worn out and I can't find a spark to start the engine any more.

Have you ever had the drive or interest without weed? If not, you never had it to begin with

Mike and Edward, yes, I think you are right. I put a LOT into my paintings and what you say makes sense

Not easy for me to be creative on demand,.....(is equivalent to trying too hard)

I work thru dry spells by varying my surroundings or just exploring new techniques.

There are times I'll shoot a location for hours,..then on the drive home,..stop to quickly capture something I see,..

and it will surpass what I set out to shoot in the first place.

Staying open minded, observant and spontaneous seems to work.

Gotta keep doing it though,...it's a natural high.

Marty Saccone

carry a sketch book with you and draw anthing that comes to mind.

what Marty said " work through dry spells."
If you treat your art as your job ( a wonderful one) then you keep working, keep honing, exploring and staying engaged in the process.
OR you could alter your reality when you have the opportunity and do art when the mood so hits you....and then you can validate your theory that you can only do art when high on something.

I've always chosen high on life.

I sniff oxygen. And some nitrogen.

Dave

Yes, you'll hit dry spells. I do, everyone does! The desire comes back though, if art is really a part of you it will always come back. You can push through it by trying new stuff... I bet the drive will be back, you're in a time of change now, when things calm down you'll be looking to paint again.

"I sniff oxygen. And some nitrogen."

Let me guess: 21% oxygen and 79% nitrogen?

i am a bit curious though, while not high, draw a picture. i'm curious how it compares to the others.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

David:
Would that be:
N2O = Nitrous Oxide
NO2 = Nitrogen Dioxide
or simply NO = Nitric Oxide

or are all of those no-nos?

I've kind of lost the drive... hoping it will come back soon.

Might be related to mild depression -- it's been raining a lot, and I'm kind of dissatisfied with everything right now. Even chocolate.

Or the fact that my schedule at home is off balance (get out the paints, then might get interrupted & have to put them down),

Or the fact that I've got a problem with this particular painting that I haven't solved yet. Sometimes solving the art problems is the fun part, this particular one isn't fun, it's just annoying, and fixing it may involve repainting a whole huge area that was difficult to get right.

hell, once i took a 4 year break!