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What motivates us to do the things we do?  For some, it is a pursuit of money for survival to excess.  Some seek recognition, to make their presence stand out from the crowd of humanity.  For some, it is service to others, a compassion for those with less.  Some seek tranquility in a world of chaos and craziness. Physical improvement to support healthy life is common. Sadly, there are some who are motivated by hate and a love of violence. Everything we do is motivated by something – nothing done is without it.

As artists, we choose the master we serve.  Is it producing product for money?  Is it sharing an inner vision?  Is it making a statement – political or social? Or could it be to reveal to the world our unique experience of living?

For a number of years I have painted the same landscapes and subjects.  I enjoy it, and feel comfortable doing it.  The creations have a sense of place, and connect with collectors.  They are infused with a love for the land, and it shows.  The media of choice was acrylic on canvas, and I explored the paints to a high level of understanding.  Creatively, I was cranking right along.

A rumble of change came along, a subtle, intuitive sense that business as usual wouldn’t cut it much longer.  It was time to actively seek growth – I was motivated to do more.  What would be the vehicle?  Time is a very precious commodity for me, and the option of traveling to a workshop for a creative transfusion really wasn’t an option.  What was it going to take?

I stumbled across a website showing the work of Carol Marine (www.carolmarine.com) who is a daily painter.  Her work was bright, happy, and varied.  I bought her book “Daily Painting” – a great encouragement for artists of any experience level – and made the decision to give it a try.  Thirty days, thirty paintings.  I would put away my acrylics, and go back to my first love, oil paint.  I would choose subject matter that would challenge me to loosen up, use colors outside my usual palette.  Subjects varied from table settings to the great pumpkin to the front end of an old Camaro.  I painted nothing with a goal in mind other than to learn from each work. Some things worked, some didn't.  To add urgency, I posted the work online. In the end, I was exhausted creatively, but when I looked around the studio, there was a fresh energy, a renewed heart for what I truly loved – creating art.

My own motivation was from a sense of change in the market (and clients) I was serving. I needed a creative jump start. It was also a deep prompting that we are always growing, experiencing within and without.  To stop is to be stagnant and eventually become frozen and mechanical.  Our blessing as artists is that we have a calling to create in physical form what others can only glimpse in their imaginations.  Isn’t that motivation a challenge to all of us?