ROUTINE & DISIPLINE
I will always come back to some things in my life, like old good friends, after not meeting for a very long time, picking up where I left off, filling in the missing details as I go along.
In case you haven’t noticed, ART is one of those “things”. Another is RUNNING. I love to run. The freedom, the agelessness, meditation, the collecting of thoughts (wrote my MA while running), and of course the great feeling after.
I began to run in high school after a very bad bout of bronchitis. I wasn’t much of an athlete. Like most of the girls in my class, I tried to sit out of the gym. My instructress told me to get moving, I told her that I had a doctor's note. She called the doctor and called my bluff. We were getting ready for a big track meet. I was placed in a relay. Found out that I was quite good at long distance. From that moment on, the rest was history. Running is often considered a sport of competition, which is true if you are a professional athlete. Most of us runners are in it for fun. Races are a way to keep up the enthusiasm of training (because at one stage it can become monotonous and boring). Not everybody likes to compete. I know quite a few runners, including, yours truly, that just RUN.
Black and White “Organic Fantasies”-1 & 2, INK on Linen Paper 210gm, 19.5/19.5cm, 7.8”/7.8”
@All Rights Reserved to Barbara Adler 2021
Running taught me a lot about getting things done. If I want to take a trail run through a beautiful forest, I must be prepared. The first thing is routine and discipline. Routine, meaning that there are set days and times to train. Discipline means showing up, doing the training by plan, pacing oneself not only by speed but also by quantity and quality. Overtraining and undertraining can both cause injury. Both can mean that one does not get to go on that planned beautiful trail run.
“Experiments” 1 & 2 -INKS on Linen Paper210gm, 19.5/19.5cm, 7.8”/7.8”
@All Rights Reserved to Barbara Adler 2021
So, how does all this tie into art?
There are misconceptions about artists and doing art. True, if the muses are about, the process and progress flow. False, we cannot rely on those muses to create. They are very strange. When you call them, they disappear, but if you just show up to work every day as you would with a regular job, with a plan of how to proceed, they hang around and pop up.
In that case, we artists need routine and discipline. We have to be careful not to “overtrain”, causing “burnt-out”. We have to be careful not to undertrain as this will cause the decline of ideas and unprofessionalism in our artworks. An artist’s work is not only made up of romantic studio hours. It is made up of taking stock of materials. Purchasing materials. Experimenting with materials. Practicing techniques. Planning paintings. Planning exhibits. Planning and taking action for visibility both physically and on social media. Interacting and sharing our artwork and progress with our beloved audience. And, of course, actually doing “our thing” with much love and inner contemplation. I actually work with a calendar and planner, otherwise, I will be all over the place, being pulled in every direction. Literally, not getting anything done.
How does my day look? It always starts with an early morning run or a walk. Then a bit of social media with my morning coffee. Then, STUDIO! Either writing or painting, depending on the day. What I write or paint, that’s for a different blog.
Artists, do your thing!
Everybody needs art. There is Art for everyone’s state of mind, desires, and tastes. Take a break, reflect and delve into some of my art, to my stories.
All the works on this blog are for sale and are Barbara Adler originals. I love talking about my art, so feel free to DM/contact me regarding my art and possibly making it yours.
See more of my art on my website:
BAArtworks.com
Or follow my process and progress on:
Instagram.com/barbara_adler_art