What is the food that creativity thrives on? I guess it's different for everyone. I used to be an "early to bed, early to rise" kind of girl, grooving on the early start and painting on a 9 - 5. And I took a certain pleasure in reading about all the artists who did the same: Jennifer Bartlett, Elizabeth Murray...up at the crack of dawn to put in a good day's work. And they have kids, just like me. Now here I am, two beers and a few hours past everyone else's bedtime, still glowing with some kind of 120 watt bulb that manages to illuminate the creative process for me, if only until I fall from fatigue. What is it about a box of paints, a piece of paper, and some good music I've never heard before? I can't help but feel like this is the elixir, the fountain of youth...it's like love, or jumping off the roof of your garage for the very first time...
Even though I don't drink beer, or anything else fun (not even coffee--sigh), anymore, I get what you mean about that late-night buzz of creativity. It's one of the few constants in my life that I can trace straight back to my youthful creative self. And thankfully, it's one of the few things that's gotten better with age. Staying up into the wee hours when I was 20 usually got me a lousy piece of writing. Period. Today, staying up gets me a lousy piece of writing with the potential of being a pretty okay, not-too-bad piece of writing. Ah, progress!
ReplyDeletexo Gigi
Good morning - I just had to stop by and leave you a note because you have the most wonderfully fabulous blog. I've loved reading your interesting posts, all very creative and great pictures too. What could be more perfect ? Thanks for sharing them all and best wishes...
ReplyDeleteThanks, Elise! I'll look forward to exploring your blog...I'm always eager to share material from other areas of the arts with my painting students, and yours looks like a rich source. Have a lovely day.
ReplyDeleteNancy
What kind of paints do you have there?
ReplyDeleteVal -- it's Holbein Gouache. The good stuff!
ReplyDeleteYes the creative muse always seems to come to me late in the night and I am definitely not a morning person. Love the paints you have there, makes me want to dive in right now and create something.
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