Creativity is about an endless struggle of self-expression, about attaining perfection with each creation, and producing an endless amount of wonderful artwork. Is not it?
Well, if you want creativity to be a constant struggle, pressure and something that you rarely enjoy, then yes that's a good way to go about it.
What we so often forget in our creative lives is one little word that makes a world of difference to our experience as creative artists.
That word is fun.
Your first reaction might be: "Hang on there, you're saying as an artist, you mean I'm actually meant to ENJOY creating?"
This is simply evidence of the beliefs you already hold around what it means to create, and what an artist "should" be like it.
And these kind of beliefs mean that your creative life is one endless source of stress and pain, rather than the source of enjoyment and freedom it could be.
So how can you change this around?
There are different areas you can consider. One of the key ones that causes problems here is the whole idea that you need to have some kind of highly efficient production line, and that if you're not churning out amazing new artwork each and every day you have no right to call yourself an artist.
Be honest, what would you rather have? Art that naturally evolves, that you enjoy creating, that is fun at each stage and enriches your life? Or art that feels forever like a complicated and painful birth, that you can never really enjoy during the creative process, and that after, instead of being proud of what you've created, you simply disassociate yourself from, because of the difficult experience it's caused?
Put another way, it's the process versus product argument.
Do you want to have some kind of creative machine, a conveyor belt that churns out new art daily, or a real human artist, who's enjoying and learning from each stage of the creative process, and with each new piece of artwork you create?
The next time you create, put the production line mentally to one side. Just try it, just for one project. Make the sole aim of this new project to enjoy, to explore something new in creating, to experiment in a media or technique you've always wanted to try.
As soon as you detach yourself from the expectation of creating something perfect each time, and shift your focus back to enjoying the wonderful adventures your creativity can take you on, you'll realize that you've remembered how to enjoy your creativity again.
And that can only lead to one thing – a happy, creative artist.