— As much as I love how creative you can be in short bursts of 20 or 30 minutes — and there’s no question, you can make some really amazing stuff in short bursts — for more elaborate compositions the only way they’ll really ever come about is if you set aside substantial blocks of time and immerse yourself in the work.
This amazing piece by AWAKE artist Lauren Martin makes for a great example.
I asked her, and it took at least four separate 4-hour blocks.
Trying to piece together something of this complexity and have it turn out looking this professional simply takes that kind of commitment.
And if you’re like most artists, you can’t really hope to find your creative flow while crafting something of this magnitude if you’re dipping in for only 10 or 15 minutes at a time.
Of course, the thing about making time for your art is you kinda have to MAKE it.
Unless you’re very lucky (and retired) 4-hour blocks of uninterrupted distraction-free time don’t just pop up on their own.
So you need to say “No” to some things and put aside some of the trivial stuff that otherwise wastes your time.
In other words, you make the time by dismissing all the other stuff that would otherwise fill it.
Ultimately, if the end result is truly important to you, all you can do is make the time and throw yourself into it every day. That’s just what it takes if you dream of creating staggeringly impressive art.
If you’ve never worked in long uninterrupted blocks of time, I encourage you to give it a try. Even if it’s just once a week — one morning, one afternoon, one evening, whenever you can fit it in.
Turn off your phone. Close Facebook. Hang a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on your door. Then take the plunge.
I think you’ll be astonished at the kinds of breakthroughs you’ll experience after the first hour or so, once you hit your stride and slip into your peak flow state.
And the rewards will come. Because the artwork you create when you immerse yourself in this way will soon be on a whole other level. What’s more, your creative life will take on a depth of importance to you that it might otherwise never have.
Which in the end is kind of the whole point.
~ Sebastian