Farmer’s don’t wait for the perfect weather: so artists shouldn’t wait for the muse

 I talked to a local farmer today: “The harvest should be pretty good this year,” he said. It occurred to me as an artist, how at one point in the creation process I often think, “This may just turn out the way I want it to.”

And sometimes the artworks do and sometimes they don’t. While I can control part of the process, there’s a part – the muse – that is a lot like the weather is for farmers.

Preparation is one key

As an artist I can do certain key things: I can do a thumbnails, block it in on a canvas or paper, and finish it.

Farmers prepare the equipment, prepare the soil, and plant the seeds. They put in the work and sometimes the weather just doesn’t cooperate. Like Farmers, that can happen to us artists too – the muse abandons us. But unlike the farmers, many artists sit and wait for the muse to strike, or until they feel a burst of creativity. We artist must continue to do the work. We can’t wait on the muse or a burst of creativity to strike.

Imagine, if a farmer thought to himself in the spring: “This year doesn’t look like it will rain enough. I’ll just not plant this season.” That doesn’t work. They have to put in the work and so do we. Artists should always be painting or planting the seeds for the next painting. We need to trust the muse will come and rain down upon us to help us grow.