Monday Motivator: Imagining vs Creating

"Imagining is what you do in your head; creating is what you do on paper... Creativity is a lot like happiness. It shows up when you're thinking of something else ... wanting to be creative is all about you. It is a goal, not an action. Goals are about the future. Actions are about the present."
-- Bert Dodson in the introduction to his book Keys to Drawing with Imagination, p6.

If one of your New Year's resolutions was to paint more often and, five days into 2009 you've already found you're not, it's time to stop thinking, wishing, or worrying about it and get your act together. Forget creating great art or painting masterpieces; any art is more than nothing.

Focus on the act of creation, of putting brush to paint and then to paper or canvas, not what you desire the finished painting to look like. Wishing won't create it and while you may not be producing the painting you dream of, you're closer to doing so only if you are actually painting.

Print a copy of the free Painting Quotes Calendar and tick the boxes on the days you paint. You'll soon see if you're mostly creating or mostly thinking about it.

See Also:
• New Year's Resolutions for Painters
• Your Art-Related Resolutions for 2009
• How to Keep a Resolution (From About.com Psychology)