Necessity of Rhythm

Because an artist works for no one but himself, his life is not caught up in the daily grind of imposed schedules. Yet, it is very important for an artist to have some kind of a rhythm in his life. Every artist knows that in order to impose some kind of order on his life he must formulate a certain routine. This is why almost all serious artists turn themselves into creatures of habit. They create some kind of rhythm to bring disciplined order to their lives.

Like everyone else, an artist cannot function without this discipline. The idea of the “free”, “bohemian”, “impulsive” artist tends to create the impression that the artist is this wild unruly person who does whatever he pleases, whenever he pleases. This cannot be further from the truth. Without discipline there is no art. Similarly, having daily rituals is very important, even though these rituals might sometimes appear to be almost absurd: Waking up at a certain time every morning, walking into your studio at a certain hour, having a cup of coffee with friends at a certain coffee shop, painting for at least so many hours a day, wearing specific clothes when you paint…These rituals create a kind of conditioning, a sort of ritualistic atmosphere, in which the body reacts to the stimuli and automatically becomes creative.