Passion
I follow these guys fairly religiously, checking their website everyday for updates. I remember reading about how they would spend hours working until 5am on a project, which reminded me of the times I did that. There was a period where when I looked back on my art days, all I could remember was poor sleeping habits, scavenging for food in the house at odd hours and bleary eyes from not seeing daylight. Looking at it that way, I’m not surprised that a part of me hated it in retrospect. Though at the time, when I was in my ‘hermit phases’ I always thought it was good, and now, looking back on it again, I’m beginning to miss those nights.
Despite the obvious health/lifestyle drawbacks, the feeling of passion knowing that you’re learning and pushing your art to the next level was amazing. I (and I think most artists do) have this feeling that even though you’re up at a ridiculous hour while the rest of the world is sleeping living a normal life, that somehow this act of creativity is crucial in putting the pieces of your life together. Each piece of work is another stepping stone towards something higher, the more you do it, the higher you go.
I guess it’s not that epic for everyone, but that’s how it felt for me and I miss that. Even the act of creating something, it felt good. I work as a graphic designer now and while I used to think graphic design is boring, I actually enjoy what I’m doing. Creating things is fun, not just the process, but I feel like it represents artistic (and in some cases personal) growth and the end result is evidence of that growth.
The easiest way to sum it up is, you put all that time and effort into something and it’s nice to know that at the end of the day, you actually have something to show for it.
