“Inspiration is for amateurs — the rest of us just show up and get to work” writes painter Chuck Close. I think it is actually a great quote about creativity, and against naivety.
The people that are the most creative are those that devote themselves to a creative discipline, which simply involves a lot of work. And this discipline is also the only remedy known against Resistance, which will try to impede you of being creative and break new ground.
Chuck Close continues: “And the belief that things will grow out of the activity itself and that you will — through work — bump into other possibilities and kick open other doors that you would never have dreamt of if you were just sitting around looking for a great ‘art idea.”
Because connections will only be created if you invest yourself in the work. They won’t happen by themselves.
Read the full Chuck Close interview in ‘Chuck Close on Creativity, Work Ethic, and Problem-Solving vs. Problem-Creating‘, a great paper on many things related to creativity.
