Every day is a new day.

One of my dear friends wrote this to me today, “Also it feels lonely often. There is no real measurement, none that satisfies, or if it does, it doesn't last a day!”

In my life I have done many things, I learned to fly aeroplanes because I thought how thrilling and exciting it would be, but it’s not, you have to be perfect and boring, and a non incident flight is considered good? I was bored, I wanted excitement, so I stopped flying and I am sure the flying public is grateful.

I loved surfing but after a few years when you can do it well it kind of becomes boring and the only great thrill is surfing larger and larger waves and it slowly becomes living a death wish, so I stopped that.

The only thing that has ever truly satisfied me is Art, it is certainly not boring and it is scary, more scary than big waves. Why?

Because every day it is like you start from the beginning again, not in your ability to create but with the constant struggle within.

I work all day to quieten the scary and finally it is quiet and I have accomplished a lot and pushed the boundaries and then next morning I wake up and find the “thief” is wide awake and already on a roll.

It says,“ today take it easy, don’t work so hard, have a rest you did good work yesterday, rest on your laurels, it’s ok not to do a video today or write a blog, you do enough,” and it does not stop until I pick up the phone and do the video.

Then the “thief” is quiet, it lost the first round.

As soon as the video is over the scary starts again, “It’s ok if you don’t do a blog today no one will notice, hey you are running out of material anyway, people will see you are a phony and criticise you,” so I type my blog and the scary is quiet again, it lost again, but I can assure you it will be up before me tomorrow morning and have even more reasons why I should rest and have a slow day.

Why?

It wants quiet, no threats, no problems, it wants me to surrender to mediocrity because that is safe, it wants safe.

Yes I am satisfied at the end of the day but I know I will wake tomorrow to that uneasy feelings of self doubt, fear, aloneness and that pressing urge to run away.

What happened to that wonderful feeling of satisfaction of last evening?

Well it’s a new day and the thief might have been defeated yesterday but it is back even stronger for today.

That’s what I love about Art, the constant daily struggle, the sense of a life and death struggle with the “thief”, the scary, that’s what makes an Artist, knowing every day if you want to make great Art and that you will need to fight to win today and then again the next day and the next day and the next, to accomplish great Art.

The “thief” is tenacious and will not stop, yes you can defeat it today, but it will be back again tomorrow, you can count on that.

If you eventually do give into the “thief,’ yes you will still paint but it will become repetitive and average and you will wonder where the thrill has gone.

It is in the daily battle with that scary “thief” that great bodies of work are created, not in the common, average and mediocre.

To be an Artist, you will need to be satisfied with dissatisfaction and prepare each day for the battle with the enemy within, defeat it today and create beautiful original Artwork.

Tomorrow is a new day, be prepared, the “thief” cometh.

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