Even though imaginary, a Passion Meter is an irreplaceable tool. Keep yours calibrated and near at hand. Go ahead and envision one now — make it similar to an applause meter. Put Boring / Shoot me Now on the left and go up to Fascinating / My Teeth Ache to Paint This on the right.
Follow your own guidance. You’ve got too many other things that you could be doing to get trapped in a creative adventure that doesn’t bring you joy or have enough passion behind it to propel you through the work. Painting and drawing can be hard; constant decision making with no sure outcome can be exhausting. The process is MUCH easier for both you and your Muse if you are genuinely passionate.
If you align with your deeper purpose, the fire of your passion will increase. Trust your instincts. This isn’t forced labor. You can spend a lot of energy motivating yourself to go in the wrong direction. Pay attention – close attention – to where your passions reside. Attention to inner directives is a skill that you can develop.
Your meter can be used to compare options if you’re not sure what to paint or draw. Before you start, run through a list of questions so that you know which of the possibilities holds the most interest.
Professionally, I’ll manually crank the meter to Sustained Interest if it’s a commission, but if it’s a day when I am free range, I want the meter to be high.
Use it in a museum to learn more about your particular interests. It may be a type of light… or surface.
Some situations don’t have high ranking subjects, but, as I like to draw and paint, usually just about anything will be at the Good Practice and Moderately Appealing mark. So if I’m stuck somewhere, I just relax, select the best, and begin.
Your passions are unique to you alone. Join a tribe if you have enough in common, but don’t try to share the exact same impulses. As an example of how personal the choice it, let’s look the recent paintings by two sisters:
The above painting is the seventh in a series inspired by non-fiction books about current issues in the world. Ruth Kennedy Grant, MD takes books that have made an impact on her. She creates an image to convey the essence of it. Her painting are conceptual. She wants them to have a jarring edginess in order to make you think.
Lake Champlain VT
Lillian Kennedy 8X10 acrylic
My heart has guided me to gaze at a cliff for hours on end this week. I know that this would be torture for most people, but it’s bliss for me. I feel lost in geological time as I paint my little prayer to Mother Nature.
Both of us are being true to our authentic impulses. These passions will shift — let them shift . You will know when they do change because you will lose interest. You’ll be able to tell if it’s a real change or avoidance if you have a carefully calibrated internalized passion meter.
Assignment: Paint or draw your heart out.
Wow, did I need your wisdom at this particular moment in my life. I have been wavering between doing oils and watercolors and pouring, but can’t seem to settle on one thing. I realized recently that I don’t have to. I can do all of it and not feel pressured by any particular thing, if I go with your meter idea. For instance, in the oils arena, my tastes are changing. I used to paint only landscapes because that was what I felt most comfortable with. The last oil I did, however, is the portrait of a ewe. I will send you a picture through email.
Acrylic pouring has become a new passion, and I love it because it is so freeing. However, I know that the same principles apply to those paintings that apply to any other piece of two dimensional art: composition, focal point, etc. I credit that to you, my dear. Thank you so much for being my teacher and my friend.
This is a wonderful lesson. It is always a mystery how I choose what to paint. I used to walk around for miles, waiting to see a light effect. Now I seem to find subjects easier, maybe I am more in tune with my inner directives!
This week I wandered around trying to choose a subject on a hot, humid afternoon. A car pulled up and I thought they were going to ask me for directions. Instead the driver asked me if I needed help finding my way. She said I looked “disoriented”! I decided to give up and go home without painting and on the way home I saw a view that sparked my passion and I was off to paint.
I love your words “If you align with your deeper purpose, the fire of your passion will increase”.
Thanks for another thoughtful and important lesson.
Janette
Wonderful as always. Two talented sisters. Your lake champlain piece brings calm ♥️