Purposeful Procrastination

As I write I am procrastinating waking my son up for daycare so I can diligently get to work on time but instead I chose to write this article based on Clint Watson's article in Fine Art Views Newsletter called "Why Great Artists Should Procrastinate". I think I agree with the title of the article but also think we need to procrastinate purposefully. We still need to get all of our chores done and wake up our children, and go to work or school and get the dishes done. It is a choice to paint that idea you have in your head before you do all of those things but is it purposeful? or do you just not want to lose the idea?

This happens all the time. We get inspired and if the idea doesn't get on canvass we tend to lose the idea or it pitters to nothing as we finish all the day to day activities. I say that's good. Who wants to paint something that can be easily forgotten? If you forgot about it, likely your viewers will look at it, like it, but a month later, the picture melds into their minds along with all the other pictures they've seen that month.

To paint something memorable, I theorize that we must procrastinate from painting our ideas right away. If the idea sticks when your done your chores or finished another paintning, or get caught up on your accounting, etc., and it's as clear as the first moment it came to your mind, then that piece will be good if not great. If the idea kind of pitters off or you think about 3 or 4 other ideas equally as good, or you just sort of forget about it because some other idea was more striking, then obviously, the first idea may not be a masterpiece that sells as fast as you'd like.

I could have written this article after work, or at lunch but didn't. This is not purposeful procrastination and will not likely make a mark on my gravestone.

Over and out.