This last week I was playing in the park with my boy, when I saw a scene that reminded me of a quote from my mom. On one side of the playground was a family of a mom and 4 boys, all of which had long hair and very earthy clothing. On the other side of the field was a group of marine/core men (all with buzz cut hair dews), playing a very intense game of flag football. These groups couldn’t have been any different, yet to embrace the ideas of both are extremely valuable with being an artist.
The quote my mom told me when I was younger was “an artist should have the freedom of a gypsy and the discipline of a militant.” What’s amazing is that to be an artist you do need to implement both ideas. On one end, you need to have the freedom and flexibility of a gypsy. Free to explore and to not be bogged down by rules. Yet at the same time, to have the discipline and boundaries of a militant are extremely important as well.
I use this idea all the time with my own artwork and try to find balance whenever necessary. The best way I have found so far is to be strict with my time and materials, but loose in my process. For example, the militant side for me is used for setting up deadlines, times when I paint (whether I feel like it or not), and pigments I use (often restricting my color choices to 3-5). The gypsy side, on the other hand, is the playful side that comes out when I start painting.
Another way to think of it is the militant side sets up a fence, and the gypsy side plays within the fenced off area. If the fence isn’t there, I can easily get lost. Then again, why would you have a fence around a playground if you couldn’t play in the playground? Both the militant and the gypsy sides are absolutely necessary for us to be fully creative.