34. Growing Old

About growing old.  Don’t.  Refuse.  Basta !

Who said you had to grow up?  Artists should gain wisdom, experience, and technique over time while remaining forever young at heart.  Uninhibited.  Free. No rules.  Fearless. Crazy. Chaotic.  Always playing.  Like a kid again.  Creating with reckless abandon.  Kids don’t hold back, they know no boundaries, they have endless energy, and they produce until they drop.  Then they get up and start in again.

How do you do this as an adult, as you grow older as an artist ?  What do you do to nurture your creative soul while main lining a constant flow of energy that keeps you alive and productive?  How do you not grow old of mind, body, and creative spirit ? The answer is simple to say, another thing to do.  One must create no matter what, to constantly challenge yourself to grow, to never feel you have arrived as an artist. The key to not growing old is to continue to work on your art. Period. The energy of the finished work ignites the next body of work keeping you alive and productive.   It’s like a drug, creative adrenaline. A daily fix.  Good for your soul.  Keeps you young.

Refuse to grow old.  Do your work. Two other hints: lay off the chili cheese fries and get some exercise once in awhile.

“Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up”.  Picasso

“If you succumb to age your creativity can become clouded, you slow down, and you do not produce as much art.  So, what’s the purpose ?  I refuse to grow up or old.”

Ken Merfeld