Last week’s post triggered an inspired exchange with an old friend about an artist’s thought process.

My friend contended that while discipline and creativity may go hand in hand, an artist at most times is not bound by discipline and draws inspiration at odd times or from things which may not be in the normal scheme of things. And therefore she may not be disciplined but may still be a great artist.

While I tended to agree with him broadly, the more I thought about it, I realised this point has multiple aspects to consider.

Firstly, there is the contention of what level the artist is at. Secondly, the question of whether the pursuit is short lived or life long and lastly, whether it is commercial or leisurely.

While not all writers are artists, good writing is often equated with art. So as a novice artist (hopefully!), if not for my discipline or urge to practice continuously and improve myself in my art, I wouldn’t be writing this. And while not everyone may like all my writings, the mere act of sitting down and penning my thoughts from time to time pushes me to reimagine myself and to hone my skills.

For someone at a different level or skill though, with innate creativity and imagination, such discipline may not be necessary. That person could manage with minimal practice and turn up on the designated day and produce good art. But in most cases, such artists indulge in their art form as a leisure activity and do it for the fun of it.

Of course, someone who indulges in art as a leisure activity wouldn’t want to enforce discipline into the activity as it would ruin the leisurely approach. But discipline here is not just about the approach but also the mindset/skill – which would require some method to the madness to ensure creativity flows in those leisure hours.

On the other hand, for most who pursue their art for long and benefit in some form or other commercially from it, it in someway becomes their profession. Like in any profession, there is a need for such an artist to follow a disciplined approach that helps her churn out likeable and saleable art.

And while there may be an argument over whether the art produced by such a commercially inclined artist is good or not, unless the artist is disciplined and continues to produce art, she will be relegated to the sidelines as has happened to many. In fact that’s the difference between those who are able to tide over their low phases / artist’s block, and continue the journey versus those who give up midway.

As I thought through all these aspects, I realised that we think about artists as geniuses. People who are able to produce new stuff, when most of us only consume. And hence, we see them in a different light as someone who has a gift – which they can encash whenever they want without much effort.

On the contrary, what I have understood through my own experiment with writing over the last few months, is that it takes a disciplined approach to create. And the gift that others perceive the artist to have, is a by-product of a lot of hard work behind the scenes. It’s just fashionable and perhaps self-indulging to call it as a stroke of brilliance without attributing the toil behind it…