Andrew Wyeth- Night Sleeper 1979
I dream a lot. I do more painting when I’m not painting. It’s in the subconscious.
–Andrew Wyeth
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Andrew Wyeth- Trodden Weed
I love this short quote from the great Andrew Wyeth. That second sentence speaks to how I view my own relationship with what I do– I do more painting when I’m not painting. The mind is always clicked on, seemingly always seeking that something, that one inside thing that is crying out to be expressed.
It’s a built-in thing, one that can hardly ever be turned off. You would think it would be a maddening quality but it has become a normal way of functioning and I would probably panic if I found my mind not churning in some way.
Sometimes it is in the form of day-dreaming, just letting the imagination run free. Other times it takes place in the words or sounds or images of others. Like pulling a new thread from an existing fabric.
Inspiration comes in many different forms and the mind is always looking for them.
Here’s a neat short film from artist/filmmaker Andrew Zuckerman that shows Wyeth describing how he sometimes find inspiration.
Andrew Wyeth from Andrew Zuckerman Studio on Vimeo.
Redtree Times 
Great quote, quite the inteview!
This reminds me of something Flannery O’Connor once wrote: ““No one will understand my need to work this novel out in my own way better than you, although you may feel that I should work faster. I work ALL the time, but I cannot work fast. No one can convince me I shouldn’t rewrite as much as I do.”
It seems as though there is so much to the creative process than the actual physical act of creating. It’s hard to describe and can be sometimes maddening, especially when the physical act of creation seems to be failing. Even the failing becomes an integral part of the process.