Blown engine 🚗

Now I have some free time and I was investigating a little about why some artists have a better life than others.

Of course, we have some big differences in terms of language, countries and age. An artist from a third world country has a more difficult path in his career for all the oppression that a bad nation can exert on us; but that oppression only steal our time, so it is not a total excuse since great artists were born in oppressive countries and in the end, they were successful in their career. 

So, why do some people, unlike others, live a better life working of what they love?  Well, without thinking about social problems, taxes or even the family, some people have a clear vision of understanding that we are like engines ... you can accelerate to the top and, in the end, you will blow up your engine.
We have limits, no matter how young, experienced or rude we are, we have some limits. So, is that phrase that all artists and teachers say true? Do you have to work every day, every minute in your art to be better in the future? I think it's true but with small changes. 

Do you feel that sometimes you watch a movie or read a book, even playing a game is something that you feel is not right and a sense of guilt invades you? The feeling that you're wasting your time instead of using that precious time to keep practicing.

Well, let me tell you that I have that feeling every day, and I worked in the video game industry and the film industry for the past 15 years struggling with this every day, and it's not a healthy feeling, believe me. 

Now I have a chronological pain in my arm, it hurts right now when I write this article, because I blown up my engine and continued pressing it until it was too late. It's not something that does not allow me to do what I love, but sometimes the pain reminds me that I pushed too hard.

So in my research of why we do that I found this very interesting theory, the Parkinson's law 

It says that "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion", a simple explanation is "If you wait until the last minute, it only takes a minute to do". 

And if you think on that, it happens all the time! 

You think "OK, I need to finish this painting for that client/school for the next week, I have time", and you can complete the task in one single day but now, the damn painting -fill the time available- and you deliver the work in the last minute. And if you continue doing this you will start to think, "I'm not professional because I waste too much time! I need to invest better my free time!" and BANG! you'll end with a never ending job and no time for you.
I remember that people say that was great to work of what you love, so, why sometimes we feel guilty when we watch a movie or play a game? because we don't know how to manage our time, we spend too much time thinking that we spend to much time.
So you think again that you need to wake up at 6 am and work 16 hours straight to be a better artist. Why we do this? We can create amazing things, we can love our jobs and what we do? We set an office schedule. Why? because otherwise we feel like we are unproductive, procrastinating, etc.

We can do better things on less time, we do it on deadlines, why we can't daily?
Because you have to set your mind on what it's job and what is free time and then, manage your time.
 I think that an artist don't have to push their engine to the top, an artist need a lot of interaction with the world and other creations to turn on the imagination spark again, how can an artist draw a dog if you never see one in the park? Google image is not the world, the world is out there and you need to live to create. A job is an important part of your life, but if you can balance a life and work, believe me, you will become a great artist in half the time.
Did you think about the last time you had a hobby without that guilt feeling? An artist needs to learn about anatomy, color, light, shadows, feelings, mechanics, and some of these topics needs more than an image on internet, you need to create with your hands, feel, watch and smell the world around you without feel that you are a lazy person.

You, in the end, will become a great artist, because you have passion for what you do, when your draws looks bad you erase everything and start again, nobody have the passion you have inside. And that passion is a mix of your art and your life, and that is the fuel of your engine.
So take care of that little engine inside you because is the one that will take you to the top!