Last Sunday Dr. Jack Dalhousie dropped by my studio. He's a guy who collects art from coast to coast and stashes it in his pad in Toronto. "Over two hundred now," he said. "Dealers love me. I'm a shopaholic." Jack's a specialized shopaholic; he wears beat-up clothes and drives a second-hand Mercedes. I told him I'm a workaholic.
"Good on ya," he said. "Nothing wrong with that. Without compulsive painters there'd be no compulsive collectors."
Dr. Jack is a professor in a Faculty of Medicine. We talked briefly about "Memantine"--an Alzheimer's and OCD drug now found useful in controlling compulsive shopping. "I never touch drugs," said Dr. Jack.
We talked about compulsions and how they might be useful to people who invent and create. With Scotch-aid we came to a few conclusions: People who love their work tend to work compulsively. People who don't love their work consider compulsive workers to be confused at best and, at worse, ill. People who love their work feel a bit sorry for those who don't. Compulsions can't be bought or sold. Compulsions are useful to society.
I asked the doctor if he thought people might be taught to be compulsive. "It's contagious," he said. "When you're around others who have it you tend to get it. But you have to feel it's your own possession, your own thing. It's possible, I guess, to fall crazy in love with any darned thing. But you've got to make the first move.
"I can't control my compulsiveness and I sometimes feel a bit of buyer's remorse," he went on, "but it goes away because I love the stuff I collect. I love art, but I also get off on my accumulation of what I think is the best stuff. What about you workaholics? Do you feel worker's remorse?"
I told him most of us feel remorse when our work is not as good as it could be. I told him the desire to do better contributes to our compulsiveness. I told him many, if not most, creative folks have experienced some sort of compulsion and surrendered to it.
"No drug, he said, "except occasional satisfaction, can arrest desire."
Best regards,
Robert
PS: "Most artists work all the time. Especially the good ones. I mean, what else is there to do?" (
David Hockney)
Esoterica: We are drawn to our labour of love because it fills our cups like no other nourishment. The making of art is a private puzzle and working out the puzzle is beguiling. Let the folks who don't love their work look forward to their retirement from it. We creative folks (and some others) have a different mind-set. "Work cures everything," said
Henri Matisse. "I need to work to feel well," said
Edouard Manet. "Work is more fun than fun," said
Noel Coward. "Work is the ultimate seduction," said
Pablo Picasso. "I work day and night without sleep," said
Jules Olitski, "The paintings keep me fired up."
The Art Show Calendar: If you or your group has a show coming up, put an illustrated announcement on The Painter's Keys site. The longer it's up, the more people will see it. Your announcement will be shown until the last day of your show.
The Workshop Calendar: Here is a selection of workshops and seminars laid out in chronological order that will stimulate, teach, mentor, take you to foreign lands or just down the street. Many of these workshops are recommended by Robert and friends. Incidentally, if you are planning a workshop and have photos of happy people working, feel free to send them to us and we'll include a selection in the workshops feature at no extra charge.
The Painter's Post: Every day new material is going into this feature. Links to art info, ideas, inspiration and all kinds of creative fun can be found in this online arts aggregator.
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