Creative imperatives

Industrious creator.

My studio is bright and sunny today. The clock reads 6:45AM. This is an ungodly hour for me. I might be up before 7AM if I am jet-lagged or, conversely, have a plane to catch. Today is an exception. The fog has already burned off. I'll have 4 more hours of morning sunlight in my space compared to yesterday.

I am eager to get started. I slip out of bed and pull on my painting grubbies. The floorboard creaks when I reach the bedroom door, which awakens my beau. He groans as he realizes how early I'm leaving to paint. We've been together long enough that he knows there will be far more leisurely Sunday mornings in bed than this particular Sunday, when I'm pulled—compelled—by my creative imperative.

On my desk is a book whose subtitle reads, "How does the impulse to draw something begin?" I might answer this with another question: How does the urgency to create something continue?