Continuity

Producing artwork is often thought of as requiring that one find a rhythm, or a groove, or a process that allows one to produce the work on a consistent basis. This seems to be the case, and not just for art, but for anything. To do a thing consistently is simply to do it over and over again within some period of time such that each doing of it builds on the previous act of doing it. These connected experiences produce momentum, or forward movement... which is not the same as a series of experiences over time that are not connected. Another term for this is continuity.

If you run every day, then each run exists not only as its own event, but becomes connected to the run from the day before, and leads into the run you do the next day. This connectivity between events is "continuity". Continuity is not contained in any single run… it is what you get when you have a series of connected runs. It is the continuity of actions that gets you into shape, not any particular run you do on any given day.

It occurred to me that without continuity, you can't get anything done… and you can't improve. For instance, if you run once a week, then each run exists as an isolated activity. It is not connected to the run from the week before because too much time has passed.. and it doesn't lead into the run coming up next week. It is a sad and hopeless thing to run once a week. You can't get in shape, you can't improve. The best you can do is exhaust yourself once a week, and go nowhere.

If you sketch once a week, or make a drawing now and again with no regularity… then there is no continuity… and therefore no improvement. It can be depressing and pathetic to go on that way.  That is the challenge the artist faces… to create and maintain continuity. Without it, there is no chance to improve and develop. The good news is, it is surprisingly simple to create continuity. All you have to do is get off your butt and do some drawing. Boom. Instant forward progress. Be continuous.