Progression and Regression

What happens to artists and their work over time?

Hopefully artists realize a progression.

Main Entry: pro·gres·sion
Pronunciation: pr&-'gre-sh&n
Function: noun
Date: 15th century
1 : a sequence of numbers in which each term is related to its predecessor by a uniform law
2 a : the action or process of progressing : ADVANCE b : a continuous and connected series : SEQUENCE
3 a : succession of musical tones or chords b : the movement of musical parts in harmony c : SEQUENCE 2c
- pro·gres·sion·al /-'gresh-n&l, -'gre-sh&-n&l/ adjective

Main Entry: re·gres·sion
Pronunciation: ri-'gre-sh&n
Function: noun
Date: 1597
1 : the act or an instance of regressing
2 : a trend or shift toward a lower or less perfect state: as a : progressive decline of a manifestation of disease b (1) : gradual loss of differentiation and function by a body part especially as a physiological change accompanying aging (2) : gradual loss of memories and acquired skills c : reversion to an earlier mental or behavioral level d : a functional relationship between two or more correlated variables that is often empirically determined from data and is used especially to predict values of one variable when given values of the others ; specifically : a function that yields the mean value of a random variable under the condition that one or more independent variables have specified values
3 : retrograde motion

There are times I look at earlier work and wonder how I arrived where I am now. Is there a progression or regression?

Maybe there is both. I do prefer trying something I haven't tried. Later I may return to familiar territory, but i enjoy re-inventing what I do.

Obsession

So what drives artists?

From being around other artists, I would say making art becomes an obsession.

Main Entry: ob·ses·sion
Pronunciation: äb-'se-sh&n, &b-
Function: noun
Date: 1680
1 : a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling; broadly : compelling motivation
2 : something that causes an obsession
- ob·ses·sion·al /-'sesh-n&l, -'se-sh&-n&l/ adjective
- ob·ses·sion·al·ly adverb

Artists become fixated with idea, images and/or themes. Some artists continue to come back to the same ideas, images or themes. Work selling may have something to do with that. Personally, I get fed up with with my own art very quickly. There is a point at which I have to stop and move on to something else.

That is my obsession. I'll rotate what I work on. Finishing is not easy for me.