Studying Artists Can Help Us Understand The Characteristics & Behaviors Required of an Artist

Books reveal themselves to souls in need. Vincent Van Gogh came to me through Irving Stone’s Lust for Life and was a balm to my weary soul. As I encountered Vincent I admired his obsessive behavior and for being utterly sold out to his life purpose. He considered painting his real work and was faithful to his work despite not having sold one print. He was close to starvation several times, and lived off the generosity of his brother Theo. While he may have taken his dedication to his work to extremes his life shows us the results of obsessive behavior and a single focus.

“Of course, these is something I must do. It’s the thing I’ve pointed towards all my life.”

Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent came from a religious family and they expected him to follow a specific path for his life. He tried college and served as a missionary, but those experiences didn’t work out for him. In time he came to understand that his real work was painting. He felt his previous experiences were trying to push a self-discovery out of him. Something in him longed to sketch, but he ignored it and after he realized he couldn’t continue to follow the path his family outlined for him, he listened to himself and accepted that he was meant to paint.