Am I an artiste?

Like all people obsessed with art and are no good at it, I am struggling to find something that motivates me to write. On deeper analysis, I am convinced that there are two reasons why every writer or an artiste, be it a musician, a sportsman or a painter, struggles to keep improving himself.  This post is about the two things that distract any artiste. Continue reading if you are one of those who are obsessed with the idea of constant self improvement, but are no good at it.

The first is sheer lack of inspiring moments in life. Actually, let me re-phrase that; the inability to see moments of human passion and struggle all around us. Stories worth writing about are present all around us. Tunes worthy of a song abound us and the option of perfecting a cover drive is available every time you pick up a bat. But the pressures of everyday life and the fast paced thinking, that we are so used to, make it hard to see and appreciate these moments.

The second reason is a more sublime one. It is the smugness that you get after you have done something that you are proud of (And invariably its only a trivial thing). And from my experience, this effect definitely causes an artiste to plateau. Getting it right once is good, but it is just a start. The ability to repeatedly achieve mastery over an art is what makes an artiste. Even a monkey can pull off a Prabhu Deva like movement, if it kept repeating the movement a thousand times. But will it be able to do it again in lesser attempts? That, in my opinion – the desire to keep getting better constantly, is what makes an artiste. And smugness has no place in this endeavor. 

So, coming to the main question - Am I an artiste? Well, I have only one answer to the question and there are no two ways of telling you this - "Check the picture above". (Hope the hidden metaphor in the picture strikes you..!)

Adios..!