Depressed? Are you creating art?

My post yesterday dealt with taking time to get away from Social Media and the computer/iPad/Phone in general to help clear your head and give you a better perspective in whatever project you are working on.

I recently found a USA Today article about artists (those who display their art in galleries and museums) who are using Facebook to help promote themselves to the general public and network with other artists and galleries. In light of my post from yesterday, listen to this quote from artist El Mac –

If I spend a couple days just doing computer stuff, I start to feel bad, depressed. I have to be painting. I’m not going to be a happy person when I’m not creating and making art.

I’m pretty open about myself not being a photographer. I’m working toward being a writer – here for this blog if nothing else. If I’m going to call myself a writer, then I better sit down and write. I need to step away from my favorite blogs, twitter accounts, and facebook friends to become better at the thing I love. I need to making and creating art.

When I look around the photography industry, I fear too many photographers are spending too much time on Facebook, Twitter, or their favorite forum and not enough time simply creating the art that they love. They are spending so much time trying to perfect images in Photoshop, that they aren’t behind the camera getting better at taking the raw photo. They’re spending too much time and money traveling the country to listen to their favorite photographer speak rather than just working on their business.

It’s time for us to find the thing that we love and simply do it.