I recently got the book “Daily Rituals” by Mason Currey. I
thought this book would not only being just a fun and easy read but also
hopefully make me want to create. I was right. Now, this isn’t going to be a
review (but I could do that in another post if you wanted) but more of a something-sparked-in-my-mind-now-I’m-going-to-blog-about-it
thing. This book is jam packed with artists and philosophers and writers who
were successful in one way or another. Each little section about a creator has
a mini bio (if you could call it that) and their daily schedule or habits. Now
don’t think I’m shamelessly promoting this book. I’m not getting anything out
of promoting it besides the fact that I enjoy it and find it interesting.
Okay so moving on,
My
schedule as of right now, like most students, is based around my classes,
internship and work study. I don’t exactly have a set plan everyday besides get
what needs to be done, well, done. Now in comparison to most situations where
people go off to their desk job and work and go to lunch and work and go home
and maybe draw or paint, this book shows how the creative get the most from
their days. Let’s compare:
One of
the artists mentioned in this book is Francis Bacon. Now, Bacon’s days included
“eating multiple rich meals a day, drinking tremendous quantities of alcohol,
taking whatever stimulants were handy, and generally staying out later and
partying harder than his contemporaries.” At this point some of you are
probably thinking he could’ve done so much more and spent his time more wisely.
Well, the book continues “Painting came first. Despite his late nights, Bacon
always woke at the first light of day and worked for several hours…” His
lifestyle is shown through his interesting portrayal of figures with multiple
angles shown. While his style is almost a mix between Salvador Dali and Cubism,
Bacon’s slur yet rich lifestyle is definitely shown in his compositions. Here's an example of one of his pieces "Figure in Movement"
 | |
| Francis Bacon, Figure in Movement, 1976, oil on canvas, 198x147.5 cm, private collection |
Another artist
mentioned in this book is Willem de Kooning. Now let’s try to work backwards
trying to guess his lifestyle from his style of painting. Here is one of Willem
de Kooning’s paintings “Pink Angels”
 |
| Willem de Kooning, Pink Angels, 1945, oil and charcoal on canvas, 132.1x101.6 cm, Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, L.A. © 2011 The Willem de Kooning Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York |
There is
definitely lines of structure but yet the gestures are mainly fluid. There are
areas where Kooning has clearly worked over many times and there are moments of
frustration. How could his lifestyle compliment his painting?
Well,
Willem de Kooning, according to Mason Currey, his days were pretty simple. “He
generally rose around 10:00 or 11:00, drank several strong cups of coffee, and
painted all day and into the night, breaking only for dinner and the occasional
visitor.” No crazy partying like
Bacon, but then again, there are few people who did party like Francis Bacon
and still manage to lead a successful career.
