Not Feelin' Like a Ball of Fire Today?

Me either, but....

The motivation to paint comes from within - and some days are sure harder than others. But the pros still paint - whether they "want to" or not.

I found a list of quotes on Robert Genn's "The Painter's Keys" that help:

When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life. 

(Greg Anderson)

Go for it baby! Life ain't no dress rehearsal. 

(Tallulah Bankhead)

Pain pushes until vision pulls. 

(Dr. Michael Beckwith)

People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents. 

(Andrew Carnegie)

For years I relied on tight deadlines and looming mortgage payments to keep me motivated. But I was reminded that I'm not here to paint for profit, the paintings originate in my soul. 

(Sharon Cole)

Being prepared is a fine way to motivate oneself; so the inspiration does not flee while getting ready to begin. 

(Jon Conkey)

Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly. 

(Stephen R. Covey)

My motivator of all motivators has to be materials. You can't paint without paint, now can you? Be well stocked and inspiration will surely come knocking. 

(James Culleton)

There's nothing like a little fear or hunger to motivate one's inspiration. To take that away from a young artist can offer quite a disservice. 

(Ken Danby)

Motivation is like food for the brain. You cannot get enough in one sitting. It needs continual and regular top ups. 

(Peter Davies)

The only lifelong, reliable motivations are those that come from within, and one of the strongest of those is the joy and pride that grow from knowing that you've just done something as well as you can do it. 

(Clare Crawford-Mason & Lloyd Dobyns)

Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice. 

(Dr. Wayne Dyer)

What makes life dreary is the want of a motive. 

(George Eliot)

Anyone who tries to make a living as a painter knows you can't lounge about waiting for inspiration to hit; nothing motivates like keeping a roof over your head. 

(Nita Engle)

Motivation is a misused term. It's an individual characteristic, an instinct... you either have it or you don't. 

(Gordon France)

An artist can make a mark, a squiggle, anything. Motivation implies movement. 

(Steve Hovland)

Your motivation determines everything. 

(David Leffel)

Motivation: Beauty... the fun of trying to get it down... the fun of trying to get better. 

(David Leffel)

By creating instinctively in auto mode we can uncover our true motives, our creative drive. 

(David Louis)

When you've done all you can, do just a little bit more. Any extra effort you make will draw immense leverage from all the ordinary efforts which have preceded it. That can be powerful and effective. 

(Ralph Marston)

One of the factors that still keeps me in the studio is that every so often I have to more or less start all over. 

(Bruce Nauman)

Walking your talk is a great way to motivate yourself. No one likes to live a lie. Be honest with yourself, and you will find the motivation to do what you advise others to do. 

(Vince Poscente)

A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others. 

(Ayn Rand)

We would often be ashamed of our finest actions if the world understood all the motives which produced them. 

(Francois de La Rochefoucauld)

If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around. 

(Jim Rohn)

One of the chief motives of artistic creation is certainly the need of feeling that we are essential in relationship to the world. 

(Jean-Paul Sartre)

In my experience, there is only one motivation, and that is desire. No reasons or principle contain it or stand against it. 

(Jane Smiley)

There is this fantasy that is activated by deprivation and it becomes the motivator. 

(Robert Toth)

Our task is to create an art... which refers to the visual language of our culture but which also recognizes the power and wisdom of the pre-conscious spiritual motives which lie beneath the surface of life and provide the driving force of human nature. 

(Edward Varney)

Nothing spurs creativity more than a deadline. 

(Mary E. Whitehill)

People can be motivated to creativity simply with the instruction to "be creative." 

(Richard Saul Wurman)

People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing – that's why we recommend it daily. 

(Zig Ziglar)

Here are my two personal favorites:

Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing. 

(Harriet Braiker)

Motivation will almost always beat mere talent. 

(Norman Augustine)

Now stop reading this, pick up your brush, and go to work.