Artistic temperament

I mentioned once that artists have to be very patient. Today while honing my craft at piano (read: last-minute practise), I think I figured out why artists are so temperamental.

You see, a lot of art is about the craft - the technique. Mastery of technique is very important in art if you want it to reach new levels. Through mastery of technique, new forms of expression are made available to you. You have a wider range of options from which to choose the most suitable means of expression, and be perhaps more purposeful in the way you express yourself through the art.

But central to art is expression. One transient definition of art (I say transient because art consistently escapes definition) I will employ here is that art is the expression of some aspect of life. We experience lives through our selves (which is why art is often the expression of self), and one of the most powerful ways which we can experience life is through emotion. This is why art is often an outpouring of emotion.

This brings us back to my reason why artists are very often temperamental, and inclined to being moody and passionate. Beyond a mastery of craft, they need a mastery of the art itself. Since art is often an expression of emotion. They need to play with their emotions. They need to gain in depth and breadth in their experience of emtion. That's why they almost need to be temperamental. It's almost pragmatic, even sensible in an artist to be overcome by their passion. They need to do it for the sake of their art.

So as an artist, is it possible to have the best of both worlds? A mastery of art, a diversity of emotional experience from which to draw inspiration from, and at the same time still lead a balanced life? 

I've found that the answer is yes. For me, it's a matter of allowing a stronger emotion to balance my life. Love. In a way it's a struggle between love of art and love of life and the need to separate the too. But when you let your love of life guide you, you will want to lead a healthy life, and keep you sensible. You can let your emotions, positive and negative, find a productive outlet in art, and have it end there.

[Edit: Note to self - from experience, no you can't.  This is just like so many other times, this was just wishful thinking on my part.]