Hi friend,
Edvard Munch. If you don’t know that name, you probably know his most famous piece—The Scream. Painted in 1893, The Scream has widely been interpreted as representing the universal anxiety of modern man. A pastel version would sell for $119 Million 68 years after Munch’s death.
Munch described his inspiration for the piece this way,
I was walking along the road with two friends – the sun was setting – suddenly, the sky turned blood red – I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence – there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city – my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety – and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.
Munch became world-class for three reasons.
1. Repitions Really Really Matter
Do the work
The pastel version gets the headlines but wasn’t the first version. He would make four that we know of, but it’s likely others existed. And while you may know The Scream, Munch was prolific in his production. When he died, he donated nearly 28,000 pieces of his work to the City of Oslo. His volume of production made him world-class.
“When I paint, I never think of selling. People simply fail to understand that we paint in order to experiment and to develop ourselves.” - Edvard Munch
2. Consistency Is THE Differentiator
Practice your craft every day.
To produce 28,000 pieces, Munch would have had to create one piece of art every day from the age of 3 to the day he died at 80. Munch wasn’t alone.
Pablo Picasso completed 13,500 paintings with 100,0001 prints and engravings. It’s said that Picasso finished two paintings each day.
Another artist, in a different medium, put a system in place to deliver this kind of consistency - Jerry Seinfeld. When he started in comedy, he committed to writing one joke daily. He put a large calendar on the wall and crossed out each day that he wrote a joke.
“After a few days, you’ll have a chain. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is not to break the chain.” -Jerry Seinfeld
3. Inspiration & Experimentation
Live. Learn. Repeat.
Picasso, Seinfeld, and Munch sought inspiration from nature, society, and, importantly, fellow artists. They met others, built relationships, learned, and changed. Changed styles, mediums, and priorities.
“To copy others is necessary, but to copy oneself is pathetic.” - Pablo Picasso
Better happens when you consistently do the work. Get that chain going. Whether it’s day zero or day 100 - you have to show up and keep making better.
No one cares how cold, wet, tired, or under-caffeinated you are. Only you can decide if you’ll do the work of you. This is about you and the person you want to be.
Do the reps. Be consistent. And seek change.
Don’t ever forget, the life you want five years from now starts today.
Let’s go get it, friend.
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/famous-picasso-paintings/index.html#:~:text=However%2C%20during%20Picasso%27s%20long%20life,around%20100%2C000%20prints%20and%20engravings.
What Do Picasso, Seinfeld, and Munch Have In Common?