If you don't need to work in your studio to meet your obligations like I do then no problem. Chill out, do your art whenever you feel like it, follow your inspiration as it hits you and otherwise do whatever. That seems to have been the way Marcel Duchamp worked. That is potentially a great life, maybe a perfect life if you can sustain it.
However, self-determination and self-motivation then becomes the question if you don't feel the consequences of just making art whenever the fancy strikes. To make art as a hobby, as a way to putter around and occupy yourself as a form of entertainment is a perfectly acceptable thing to do. Perhaps this is how most people engage themselves in the arts. Learning how to play an instrument, learning how to write a story or a poem or a song, learning how to draw or paint or make a collage, etc. These are all enriching activities that most people should probably engage in starting in childhood. We all need to be able to express ourselves. Long ago that was part of the education process.
It seems however that some percentage of people, perhaps certain personality types are not satisfied with engaging in creativity in a low propensity way, like a low propensity voter - people who are not very engaged and not very interested in politics. They will vote but they are not going to bother with being too informed, they have other interests and other things that they spend their time and attention on and politics isn’t one of them. So they mostly shape their attitude and make their decisions on whatever random information that slips into their orbit. On the other hand there are people who become activists and pundits and experts on various aspects of politics who follow things on the daily and have a deep knowledge on the topics at hand and keep their fingers on the pulse. What is driving them to do that - to be fully engaged?
In many ways it is a mystery what drives artists to feel compelled to work on their art. What is the motivation? What causes artists to become determined to express themselves through some creative avenue to the point that it becomes an important part of their daily life, self-expression and self identity? Tell me your thoughts in the comments.
Maybe this boils down to the process of ‘dipping in you toe’ and progressing to ‘jumping in head first’. It comes down to the process of immersion, to immerse one’s self in a creative activity - the state of being deeply engaged or involved; absorption.
This is the probable motivator I would say, the feeling one gets from being fully engaged and immersed in something. It could be anything in any field. This requires a decision to be fully committed to the pursuit of that thing.
As a full time artist, I think it becomes part of your daily ritual. Like having coffee in the morning. You get to step into your studio and light the incense, put on the music and maybe sip the coffee. It’s the settling into that creative process that feels familiar and fulfilling. You’re open to all the possibilities that could unfold into something special. You work through your subconscious, get all of the energy and issues out that reside there. It becomes as important as sleeping or eating. The practice becomes vital and not just passing time.
Life would be unbearably boring without it. For me it's never had anything to do with my financial situation, and it's never been about making money....it's a necessity.