Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad (2019)

, 22 Apr 2023

This is the second Kleon's book I read and the second from the trilogy directed to artists and creators. Like the first book, Steal like an Artist, it's a very enjoyable read, full of common sense and very down-to-earth advice. 
 
Kleon departs from the premise that creative work is hard and it doesn't get easier even if you make a living out of it or are a famous artist. He debunks the stereotypical image of an artist as a chaotic flamboyant individual who's genius is boundless and has a semi-hippy life, that is, the image in the collective imagination. 
 
There is more personal insights into Kleon's life in this book than in the previous one, I'd say, and I appreciate that as I want to hear Kleon's voice, which might be the sum of his influences, but it's still personal; after all, he's not the many people he quotes from. I really like when Kleon gives us an insight into his own experience and life and not into someone's else.
 
This book is also more philosophical than the first one, and I really enjoy that. 
 
Keep Going is written in a simple way that has no pretense or jargon and is easy to understand. 
 
I love the illustrated vignettes and highlight boxes summarizing points discussed, the author's personal views on things, or relevant quotes. 
 
Regarding the digital edition, I haven't found any typo or grammatical error. The structure, style and font use tell me immediately that this is a Kleon's book. The book includes a short bibliography, which is great.  
 
 
THE SO-SOS
This book sins are similar to those I pinpointed in his previous book.
> The content is still lean, and this feels, again, another diary/booklet/blog turned into a book, what I call a blook, by adding generous margins, large illustrations, frame boxes, humongous headings and plenty of blank pages.  
> Like the first time around, there are too many quotes for my taste. Not that I don't like most of them,but there are too many, so Kleon's voice is always muffled by someone's else with his own consent. 
> I also think that some of the chapters could have been meshed together, like chapter 2 and part of chapter 8, and chapters 5 and part of 9, and chapter 6 and part of 9.
> Kleon says "If we do not get outside, if we do not take a walk out in the fresh air, we do not see our everyday world for what it really is, and we have no vision of our own with which to combat disinformation." (Page 129).  I think this is a bit of empty talk, having a walk around the park won't battle disinformation, having a critical mind will. 
> I miss the book having the quotes he includes in properly quoted, like the name of the person, occupation (painter, philosopher, writer, etc.) and the source from it comes from (like a book, or TV interview for ex.).

THE TEN WAYS
1/ EVERYDAY IS GROUNDHOG DAY. Take a day at a time as you never arrive at destination when you're are an artist. Life is full of ebbs and flows, so setting up a daily routine forces you to do something even when you don't know what. Even if you are inspired, it will help you not to waste your time. To set up your routine pay attention to the time you're usually more creative, or the times you can spare from work or family duties. Routine gives your direction and movement. When the day is over, be kind to yourself and remember and be grateful for all the good things that happened to you during the day.  Do to-do lists, they will help you on track.
2/ BUILD A BLISS STATION. Having some disconnected time from our overly-connected overly/shared world and having some silence and solitude will favor your work and creativity as you'll be able to connect to yourself.  
> Set up your work station in the way it works for you personally, something that varies from person to person. Condo's advice is not really relevant for creative spaces.   
> Don't wake up to the news or the Internet. 
> Say no to social interactions that are not relevant to you and say yes to yourself instead. 
3/ FORGET THE NOUN, DO THE VERB. Keep doing what you meant to be doing, writing, painting, sculpting, etc. Don't focus on the thing that you're trying to be or do, but on the work. Don't take it too seriously; work with a sense of playfulness, like children do.
4/ MAKE GIFTS. Forget the art market, put making money at the back of your mind even if this is your way of living. Do what you love for yourself or others. Gift friends and family some of your art.  When we try to monetize, there is pressure, there is adaptation and sometimes we lose our North or genuine self.  If you put your artwork online, ignore the metrics, the likes, dislikes, views, ratings and so on. Don't get obsessed with analytics.
5/ THE ORDINARY + EXTRA ATTENTION = THE EXTRAORDINARY. Pay extra attention to the ordinary, the every day, so you can notice what's special or extraordinary. Find magic in the mundane and translate this into art.  
> Slow down, get outside and draw/sketch anything.
>  Notice what you pay attention to or you usually do. If you want to change your life, change what you pay attention to.
6/ SLAY THE ART MONSTERS. We all have our our monsters and art monsters inside. If making art is ruining your life or somebody else's, it is not worth going on. The world needs more good people not more artists. 
7/ YOU ARE ALLOWED TO CHANGE YOUR MIND. Changing once's mind is perfectly OK. Art thrives on uncertainty. We don't know what we'll end up with when we start each work. We don't know everything. We should be open to change.
>  We need of other people to think us think so that we can think ourselves. Only in an environment that has diversity of opinions we can learn and grow. 
> Like-minded people keep you just where you are. Seek people who are like-hearted, who might not agree with your opinions but do this kindly and help you get a different point of view. 
> Also, revisit the past to get new ideas (as the adage goes, everything has already been said) but put your spin on them, resurrect them, reinvent them, turn them around.
8/ WHEN IN DOUBT, TIDY UP. You’re often most creative when you’re the least productive. There’s a balance in a workspace between chaos and order. Keep your tools organized and your materials messy. Tidying up a studio is a way of procrastination, of deflecting your attention from what you want to do, yet it allows you to clear your mind, or come across stuff that you didn't know you had or where it was.
> Another way of de-cluttering your mind is also having a nap.
> Tide-up your external world. Go an collect rubbish from your local beach for example,
9/ DEMONS HATE FRESH AIR. Exercising is one of the best tools to fight your demons. Walking is good for your physical, mental and spiritual health, great for problem solving and to help you with your artistic endeavors. Art requires awakening your senses and walking/exercising is a perfect way to do that. 
10/ PLANT YOUR GARDEN. Creativity, like the weather, has  its seasons and we need to know which one we're in and be patient in the off-seasons. Our lives have seasons but some people blossom at a young age and others at an old age. Every day is a potential seed that we can grow into something beautiful.
     
PEARLS OF WISDOM
> Nothing makes play more fun than some new toys. Seek out unfamiliar tools and materials. Find something new to fiddle with. Another trick: When nothing’s fun anymore, try to make the worst thing you can. The ugliest drawing. The crummiest poem. The most obnoxious song. Making intentionally bad art is a ton of fun. Finally, try hanging out with young kids. (Page 56-57). 
>  "When you start making a living from your work, resist the urge to monetize every single bit of your creative practice. Be sure there’s at least a tiny part of you that’s off-limits to the marketplace. (...) draw the line between what you will and won’t do for money." (Page 64). 
 >"When you ignore quantitative measurements for a bit, you can get back to qualitative measurements. Is it good? Really good? Do you like it? You can also focus more on what the work does that can’t be measured. What it does to your soul" (Page 68). 
> "When you have a system for going back through your work, you can better see the bigger picture of what you’ve been up to, and what you should do next." (Page 86). 
> "Thinking requires an environment in which you can try out all sorts of ideas and not be judged for them. To change your mind, you need a good place to have some bad ideas." (Page 102).  
> "When you’re only interacting with like-minded people all the time, there’s less and less opportunity to be changed. Everybody knows that feeling you get when you’re hanging out with people who love the same art, listen to the same music, and watch the same movies: It’s comforting at first, but it can also become incredibly boring and ultimately stifling."  (Page 105). 
> "Art is not only made from things that “spark joy.” Art is also made out of what is ugly or repulsive to us. Part of the artist’s job is to help tidy up the place, to make order out of chaos, to turn trash into treasure, to show us beauty where we can’t see it."  (Page 125). 
> "I don’t want to know how a thirty-year-old became rich and famous; I want to hear how an eighty-year-old spent her life in obscurity, kept making art, and lived a happy life." (Page 139).
 
IN SHORT
A very enjoyable reading, full of wisdom, sound advice and food for thought. But it reads more like a blog than anything else, it has too many quotes, and everything he says it has already been said.  

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