My creative flame is flickering lately and it concerns me -- mostly because it's something I've always been able to push through. There's always been the workaholic in me that finds another way to keep the adrenalin flowing so my production never slows.

It's just that it's been about 12 months now that I've been giving all of my soul to this creative project that I was sure would have seen financial success about 4 months ago. But it has done nothing other than tease me with some potential interest that I busted my balls to get and now a silent plateau is laughing at me.

As an artist, it seems that good fortune rarely just presents itself. We have to make our own opportunities, run the show and then force some sort of reaction out of people.

When you're a newbie in the working artist world, this cycle is expected and the "fresh meat" spirit of it all makes it sort of fun. A few years down the line, the 'performance' of creating, marketing and wishing for a taste of artistic success wears on the creative soul. The artwork always gets better, but the routine of promotion and rejection stays the same.

Have I painted myself into a corner? Have my expectations for success gotten the best of me? When will this dry spell end?