Are creative people, and artists, insane in one way or another?

Im a 40 year old virgin. I was crazy but we are much better now. I had a girlfriend in university but it ended poorly with a restraining order both ways. I’m more mature and responsible now.

What? No, as a creative person, no, though insanity is often a matter of perspective. If I were to extend it to such a judgement, I’d say the non-creative people are crazier. And I don’t see the sane logic in thinking a creative person can’t “survive in romantic encounters!” What? Too intense? Artists want to control? They do? I think you are trying to build logical conclusions from peculiar overstated metaphors. And of course, many artistic people enjoy romantic relationships, so… I don’t follow.

I’ve decided that all “slaves to the muses” are somewhat deranged. Far too many have saddled themselves with careers that amount to lifelong vows of poverty. But the glory of it is that you will never have a better time than if you gather a crowd of starving artists, actors, musicians, writers etc. together to wine, dine or party. We phillistines who can afford it will never find a better or more rewarding bargain.

There are a fair number of mathematicans who either went mad or were highly eccentric. An argument can be made that math comes closer to art than science, because it deals with abstractions.

Well, I’m an artist and professional creative person and I’m happily married to a woman I dated since I was sixteen — sooooo…no.

Maybe. My mother had emotional problems. She was an artist. She used her art to express her unhappiness and to take her out of herself.
She has a few pictures done during the time it got really, really bad, toward the end of their marriage, that I can’t bear to look at. I gave them away to someone who doesn’t know my Mom, and wouldn’t see what I saw in them.

EVERYBODY is a little kooky, one way or another. The really sane people, or most sane people, commit suicide.

I would say art is not synonamous with insanity, but it might seem that way. Insane people look for ways to communicate. Some do it with violence, but often they will turn to written, or image forms of communicating.
There are many artists though, who are beautiful, balanced people.

Some are and some aren’t. I think it’s about the same as with non-artists, it’s just that the nutty ones get all the publicity.

I count many artists among my friends IRL. Painters, sculptors, illustrators, singers, actors, poets, writers, photographers, etc. They are no more or less likely to have, dramatic, crash and burn love lives than my non-artist friends.

The common thread in the “love lives” of people I know, who continue to have disastrous relationships are: immaturity, a desire for drama, and an inability to avoid or perceive bad situations that are obvious to most people. These traits are found in artists, and grocery clerks, and stay at home parents, and real estate agents, and anyone who thrives on drama and chaos.

Toxic people are toxic, no matter what kind of work they do.

You can’t really generalise about creative people, they come in all shapes and sizes; some are extroverts some are quiet and they are not all intense or controlling. Some may like aspects of their life to be controlled so they can concentrate on being creative, they are all different. Creative people may experience things a little differently from the majority of us but they are aware of that and want to share their vision and that surely is not insanity.

There’s a fair amount of creatives/artists who have rather stable love lives. Off the top of my head, for instance, I can think of three (each from a different field and era) for a small example:

Robert Smith – vocalist/guitarist of The Cure. He and his wife have been together since they were 16 year-old kids.

J.R.R. Tolkien – writer. His marriage to his wife Edith lasted from 1916 to her death in 1971 (he died two years later).

William Blake – writer/painter. Despite what his rather liberal (especially for the time) views on marriage, sexuality and love might suggest was devoted to his wife Catherine from the time of their first meeting (and wedding a few months later) in 1782 until his death in 1827.

^^Add James Joyce to that list.

”...insane in one way or another?”

You really need to define that better.

Sounds like you’ve been hanging around the wrong creatives. There are millions of highly creative people on the planet. No one, blanket statement can define them all. Just like all doctors are different; all plumbers are different; all cooks are different, all creatives are different. People who display the characteristics you described can be found in any group of people you care to name. They don’t epitomize the group, they’re just one subset of the group.

And oh by the way, love lives are as individual as the fingerprints of the lovers.

I think some people who may be considered “insane”, “unbalanced”, or maybe even “non-traditional” can find a way to communicate ideas and feelings.

I think the answer would have been “No!” It’s the reverse.

Judging by my paintings and the stories I write some shrink would get very famous for treating me.