I've often said that art is a lot like sausage. Most people don't want to know how it's made, they just want to enjoy the finished product. This is a bit of an over-statement, of course, but there is more than a kernel of truth.
Visual art is messy. There is dirty or messy stuff everywhere. The artist doesn't always quit for the day, but rather they work to the point of exhaustion, walk away, and go to bed. Just to pick up where they left off tomorrow.
Writers write and so their space can be pretty tidy. But it's usually not, because there always seems to be something (an article, book, photo, or what-not) they need to find and give proper reference and/or credit to. And to be honest, when any of us start looking for that kind of stuff and we are in a hurry, the end result can resemble something like a crime scene. The only thing missing is the chalk outline on the floor.
I teach and perform music. I very rarely play concerts or recitals, so my performance work is usually influenced by my clients. Wedding couples who have a song or two they want played, a private party with a specific theme, etc. And then there's my work as a church musician and choir director. I take pride in the size of my music library, but I'm ashamed of how it's scattered in piles around my office or loosely dumped into a couple of file drawers. It's worse than a college dorm room.
On various occasions I have spent an entire afternoon looking for something that I know I have. I have duplicates of some things because I've given up the search in frustration and bought another copy. I justify the purchase by telling myself that my time is too important for such mundane activities.
The work of learning a new piece can be dreadfully boring to watch. Spending time repeating a chord change or adjusting a fingering. Writing notes to myself on the sheet music. Just chipping away at it until it starts to become something worth listening to. If I'm arranging a pop song to be played as a solo guitar song, then it's something like composing too. I can spend a couple of hours just looking for the right key to put it in.
I prefer to do this kind of practice in solitude. I will gladly play it for people when it's done, but not before. Although I confess I had wondered if something like this would make an interesting TV reality show. I decided that listening to me play the same 5 notes for 30 minutes punctuated with sporadic inappropriate language probably wouldn't be very compelling.
An artist needs to be willing to do the grunt work and comfortable doing it alone. It's also necessary to have uncompromising standards. Ah but when it all comes together it can be surprisingly wonderful. The trick is learning to love the process. I usually do. I'm lucky that way.