The typical artist/painter is supposed to be poor, unkempt and not adept with the ways of the (rest of the) world. Though that may be an exaggeration, there is an element of truth in the image. S(he) may be less concerned with the world than a person in a 'normal' profession. The primary reason, of course, is love for what she is doing.
Very few jobs offer the luxury of doing what you love (teaching may be one). Mostly, they are bread-earners for an employee, however much we may try and match the employee's strengths with the job on hand. Yes, it's possible to motivate through incentives, but that motivation may end when the tap of incentives closes.
Being creative (if allowed to) may be a way out. It seeks to motivate an employee by being creative, or innovative. For example, there is a dancing traffic policeman (saw a video of him), and a cricket umpire who used variations of the sign for declaring a batsman 'out' in cricket.
Lots of creative ways of doing things can be explored, as I have found out in teaching. And observing people in 'boring' jobs doing things differently. Conversations can be creative too, with co-workers, or subordinates.. and dare I say it, with bosses.
Of course, one can pursue creative pursuits outside of the job, like photography, painting, writing or travel.
