My artwork (that being music) suffered tremendously because of my drinking. It got to the point where I could not write one song that I didn't despise. At best I just wouldn't be able to remember it. I did nothing artistically productive for the last two years of my heavy drinking, up until when I decided to quit. I'm still trying to get my creativity and motivation back so I can start writing music as enthusiastically as I used to. For me, alcohol was the enemy of my artistic side.
I was even part of a "band" with a couple of friends. We had talent and potential, but every time we got together to practice, we simply got drunk and drugged up and nothing ever came of it. Of course, we thought we were great, and we did have some good songs, but we were holding ourselves back. Had we focused on what really mattered, instead of accepting that the drugs and alcohol are just "what artists do" and not viewing it as a problem, then we probably would've accomplished a lot more.
Anyway, the obsessive thoughts about alcohol are the hallmark of what we've all been through. I remember I was so obsessed with having a supply of booze that I began to fret once I had less than a liter of liquor left. If I only had a few shots left and liquor stores were closed, I prepared for a disastrous sleepless night. Once I had no booze and no money, I'd search through my bedroom for empty bottles with remnant drops in them, and I'd combine these drops of booze from the bottom of dozens of bottles into a shot glass, in hopes that it would help me sleep long enough to wake up while liquor stores were open again the next day.
And that's TYPICAL of alcoholism. That's what we become if we let it continue to control us. And there's nothing quite like the freedom of finally having let go of all that and being able to live each day without worrying about booze like it's oxygen. There's nothing like finally freeing yourself from that so you can allow yourself to focus on things that actually matter and things that will actually make you happy and fulfilled, including your art.