Love can be a real boost to productivity, if there is someone in your life who really wants to see you paint and pushes for it.
The lack of love can be an even bigger motivation to do artwork, because you are trying to make a reason you were born.
The most difficult type of love for your artwork is love from others that do not see how central your art has to be in your existence. They may want your presence to the exclusion of your art. It is even more difficult if they do not really care for your pictures.
When my husband and I first met, I wanted to be sure he would understand how devoted I would be to making the pictures. I gave him the link to my website, and I could see from the website's visit logs that someone that day had looked at every tab on the site. Then he wrote me with huge enthusiasm and thoughtful comments. To me this was a good sign that he might have the patience to endure being around this day after day for years. He is a lover and appreciator of all handmade things.
Only in the beginning of my sales did I confuse enthusiasm from customers as love. Now I have long-time customers who I would say have grown into people I love and who love me, but that had more to do with my personal life.