I know that this is hard to go through not having contact with someone you care about but be honest with yourself about what you really want. What you think is "normal" is not "normal" for him. Maybe you need to find a "normal" guy, then, who has a communication style that better suits you. You said that you don't have much experience with relationships. Well, you're getting some experience now. Experience is also about being introduced to the unfamiliar. If this is not the relationship you want, then do not invest so much in it and date other people. Or see how this will play out, if you can accommodate each other. You want to be with this guy because he is different and an artist but he is "different" in other aspects of his life, too. He's not going to be this weird eccentric artist and be this nice, "normal" man, too. It just doesn't work that way. He is telling you clearly that he needs some space. Okay, he is not telling you in the way that you want, but that is the message isn't it? It'd be great if people could talk to us based on the script we all have in our heads. You have to take back some of your own power instead of being the victim here. You can decide that you will wait, keep yourself occupied with your life, and talk about it when his work is over. You can decide that you will date others and talk about it with him when his work is over. Is it the fact that there is no contact that is bugging you or the fact that he told you about not wanting any in this hurful way. The two are different. There are positive things to this: he is working, not screwing around, not drinking and not taking drugs and not looking at internet porn. His artistic work is 100% consuming -- that is a fact. You can ask any artist in the world and you will get this answer. He is not working 9-5 and then forgetting about his job when he gets home and is with you. He is working all the time. Even when there is downtime he is preparing something else in his head. That is the nature of the beast. No relationship is perfect but ask yourself what you can live with -- again, he could be too much into sports, into seeing his friends, into the sexy neighbour down the hall if he was a postman. There are tons of people you can be with if that's what you want. I think taking your power back and making decisions based on what you want and not being reactive to what he wants will help.