Affirmation

There are points in the art process when everything is moving along. You do a thing, it sucks, you start again, it’s better, you add a bit of paint over there and voila, the piece is suddenly done, you feel good, you sign your name in the corner, and with a smile, you check that one off the list.

And then there are times when something is off in your head. There’s a block. You’re trying to get past it, but colors aren’t mixing right, the pencil isn’t sharp enough, the image looks stupid and you’ve done this entire damn thing four times already. Something’s just off.

So you trudge through. You find a way to make it work, and you keep going. It’s the emotional life cycle of the Artist. As much as I hate it sometimes, I have to appreciate each stage of it.

I wanted to share this photo with you because even when you’re stuck in a creative funk, all it takes to snap out of it is for someone to let you know - even in the smallest of ways - that what you’re doing isn’t terrible.

People send me really sweet photos sometimes who have received my paintings as gifts and they’re smiling and they have them on display in their beautiful homes. And it gives me a much-needed lift every time.

Assignment for today: Go find your favorite artist - your arty cousin, your friend on Instagram, your daughter who thinks she’s bad at drawing - and just give them a little encouragement. Nothing big, and it has to be genuine. I promise, they’ll remember it.