Came down into my studio this morning and realized that I was much farther on this painting than I thought. I think that life, as in painting, sometimes if we just step back for a second and come back with a different perspective that only a little time can give us, we are actually making more progress than we give ourselves credit for. Last night I felt like nothing was reading right on this piece. I felt the girl’s hair and her back were just not coming together. But that was because I was too close to it. And my brain and ego were attached. This morning, looking at the painting through the kitchen (my studio is downstairs) I realized that the parts I had been fussing about last night, were actually quite good – and reading as they should.
Kind of reminds me of a process Jayne Johnson (http://theclearingsight.com/) teaches in her goals workshop. That before we set goals for the new year, take a few minutes and write down all the things we accomplished in the prior year – and then tell them to someone else. Two things normally happen – 1st I always realize that I have done more than I thought (stop beating myself up so much) and 2nd, when I read the list aloud, I see/feel even more of the accomplishments I was writing, because it just again, gives a new perspective.
So – next time I’m struggling with a new piece of art, I’m going to try to remember what I learned this morning – to step back, take a break, maybe work on something else. And see if it really is as bad as I think, or if I’m actually on the right track, but just too in the way to see it.
Anyone else have a similar story?
