Fear

I've been thinking about what holds me back from doing the things I really want to do. It's not for lack of motivation or desire that I don't do these things. In fact, I make plans and lists as to what I want to draw, or design if it's a card image. But the plans go nowhere, and after awhile I get frustrated with myself for not following through. Then I sit back and do nothing with my evenings - just watch TV evening after evening. What a waste of time that is! Then I berate myself for wasting time, not being creative, and not using my God-given talent for creating art. Someone who can draw the way I can shouldn't waste that gift. You won't believe how often that little maxim goes through my head - to the point where I start feeling guilty - inflicting self-imposed guilt upon myself. Who needs that? No wonder I can't create anything feeling like that! I got tired of that endless scenario. So I made myself look at why I do this. And it's no surprise - I'm sure many people know this, but you have discover it for your own unique self, but it's fear. Fear is the reason behind all my procrastination. Fear is such a simple and silly thing once you lay it out on the tabel and cut it apart.

My fear lay in using materials that I'm not experienced or familiar with. I'd really like to use this medium for my art, but it's not who I am. Funny thing, that I attach my medium of choice to my personality - I think that's worth exploring also (in another post, of course!). I could get experienced with practice, but the practice is a whole other area involving supplies, which involves money, space, time, etc. In short, I'm not willing to experiment for a myriad of reasons. Having come to that conclusion, the only logical thing to do is to be creative with what I already know, what I am experienced at, and just DO IT! Now that I've figured this out, there is NO EXCUSE! Oh my, now this means that I have to sit down and make art! Wow wee... I should be grateful - and I AM! I am ever so grateful that I have the ability to create art - it's one of the most satisfying feelings in all the world.

Wouldn't you agree - all you fellow-artists, out there?

Cheers to all the artists - may we be creative and prolific today!

Day 2 Many days later...

So much for writing sooner (never mind daily)! But I did manage to create something last weekend! I've been planning for years to design a Valentine card (one for every year), but I never do it. This past weekend I designed 3! (I made up for some lost years). Why I decided to do one a year, I'm not sure, but since I haven't done it for the past few years, I made myself sit down and so some drawing NOW. I just love Valentine's day, and I really wanted to come up with a line of cards that captured that brightly colored retro-type look from the 50s and 60s. The designs still need a bit of tweaking, but once they're completely finished, I'll put them up so you can see them. Doing that bit of drawing over the weekend has got my appetite started for drawing again, particular designing greeting cards. I really love that form of expression. What nicer way to circulate your art than sending a card to someone with your work on it?

First Day on my new blog!

Well, I finally did it! I've been told so many times that I should have blog, especially as an artist, that I decided to do it. This one seemed a bit easier than some I've looked at, and the layout easy to put together. (It had to be dummy-proof for me to do it, of course!). So now the pressure will be on to write something almost everyday - but that's okay, I'm at ease with random babble, especially when it comes to talking about art. Art is an endless subject. Artist's block? No such thing. Rather, sometimes I'm afraid of starting something for fear that it won't turn out the way I envision it. But that's silly - it puts myself as an artist into a very small box. The key is to start without a predetermined idea of what the finished piece will look like. An idea needs to be general enough to inspire a start, but vague enough to allow creativity to bloom.