Sometimes the challenge is starting over

Yep, I’m beginning again, again.

As an artist, I try to push my boundaries.  There are people who love structure and will be content doing the same thing, eating the same thing, going and doing the same thing over and over.  They find comfort and security in that.  If you are trying to make a living as an artist; and you have been trying for several years, you aren’t someone who feels comfortable with structure. 

I have a couple of pieces that I worked on recently; well maybe one, where I made sure I was in an uncomfortable place.  It wasn’t intentional, I just put a splash of color on one to see where it would go.  It turned out really well.  The second one, I’m still fighting with.  I ended up deciding that I needed to start over a bit.  I didn’t get rid of it, I just put a new surface on it to see if I could get it back to where I was happy with it.  I have been working on the technique where I don’t need to put my pastels under glass.  It makes it easier to go larger and hopefully will make the surface less fragile.  There is a learning curve here but I keep pushing and if I have to start over again, that is okay.

You shouldn’t be afraid to start over and remember that starting over isn’t always about going all the way back to the beginning.  Maybe I am back tracking a bit but that is the thing about not being able to accept a structured life.  You have to be willing to work for it.  Remember, My word for the year is grounding.  I just went back to where I felt grounded and I am starting over from there.  Think of the phrase, “If I could do it over, I would have done it differently.”  You can’t do it with everything but there are some places where you can.  You just have to have the courage.