"Pastoral Scene"

($1250.00....6" x 6".....Water Soluble Oils on Gessobord...Presented in a Custom Frame)

"Pastoral scenes calm the soul." I've been trying to analyze why I love horizontal bands of color in some of my other pieces. Now I know that they remind me of pastoral scenes with large expanses of open grazing land without much detail. It's something like the feeling we get when all of the surfaces are cleared of clutter. It has a tremendously soothing effect.

With all types of creative endeavors there is an anxiety firmly attached to the process. You may have wondered why you might have the most amazing concept in your head and then not be able to pull it all together on paper or canvas. The reason is a built in fear of failure which produces a tremendous amount of anxiety. Eric Maisel has written about this process in his book Fearless Creating. 

I simply want to share some of my own thoughts which have certainly been influenced by all of the good books I've read on the subject, including the one mentioned. Dr. Maisel concludes that you must invite anxiety in and then manage it. If you do not learn how to do this, you will not create. It helps tremendously to simply commit to creating something everyday. Don't make excuses...don't think about not doing it....just keep doing what you know to do on a regular basis.

However, if this is simply too much to overcome, it is extremely helpful to create in the context of a class. This enables you to receive feedback from others and realize that other artists are just like yourself and often have as much trouble as you do in bringing something to a conclusion.

Improving your skill level will also help. Treat your time in the studio just like you would if you were learning a musical instrument. It's really quite the same, since both disciplines require going over something enough times to develop muscle memory and also learning how to put a piece of art together. With each piece under your belt, the process becomes very fluid and then you can add more skills as you go along. 

The biggest problem I've seen...other than anxiety....is the fact that most of us work alone. The internal critic will come along and sabotage your progress and cause you to run from your studio in horror! That's why you need a support system where others are encouraging you and are willing to come along side you when you "hit a wall" in your process.

These are just some things I've encountered and my advice to all who care about their art journey is to simply keep going and pray a lot and talk to others about your art. (Pick people you are very comfortable sharing with and who will give you encouragement.) And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

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