Again after Newtown and Paris. Troubled times.
I hear myself saying, What is the point? Painting? How does that do anything? It seems frivolous and somehow pointless. Should I turn my brush toward expressing my political view? Trade my art for activism? Paint doom and gloom? I get it that artists, writers, and musicians can be reflective of what is happening around us. We need to be reflective, but you don’t have to change what you do, you have to continue. If you paint trees, continue to paint trees. Paint the beauty. Paint the faces, the color and the joy. Paint like it’s your job—that’s what artists do. What happened when I got stuck and stopped making art?
I worried about stopping. I was confused about stopping. I investigated my confusion. I got information. I talked. I made a new plan. I stopped procrastinating. Then everything changed when I gave up worrying about getting stuck, being stuck and staying stuck. Now I just make art or I don’t. Not being stuck, just being. Even though last month was crazy busy, I decided to try a month long painting challenge. The idea is to paint every day and post a finished painting on the host website. There are no other rules.
Here is what I learned:
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