Visitors

My cousin from Ohio is coming to visit this weekend. She had signed up for the Houston Marathon but since the weather has been so bad in Ohio she was unable to train and will probably run the 5K. I'm so proud of her. I can't run to save my life. So much self-discipline and determination goes into making a marathon runner. Even more than the making of a visual artist. Runners have physical pain while artists mainly have emotional pain, bearing rejection sometimes on a constant basis. I have found that this is probably the largest hurdle to cross, dealing with rejection. when I paint, so much of my own personal emotion is spent in the creative process that when an observer says that they don't like my work or that something is not quite creative enough or not original enough or whatever negative critique is said, I just have to lift my chin and take the punch. There is no fighting back. One thing I've learned from successful artists (meaning those selling their work successfully) is that when they show their work, the first thing they do is tell the observer how great their work is. I just love it when an artist shows me his or her artwork for the first time and they say "I just love this piece!" I have incorporated this philosophy into my own feelings and I have found that if you present your artwork in this matter, people tend to agree instead of criticize. So, before revealing your next piece, cover it up and practice the unveiling. Take a towel and place over the completed piece. Stand back and describe the piece to your audience, using only positive thoughts and words. They pull back the towel and smile. It will make you feel more confident about your creations and this really counteracts the feeling that the work just isn't good enough, therefore the artwork is great!