Manzanita Sunset, Pastel, 20x12”
Do you ever look at a painting and say, “I did this?” as if you’re coming around from total amnesia? Manzanita Sunset is one of the pieces that does it for me. Sometimes, my art amazes me and other times I think I should have been a plumber. Good friend and great abstract artist, Marilyn Woods https://woodshillstudio.com gave me a gracious kick in the sitdown place by telling me to get out of my own way. I totally appreciate the honest people who grace my life and her counsel was good for all of us who sometimes trip over our own self absorption. I was making art making too hard. I was making painting ~ Work! Too much pressure is a joy killer and most of our pain is self-inflicted. If art is an avocation or our day job, the minute the process stops taking us to our happy place we need to take a breath and re-evaluate. The number one reason I go off the rails is not honoring what I feel called to make and chasing after what seems to be popular or what will sell or what will get the mosts likes on social media. Here’s to a great 2019, getting out of our own way and making ourselves happy! The side effect of that will be performing amazing art!