I painted this for my step-dad for Christmas and over the past week or so, it's stood out to me more than every before. Maybe it's a sign—I really need a vacation. Joe placed it on the mantle over the fireplace, making it a centerpiece of the room and a complete honor to me, who was considering tossing it when I first began painting.
It's actually quite incredible how hard on myself I can be when I'm creating. I should know there is no right or wrong way to do things, but in the moment, I get so overwhelmed with the desire for perfection, I tend to forget about why I started painting in the first place.
Art is an escape. An expression of the mind and soul. There's no playbook or lines to color within when creating something. Whatever you produce is a masterpiece on it's own, simply because it is entirely yours and began as a blank slate. It's pretty incredible if you think about it. Yet it's so easy to forget that your art is art when you're in the moment.
Now that I've had a chance to step back after months and months, I've not only begun to feel proud of the piece, but I truly love it. There's texture and movement and the colors are both seamless yet contrasting. I can't help but find my mind in the Caribbean when I'm looking at it.
I'm so glad that Joe liked it too. In fact, there have been discussions of trying out a similar design on a large canvas—one that could fill the entirety of the mantle. Until then, I'm going to continue soaking up inspiration and working on my self-confidence.
