Taking Control

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

When life is a bit disoriented, it's reflected in your work. Sometimes it's important to take a break, realize you've lost something and to go back and find it. Or find the source of where you turned on the wrong path. Recently, I let someone's opinion of my work get to me. Making me feel like my approach or my visual voice was not good enough. I should have taken their opinion with a grain of salt. But does anyone? In every professional field, at some point we define our successes by the opinion of others. Why is not really the question, nor is blaming someone else for feeling a certain way the solution - because that is a waste of time and unrealistic. And ultimately you should never give someone else the power to make you feel a certain way or control your direction in life. This is my lesson this month. Like any artist, beginner or seasoned, I will always be learning, growing, and mastering my craft. And I will probably never define what my craft is. It may be painting today, drawing tomorrow, abstract the next, and portraits a day later. And that, that is beautiful. Because that is me. I not defined by my mediums or my subjects, but I am defined by my approach. Which is of course a combination of the thousands of artists before me but blended together to become my own unique visual voice. Whether it be bold, saturated in color, dramatic, complete or a work in progress, it is personally how I see the world. And where I'll go with it, is unknown, limitless and will be my own amazing path. Never let someone else define your success or future. You are responsible for your life, never give that power away.

So in the last week or so, as I tried to take a break... I let what ever inspire me, inspire me. I let go of feeling like I needed to create something to fit someone else's idea of good. Instead, I created in my voice - saturated colors and all. This random disoriented collection reflects me.. An artist inspired by the world, as defined by my creative spirit. Without hesitation.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."