NEVER GIVE UP!

Vuelettes Sur Mer, Normandy, France

I asked myself this week if perhaps I should give in, give up... my head is bloody from hitting it against the walls!  All artists have to deal with these feelings...well most of us!  That feeling that you're hitting your head against the wall so much that it's bloody, and you can't seem to soar over those walls or off those cliffs the same way you used to.  It's hard to remember the good times, when you're struggling with day to day things like finances, credit ratings, paying rent, buying food, looking for the dosh to get you over the next hump and into a decent (your own) studio - as well as to your next exhibition!  Unexpected expenses seem to be insurmountable; and don't tell us about a savings account for such eventualities!  I wish!  Sigh.

Enough moaning.  I KNOW that this is temporary, and only has any power over me if I choose to give it power.  This isn't the first time I've been here!  Not, my first rodeo! But, giving up is SOOO seductive!  This is what I'm writing about today.  NOT GIVING UP in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. I talked about this very briefly in an interview with Artist's Web (my website host) in 2014.  I'd forgotten what I said.... and by accident, read it again this past week, just in time. I was asked what was the most important advice I had to impart to other artists....?  My answer was very quick and to the point... TO NEVER GIVE UP.  This is where we separate ourselves from the rest of the world.  We do what we do because we must.  I MUST paint, and explore to do so!  It is part of my path in this life.  It has given me such an incredible life, such incredible insight into the human condition, and most importantly, such incredible insight into myself.