Five Truths (Part 2)

Kelly's Beach, Port Alfred (oil on panel: 40cm x 40cm)

After a month dedicated to painting, thinking and writing about art I need to add to my list of truths posted at the beginning of December.

1. Retail Therapy is a lie! My family was fortunate to be away from the malls this season. I do not want to sound like a grinch but less time around shops is good for the soul not to mention the pocket. How does this relate to art? Time and peace for creative work! More creative work makes me a happy guy and my family is happier too. Honestly shopping is a distraction, which we all know is just procrastination. 
2. If you have to force it then it was probably wrong to begin with. Great art is effortless. Have I gone mad! No - let me put it this way. It may seem like a ton of work looking in from the outside, but to the artist in the sublime moment of creation it is effortless.  All creation is effortless. Nature does not struggle - creation is happening all the time without any difficulty. Our simple attempts at art pale in comparison. Take a look at a painting you have done that you are particularly happy with. There is probably a portion of the painting that you are very pleased with. I am sure that it happened without any trouble. You may wonder if you could ever duplicate that moment of mastery. Now there will be other parts of the painting that took some labour. It is likely that those parts look it too - laboured I mean.
3. If you want good things to happen then you must give good things too. Art requires sincerity. Paint for the love of art. Not envy or for competition. True art or any form of creation cannot be achieved any other way.
4. Time is irrelevant: It is convenient for us of course, but to the creative process it is unimportant. Some artists put a lot of store in saying something like: " I have been painting for twenty years!" So what? What counts is what you do with your moment of creation. Create art with intention and focus and keep at it. Every day should have some action related to your art. The mastery of art cannot be achieved any other way and trust me it will happen, but you will still want more since the creative spirit never dies. Fine by me.
5. Take Responsibility: Progress in our art is up to us alone. Teachers can only open a window for us to look into a part of their world. It is our duty to learn form as many sources as possible. Accept and reject what you want, but never blame others for your difficulty in technique or process. I sometimes hear part-time artists name dropping about art lessons with so-and-so or suggesting that another artist did not show them how to do something or other. Certainly there is self-sufficiency in all artists who are in it for the long haul. My experience suggests to me that only those who keep their focus on self-development and take full responsibility for this make it in the end.

The opportunities for learning are infinite. All that matters is that we take these opportunities and remember to be grateful for them. Enjoy.