Measuring Success

A few days ago I had a discussion about how we measure success. The first obstacle we had to clear up was each person's definition of success. This got quite heated with a lot of personal feelings getting a little bruised. After we all settled on one similar definition we began to see a pattern developing. I had an oil painting professor who once said we never get out of our own backyard. Over the years this little comment has been tested over and over again. Influences that model our young lives play an important roll in our interpretation of major bench marks in our adult view of what success means to us. So how do we measure success? Any way that keeps our backyard and our constant pursuit for truth in our adult life in perspective.

This pursuit for success is lurking in the back of our minds as we start that new project, the next painting. I try to overcome this uneasiness is by having fun, being true to myself and not taking myself too seriously. We have to immerse ourselves in our art to please that passion that keeps us going.

Blog 1

This is my first posting in the new world of blogging. Please give me a little time to get this stuff going.

This will not be a journal as in a daily record of the events that go in the artists life. That struggle is not too interesting for others to read about. Painting is a solitary experience artists engage in each time we face our creative challenges. In this environment I let a few outside thoughts seep into the creative time. Once in a while, some interesting insights emerge. These epiphanies are the stuff of these future entries.