TRUST YOUR CHOICES
A Roomful Of Ghosts, my Artist-in-Residency at San Luis Obispo Museum of Art is in full swing. I am making progress and I am so excited to be off and running on this project. It has been so much fun to interact with visitors, while beginning work on my 10 paintings. And, although it is a major challenge, I am having a blast working in the museum. What a trip! © 2018 David Limrite
“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”
Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
Trust Your Choices
The moment I doubt my ability to make the right decision, my painting is doomed.
Actually, now that I think about it, for me, it’s more about having the confidence to even just make a choice. To choose between creating this shape or that one, between making a thick or a thin line, between having a soft edge or a hard one, etc.
I make wrong choices all the time when I am painting. But at least I choose. If I didn’t make choices, I would never create, let alone, finish any paintings at all.
So, I guess it’s more about trusting my ability to make choices, and then trusting my ability to evaluate that choice. And then being able to make a different choice, if the first choice didn’t work out.
For example: I sketched a rough block-in of one of my figures for my Roomful Of Ghosts exhibit. (BTW, there are many choices to be made just executing a rough block-in sketch).
As soon as I finished this first sketch, I knew immediately that I now had another decision to make. I really loved the way that I had drawn this figure, however, it was way too big. I wanted to get much more of the legs into the composition.
My choices were either to leave it alone (because I loved the drawing so much). Or redraw it again in order to fit in the legs and risk that I might not be able to draw it as well the second time. And…trust that I could draw it just as well, if not better, a second time.
Ultimately, I trusted my instincts, my skills and my decision making, wiped out the first drawing, and proceeded to draw it again. As soon as I made the decision to redraw it, I felt empowered and this second attempt came together beautifully. And I got the composition I wanted in the first place.
Trusting my ability to make the right choice allowed me to trust that choice and my skills. Which made all the difference in my ability to push forward and create what I really wanted to create.
Trust your choices.
Best,
David
