THE COURAGE TO DECIDE
There is something interesting about the mystery of this new little painting. It pulls you in, then you keep wanting to look deeper into it to see what is there, and what you can further see in it. “Untitled”, 16”x 12”, pencil, acrylic and collage on paper. © 2020 David Limrite
“Art ought to be a troublesome thing, and one of my reasons for painting representationally is that this makes for much more troublesome pictures.”
Larry Rivers, Artist
The Courage To Decide
For me, making art all boils down to one thing… making decisions.
Including, but limited to:
- Subject matter
- Style
- Technique
- Medium
- Color
- Brushes and other tools
- Surface
- Size
Every mark or brushstroke you put on your canvas is a decision you get to make. Within any given painting, we make thousands of brushstrokes. Which means we make thousands of decisions.
The decision to keep something in the painting or take it out. The decision to add or edit.
Decision making is endless. It goes on and on.
Making decisions can be frightening or empowering. It depends on how you approach art making. I try to approach it as an opportunity for learning. I try to focus on forward progress and momentum building. I make every attempt to focus on process not outcome.
One thing is for sure, making decisions requires courage. And lots of it. But, the good news is that the more decisions we make, the easier it gets … which, in turn, allows us to become more courageous to continue making them.
Find the courage to make decisions.
Empower yourself.
Best,
David