Getting a painting right takes time, sometimes longer than first realized. Giving this painting the time it needs is going to take a lot of patience.
I spent most of my 2 hours today on just a small portion of this figure painting. At least for that portion of the painting I had lots of patience but at some point through the work I lost it and began to rush. Everything was beginning to go downhill from there. Luckily I noticed my lack of patience and decided to take a small break.
I’m beginning to realize the disparity of patience throughout our society. As my wife and I drove slowly through snow and ice cover streets today we recognized that patience could mean life or death. Twice we were faced with situations where just a bit of patience would have avoided a potentially fatal situation. But, we are obsessed with getting something and getting it now. We are products of the digital age, we are consumers, we want to consume and we want to do it now.
I’m not sure about anyone else but I need more patience. Patience to listen to others. Patience to calm myself. Patience to let a very detailed painting take its course. Patience to do art every day for the rest of my life. Patience to realize that it could take me 10 years to figure out what I really want to paint…
We are also products of other people’s impatience. I would go even slower on the roads (slow driving saves fuel consumption) if I didn’t have people riding up on my ass ready to push me off the road.
I am just as guilty of lacking patience with my writing. I want motivation to write and the willpower but I don’t want to work for that willpower and motivation. I want it to just befall upon me like a heavenly light. And I want it yesterday.
You are going to roll your eyes, but meditation is always recommended for mental strength. Brian Johnson talks about it all the time. People around Whidbey talk about it all the time. And there are plenty of opportunities to practice it around Whidbey. Or you can try out my Creative Visualization meditation CD. Take some quiet time to reflect and strengthen your mind.
I didn’t roll my eyes, I’ve been thinking about meditation for a while…