Do you Love the ART you make?

Have you ever felt like just giving up?

I almost did it in 2017.

I had received a rejection and I just felt so discouraged. Secretly, I knew my paintings weren’t good enough and I didn’t know what to do about it. In the end, I stopped painting for a whole year.

I am not alone. One artist told me that she once picked up all her failed paintings and tossed them on the rubbish pile. When her husband came to light the bonfire, he carefully retrieved every single painting and brought them all back into the house. (Awww).

But sometimes, it’s not as clearcut as declaring that you are giving up, or flinging canvases into a fire. Sometimes you just stop going into your workspace for a while. And days turn into weeks, and weeks turn into months, and the longer you are away, the harder it is to go back.

But what I realised after that year away is that I really need my art. I need to be creative, and more specifically, I need to be painting. (I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I became depressed during that year).

If you are reading this, I think the same is true for you.