I'm wondering about the ways doing one kind of art feeds another. Even if it doesn't come out the way you want , did making the painting open up a perspective on your writing? Sometimes just stepping outside my comfort zone shakes things up in a good way for me but I don't do it anywhere near enough. You've done music, writing , drawing, painting and probably other kinds of art I'm not aware of. At the very least it gives you wonderful writing material.
That's such an interesting thought! I hadn't consciously considered it, but I'm guessing you're right. I do love that there's more art in my life these days.
Related to both your painting and your writing this week- Karen Rinaldi’s book “(It’s Great To) Suck at Something” about learning to surf and learning to be okay at being bad at it really helped reframe some of this stuff for me!
I love the name of the painting 😂 This is a light bulb moment: "I don’t think my urge to excel is inherently bad, but along with it, I need to strive to be as good at relaxing as I am at other things." Could you write more about this? As I was reading this piece, I was thinking to myself, what's the point in being good at things if you're not happy or enjoying yourself. Can you take a similar self-critical approach to being good at relaxing, being happy, being at peace, and enjoying yourself? Or is it a different gear entirely?
I think I do enjoy and take pride in being good at things. I just don't like how harsh I can be with myself about it sometimes. Relaxing and being more okay with not being great at something feels like it does take a different approach. I did struggle with that part of this essay and perhaps why the ending might feel abrupt. I guess what I'm saying is that it's a work in progress still.
I’m right there with you. And usually with me I get frustrated and give up too quickly. I’m just not a patient person. But occasionally I dig in. I think your painting is great, especially the flowers. And I don’t know how long you’ve been doing this, but you’re already far better than I am at drawing, But I’m in the Nishant Jain “Just do it every day until you don’t suck” school. (OK I paraphrased heavily there! 🤣 ) Seriously though, I know that to get good at anything you have to practice. I can only hope that one day I can paint half as well as you can. 🙂
We have that self-competitive/ I'm gonna go pro gene in common. I think it's like peanut butter on a PB and J.
Necessary ingredient in just the right amount, which is subjective, obviously, but you know when there is too much or the bread can't bear the weight of it.
I'm not a fan of the painting, but I see good elements and plenty of potential. Honestly, water scenes don't really do it for me so even if Bob Ross painted it I wouldn't love it ( but I didn't want to skirt the question either ).
I appreciate the honesty about the painting. It's not really my cup of tea either, as evidenced by the abstract pictures I often use for my posts. But my mom loves doing these tutorials and I had never done one. Even though I was being self-critical the whole time, I'd do another one sometime.
I resonate with what you're saying here. I love to learn things, and I love to be good at doing things. I actively hate being bad at things. As a self-taught artist, I think there are skills that take time to develop, and others that don't. But what's surprising is that there are such differences in the particular skills we are patient with, and others to which we don't give enough time. My struggles with my acoustic guitar stand in sharp contrast to my patience with art and becoming a better artist in small, daily increments.
Thanks! I think you’re right. It’s funny because I would probably have more patience for the guitar than painting since I feel more comfortable with a guitar in my hands than a paint brush at this point. I guess if we were all good at the same things that would make for a pretty boring world.
This piece makes me think about my lack of worrying whether I win a game when playing with friends. Even though I love winning (who doesn't?), when it's low stakes with friends, I can pretty much relax about it, and it bothers me when others let their competitiveness get in the way of fun. I'm not above a little trash talk, though, TBH. I realize this is an adjacent topic, but since you mentioned games....
It depends on the type of game for me. If it is poker or a poker-type game, I feel like I should be a favorite since I have so much experience playing poker. If it's a board game, I'm definitely trying to win, but I realize that it's more about hanging with family/friends than winning.
I'm wondering about the ways doing one kind of art feeds another. Even if it doesn't come out the way you want , did making the painting open up a perspective on your writing? Sometimes just stepping outside my comfort zone shakes things up in a good way for me but I don't do it anywhere near enough. You've done music, writing , drawing, painting and probably other kinds of art I'm not aware of. At the very least it gives you wonderful writing material.
That's such an interesting thought! I hadn't consciously considered it, but I'm guessing you're right. I do love that there's more art in my life these days.
Related to both your painting and your writing this week- Karen Rinaldi’s book “(It’s Great To) Suck at Something” about learning to surf and learning to be okay at being bad at it really helped reframe some of this stuff for me!
And those are definitely waves!
Thank you for the recommendation (and for making me feel better about the waves)!
That painting is beautiful!
♥️
Always makes me smile
😄
I love the name of the painting 😂 This is a light bulb moment: "I don’t think my urge to excel is inherently bad, but along with it, I need to strive to be as good at relaxing as I am at other things." Could you write more about this? As I was reading this piece, I was thinking to myself, what's the point in being good at things if you're not happy or enjoying yourself. Can you take a similar self-critical approach to being good at relaxing, being happy, being at peace, and enjoying yourself? Or is it a different gear entirely?
I think I do enjoy and take pride in being good at things. I just don't like how harsh I can be with myself about it sometimes. Relaxing and being more okay with not being great at something feels like it does take a different approach. I did struggle with that part of this essay and perhaps why the ending might feel abrupt. I guess what I'm saying is that it's a work in progress still.
Well, I'm glad it's a work in progress! Because that means we get to read more 🤓
♥️
I’m right there with you. And usually with me I get frustrated and give up too quickly. I’m just not a patient person. But occasionally I dig in. I think your painting is great, especially the flowers. And I don’t know how long you’ve been doing this, but you’re already far better than I am at drawing, But I’m in the Nishant Jain “Just do it every day until you don’t suck” school. (OK I paraphrased heavily there! 🤣 ) Seriously though, I know that to get good at anything you have to practice. I can only hope that one day I can paint half as well as you can. 🙂
Well, it helped that I was following along with a tutorial. There's no way I could do that all on my own!
We have that self-competitive/ I'm gonna go pro gene in common. I think it's like peanut butter on a PB and J.
Necessary ingredient in just the right amount, which is subjective, obviously, but you know when there is too much or the bread can't bear the weight of it.
I'm not a fan of the painting, but I see good elements and plenty of potential. Honestly, water scenes don't really do it for me so even if Bob Ross painted it I wouldn't love it ( but I didn't want to skirt the question either ).
I love that PB&J analogy!
I appreciate the honesty about the painting. It's not really my cup of tea either, as evidenced by the abstract pictures I often use for my posts. But my mom loves doing these tutorials and I had never done one. Even though I was being self-critical the whole time, I'd do another one sometime.
Choose a scene you really like. The classic Simonon smashing the bass is ripe for a paint interpretation.
I like that painting. :)
I resonate with what you're saying here. I love to learn things, and I love to be good at doing things. I actively hate being bad at things. As a self-taught artist, I think there are skills that take time to develop, and others that don't. But what's surprising is that there are such differences in the particular skills we are patient with, and others to which we don't give enough time. My struggles with my acoustic guitar stand in sharp contrast to my patience with art and becoming a better artist in small, daily increments.
Thanks! I think you’re right. It’s funny because I would probably have more patience for the guitar than painting since I feel more comfortable with a guitar in my hands than a paint brush at this point. I guess if we were all good at the same things that would make for a pretty boring world.
Thank heavens it's an interesting world!
dude it is a good painting
lol thanks Caryn!
This piece makes me think about my lack of worrying whether I win a game when playing with friends. Even though I love winning (who doesn't?), when it's low stakes with friends, I can pretty much relax about it, and it bothers me when others let their competitiveness get in the way of fun. I'm not above a little trash talk, though, TBH. I realize this is an adjacent topic, but since you mentioned games....
It depends on the type of game for me. If it is poker or a poker-type game, I feel like I should be a favorite since I have so much experience playing poker. If it's a board game, I'm definitely trying to win, but I realize that it's more about hanging with family/friends than winning.