Failure - a necessary stepping stone to building our dreams.

“Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald

When I began my online journey, I was overwhelmed to say the least. I had no idea of where to go, what to do, or how to do it. When I simplified the tasks that I needed to do, it all became much easier. I had no problem taking action because I had broken everything down into actionable pieces. And if I didn’t know what to do, I’d ask someone, or join a training program.

It also didn’t hurt that I was determined to make it work. If you don’t have that fire burning inside of you, you should think twice about moving forward. Find your passion, and boldly go where you have never gone before.

We tend to compare our own bloopers to everyone else's highlights. Instead just start with your passion and embrace the fact it might be terrible. But the second endeavor will be better, the third even better. For me the only failure is not improving (or trying in the first place).

If we chose to do something and "failed," we received valuable feedback on what to do or not to do in the future. If we chose not to do something, we are guaranteed to be in the same position until we decide to do something about it. Failure is progress. Stagnation is what should be feared.

When I fear failure, one thing that never fails to overcome that fear is thinking about the terrible feeling of regret. Regret lasts much longer than failure, and it is a thousand times worse. When you fear failure and quit, be warned that regret will always be right around the corner.

Fear is a problem, because it can damage everything in life. It ruins our productivity, destroys our dreams, and keeps us from building what we're trying to build. Fear robs life of its joy. Any entrepreneur, world leader, business mogul, high achiever - every single one of them has experienced fear. They've also dealt with those fears, not by shrinking back, but by going forward.

What is that we're afraid of?

Yoga to enhance Creativity

It happens to most of us, I am sure. We adjust our schedules, make sure we’re well fed and rested, tidy up our surroundings so that there’s nothing else to do-but create. Yet, when we sit down to actually make it happen, our minds are as blank as the white screen we sit staring at. 

We can’t force creativity. Sometimes all we need to do is relax, take a break, and let the wisdom bubble up naturally.  

In my case, while sometimes a cup of coffee or a walk out in the fresh air can get things moving, nothing is more effective at boosting my creativity than a good yoga session. Practicing yoga has changed my life and art dramatically. After my morning yoga practice, with my friends, the day ahead is like a fresh canvas to paint on.

Yoga not only helps to find ease in the body, quiet the mind, and get in touch with our true nature, it can also be a way of helping our creative self. This is why yoga is such a gift for an artist. 

Creativity arises naturally in states of stillness and presence, which can be elusive when we are distracted by daily preoccupations and scattered thoughts. When we practice awareness in asana, pranayama, and meditation, we learn to let go of the distractions of the mind.

Yoga practice helps us overcome creative blockages in our mind and body and significantly enhance energy, focus, and originality. No matter what kind of art you call your own, your yoga practice can more fully connect you with your creative mind, body, and soul, says my yoga master.

Creativity is all about finding new ways of solving problems and approaching situations. This isn't a skill restricted to artists, musicians or writers; it is a useful skill for people from all walks of life. If you've ever wanted to boost your creativity, yoga poses that help get the creative juices flowing are: Pigeon pose, Eagle pose, child’s pose, corpse pose, Downward-facing Dog pose, and of course meditation.

How my Smartphone opened Up a Wonderful New Frontier for my Art

A little more than a year ago – I upgraded to a Smartphone # technocrats: ditched my ancient flip-phone and couldn’t believe the difference. Before my Smartphone era, whenever I used to go out for reference pictures I used to carry a case that held my drawing materials, laptop, paper notebook, digital camera, cell phone, and more. It was not light. Today, it is just the Smartphone and it could perform all my tasks and back at work, I can flip through the images and see if anything can help me with my next project.

I have several To Do lists and the most important for me are those related to my art and what I need to do next. I find it useful to collect them all at the same place and my Smartphone is the one tool I always have on me. Nowadays I always “carry” in my Smartphone a master list of blog ideas and update it every time a new idea pops up and refer to it whenever I am out of ideas.

To my delight, touch screen Smartphone’s can be art tools also. First grey out any white background as you would on an easel, make sure you have an app with adjustable brushes, and work by adding layers. If all that fails, use the undo button frequently. And the results - a visual feast.

One feature that I didn’t know about my Smartphone - is using it as a WiFi hotspot, my daughter said, this is called tethering. The only tether I knew was to tie (an animal) with a rope or chain so as to restrict its movement.

This tethering was basically sharing the data connection with other devices, similar to how we use the WiFi at hotels or a coffee shop. And so I head to Settings > Tethering & Hot spot (or settings > more) on my Android Smartphone and enabled the hot spot feature, and viola! My phone shared its connection with my Laptop. But hey, let me remind you, it seems many service providers charge extra for this, so double check before you start streaming movies to your laptop.

Being an artist is a lot of fun. It’s also one of the few hobbies and jobs out there where you can express yourself how you want. Believe it or not, you can produce art from your Android devices with some great Android apps for artists.

Being a Self Taught Artist

A gallery owner asked to see a portfolio of my work and enthusiastically agreed to hang several in an upcoming show. She presented me with a contract stating her percentage. The contract asked for my academic experience - you know, my art school, my instructors, etc. When I told her I was self-taught, she withdrew the contract and thanked me for my time!

The same goes for some online galleries. They didn’t agree to display the paintings, when they found I wasn't trained as an artist.It was then I decided, a gallery that is only interested in my degree or lack of one is probably not the right gallery for my work anyway. Working with galleries should be a mutual relationship, not an unbalanced power relationship.

I don't have an art degree - so I had to build up my resume with local shows (Beauty parlors, restaurants, small local art groups, cafes, etc) and some exhibitions in the buildings where I lived.

My question is, is a self-trained artist really considered an artist in the real art world? Or a college degree is necessary for success?

The truth of the matter is most self-taught successful people have no college degree; they’re simply driven and have no aversion to finding their way through whatever it takes to reach their goals. According to me, an artist's work should speak for itself and not what kind of formal art training he or she has had.

At the same time however, people who likes art, would own it if they found something nice that they could afford and feel comfortable about buying. This is where the self taught artists come in.

In other words, I am a normal everyday person just like those who might be interested in buying my art. I know how to paint, I can relate to everyday people in language they can understand, and some of them even like my art enough to buy it. And I know, I can't ask for much more than that. So far, I've made a modest amount of sales, and that's even better.

To all my self taught Artist friends out there, your best ally is the Internet. At no time in history has it ever been easier for an artist to establish a profile and attract a fan base with absolutely zero involvement in either the gallery system or "established" art world regardless of their education, experience or qualifications. All they have to be is GOOD.

You don’t have to have a great idea, all that is required is that you’re passionate about what you do, and dedicated to making it work – and sometimes the learning process and work involved leave you drained and downright exhausted, but in the end it’s definitely worth it.

People who buy art could care less about where you went to art school or how many diplomas you have. They're looking for one thing and one thing only,good art. As far as I am concerned, creating art brings joy to my life and selling it brings joy to the lives of others. That's called success and it's everything being an artist is about.

Balancing Art and Life

Fulfilling my desire to be an artist and develop a business while dealing with the distractions and commitments of everyday life can be very frustrating. There are sacrifices to be made, but also planning to be done.

The ultimate challenge for most artists is how to get  those periods of solitary, uninterrupted time to work. Life is full of distractions, and finding pockets of time to work is the most difficult.

I separate my work area from family space, and keep it that way and give myself the time to make art. It takes self-discipline and commitment to set my boundaries. Plans change, things come up, attention will be divided. ”Making” time is important if art is a priority. It’s not easy, and things are often left undone as a result, but it’s OK if art is kept as a top priority.” Guess if you’re passionate about something, I guarantee you its all-consuming. Sometimes I ask myself: “Does my current situation bring me joy? Am I spending enough time with my family and friends? Do I feel like this gives me purpose?

There is so much art just sitting around in Galleries, begging for a home. Why should I keep making art when there’s already so much out there trying to be sold? I know that seems pessimistic to you probably, but I just don’t know where I fit into all of it. Or if I there’s even room for me”. Here is the answer…  

“Paintings are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there is free time or if one can afford it. Rather, paintings and poetry, music and fashion, design and dialogue, they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation.”

Art cannot stop, and it’s my responsibility as a creator to see to its thriving, fruitful continuation. If we let art stop, then our culture, our time, our history might all disappear.

I feel blessed for the talent I have been given. Not everyone has the ability to create art, and not everyone can even learn it with someone else teaching. If you have been blessed with artistic ability, be happy with doing your personal best, and know that studying your favorite artists’ works and practice will take you to new levels that will excite and inspire you!

Honing your skills when you’re an artist is a process that continues forever; be inspired, be motivated, and most of all let your art reflect yourself and your passion!

Painting and emotions

Have you ever noticed how much music, or doing an activity like drawing or painting relaxes you after a long day? That is because it is very therapeutic. Studies have also proven that coloring, even as an adult, has tremendous benefits. It can help someone express themselves, explore their emotions, manage addictions, and improve their self-esteem.

A painting can tell stories or depict ideas, it can be realistic or abstract. However, the most important issue in it is that it expresses or stirs emotions. Painting can be a record of what the artist is feeling and, at the same time, it can bring about emotional reactions in the viewer.

When you first encounter a painting, sculpture or photograph, you generally relate to it through your emotions. While the painting may or may not always contain meaning or symbolism, it usually stimulates your senses and leads you to experience feelings. Experts say that the best way to express pure emotions is to create nonobjective or totally abstract artworks in which colors, lines, shapes, and textures directly convey their emotional state.

The saying , ' Painting is an expression of the artist's mood ' is very true according to me. The state of my heart at the moment of applying paint to canvas gets into the mix somehow. Customers actually 'feels' when they regard my work, how I felt while I was doing it.

In the art movement called "Expressionism,”the artist is more interested in expressing an emotional experience and less focused on depicting realism. The art work could be a record of what the artist was feeling at the time of making it, and it could also bring about emotional reactions in the viewer.

Should a painting be beautiful for someone to relate to it?

People respond emotionally and intellectually to visual images, often recognizing characteristics that make something seem beautiful without even thinking about it. This responses may vary from person to person, and individuals often have different ideas about what makes a painting beautiful. Some people respond to certain subjects because they associate them with pleasure. Others may find a particular combination of lines, colors, and shapes appealing without understanding the meaning of the painting.

Judged by traditional standards, many contemporary artworks would not be described as beautiful or pleasurable. For many, it is more important that the works are interesting, thought-provoking, and challenging.

Care of Acrylic Paintings

Acrylic paintings are a great choice!

They are expected to have a longer life span than oil paintings, and are considered more resistant to aging. That is, they develop cracks less often than oil paintings and are more resistant to pressure.

Original art is an investment not only valued monetarily. Your painting will be appreciated by future generations, not just by those who view it today.

Here are a few things you can do to avoid or reduce some types of damage in a painting:

• The best type of light for your painting is indirect sunlight, recessed lighting, and halogen lights (not ultraviolet)
• Try to display your paintings in a place where the relative humidity and temperature levels are fairly constant, not very high (above 60%) or low (below 40%),
• Keep the artwork away from direct sunlight. Direct sunlight can cause fading of certain pigments, increasing yellowing of varnish and excessive heat on the painting surface.
• It is not advisable to place the artwork above a heat source such as fireplaces. In addition to the damage caused by radiating heat, dirt that rises with the heat may cause damage.
• Ultraviolet light should be kept away from the paintings as fugitive dyes and colorants used in paints will eventually discolor under exposure to this type of light. The fading of pigments and dyes will affect the color balance of the artwork.
• It is inadvisable to hang paintings in a moist environment such as a room which has a bath or shower. Rapid environmental fluctuations will be harmful to the paintings
• A painting can be safely dusted using a clean, soft natural artists brush. Be careful not to bump or scratch the painting. The painting should be held in an upright forward angle so the dust falls away from the painting.
• Another safe way to remove dust is to use light compressed air to blow all dust particles off the acrylic surface.
• Never use dry or moist dust cloths, stiff bristle brushes or feather dusters to clean a painting as threads can catch on areas of raised paint and dusters can scratch the painting.
• Never use a liquid or commercial cleaner on a painting. Avoid spraying any fresheners, polish etc directly onto a painting.
• It is advisable to remove paintings off the wall when steam cleaning carpets, plastering or any other things near the artwork.
• Touch the painting as little as possible.  The oils and dirt on your hands can make the paint deteriorate. Wash your hands before handling the painting, and wear cotton gloves when you have to touch it. Skin oils are acidic and can damage artwork over time. Abrasion from rubbing or touching the paint surface can damage or alter the appearance of the work significantly.
• Handle the painting carefully. Take off accessories like rings or bracelets so you don’t nick or tear the canvas. Carry the painting by holding it on its opposite sides with both hands. Don’t carry it flat on top of your open palms.
• Smoking near the painting will damage the paint surface as well.