Perspective

Saying things out loud can often reveal things you have hidden from yourself. So it was on Friday night when I visited with my good friend Raya in Santa Fe. She is one of the few artists who works like I do. Talking to her was so helpful. I realized that I am creating most of the stress I feel, and that I can make small changes to manage it. I mean it's only art after all.

So this morning I wrote a long email to my client in Dallas who is expecting me to finish this five foot long landscape in time to ship it to her so they can frame and deliver it by the end of the month. Basically I said it wasn't going to happen. I am here to get away, to have some time to myself, and to refill the creative well (which is bone dry).

The painting is not me. It is a commission for something in the style of another artist. Which just makes it work to me. It's not a creative expression at all. I am rebelling.

So today I will go to town and have lunch with one of the artists I met at the residency in Hungary this summer. We will go do the galleries on Canyon Rd after that, and have a leisurely visit. I will not feel guilty!