I’m tenacious. That’s been my greatest teacher in the process of becoming an artist. And it is a process just as the painting is a process. There’s usually that stage where I feel it’s never going to work, but I continue, and by some miracle, it evolves and I am in awe once more. It’s about not giving up or giving in. What makes the painting ‘work’ usually happens in an instant. The rest is just foundation.
Art is not easy. We deal with self-doubt, rejection and competition. Having the community of other artists helps me get through the uncertainty, knowing I’m not alone in the hard stuff, and celebrating our successes together encourages me.
I don’t wait for inspiration. I create as naturally as I breathe. I paint feelings, not things and they become my abstracts. For me, creating is the most direct route to the universal creative flow. Its energy that flows into me, where I can put my own mark on it, and let it continue into the universe. I think that flow continues as viewers interact with my artwork, making it part of their own experience. That’s how I pay it forward.
