#34 Set Me Free
After painting this piece I vowed to use watercolor paper as appropriate from then on.
The cheap sketch paper crumbled beneath my wet brush and I had to abandon yet another piece...
I made this last year while taking the online art workshop, "Shadow & Light" with the incredible mixed media artist, Ivy Newport... and she ever so generously featured it on her Facebook page. She gave me the most amazing gift that day!
I had been afraid of posting my work anywhere, but pushed myself to shyly post in her workshop group. I remember the feeling of terror that instantly washed over me.
What did I just do?! My art wasn’t good enough! Can I even call that art?! There were so many mistakes, so many things I wanted to fix, so many things I should have done better… which is why I never post anything.
It felt so vulnerable. Putting myself out there with all my imperfections on display for the whole world to see. So, immediately after I posted, I shut down my computer and went back to work to keep myself from deleting my post.
Maybe there are those of you who can relate or are struggling with these same feelings right now. I’m here to tell you, you’re not alone. Even after receiving such a tremendous boost in confidence by being praised by an artist I greatly admire, I still have those same feelings quite often. The difference now is I’m learning to how to handle them, one post at a time.
I keep pushing through the negative little voices, posting in spite of them, and then going right back to creating. Because in the end, it’s about something greater than the fear; it’s about connecting, sharing and passing this same gift and hopefully even more on to others someday.
*Face #34, "Set Me Free", is now available in my Etsy Shop as a Print or Postcard.