Ana's Thought: "Your Art will find its own path - just do it, and you will find peace."
To young artists first picking up their pencils and paintbrushes, the idea of creating can seem so daunting. For every ounce of enthusiasm you carry, there creeps a shadow of uncertainty - and with so many masters before you, gazing down from hallowed museum walls, you may be tempted to not bother, to quit before you start!
I have spoken with many aspiring creators about their fears and dreams within art, and their struggles are often ones I have shared. But in my many years of practicing art full-time, I have collected precious pearls of insight that have guided me along the path of growth. I wish to share with you a handful of these drops of wisdom, as they provide me with the courage to create with my fullest passion.
- Inspiration will come to you with the force, brilliance, and speed of lightning - you must be quick to catch its charge! Ideas can escape from you within a blink, depriving you of the opportunity to grant them the fullness of life. Be ever receptive to the glimmering, dancing world around you. Live through each of your senses at all times, and absorb all you can. The events and scenes you encounter are captured quietly and will develop within you.
- When you set to work, let your hands move fluidly. Act upon your impulses so that you create organic shapes that look as natural as they feel. Get lost in the motion and the action; inhabit the processes of your work, where nothing can disturb you. Do not let the mind interfere with the purity of this divine process, as it will only hinder this meditation of the soul that results in the birth of true beauty.
- Do not trouble yourself with accuracy, how your creation compares against reality. Exact copies of subjects lack the fingerprint of the unique being who created it. Look to the greatest masterpieces in history - we praise innovation and heart over realism.
- There is no critique or contrarian opinion whose sting is stronger than that of inactivity, the choice to not create. Always, always work through your desires, even when they overwhelm you - there are few greater rewards than the relief and victory of completing pieces that challenge you.
- Recall always that there is the magic of possibility within you, the potential that blesses us all. Respect this miraculous gift by using it graciously, and give thanks for it by sharing it with others. Trust in yourself and in the guiding hand of the universe - do not be afraid, for only sweetness will follow when art emerges from your heart. You are a true original!