Chop Wood Carry Water…

One thing about success is that it’s kind of an end point. Once you get there, you’ve got to figure out what’s next. I took a great course a few years ago where the instructor reminded students several times to just enjoy the beginner moment. It’s truly a time when experimentation is OK. You’re just getting started and no one expects you to be perfect or even good. The stakes are low and the rewards are great; you’ve got nowhere to go but up and onward. But just after the beginning phase things begin to shift. You’ve learned a few skills and gained knowledge about the tools and materials you’ll be using to make your art. At this point you might begin thinking about showing your work to someone else and considering assigning some sort of value to the work beyond your own satisfaction. This is like going into second gear on a hilly bike ride, you’ve got a bit more power from the machine, but you’ve still got to put your muscles to work to get up that hill. The beginner mindset with its freedom and carelessness is in the past.

With their art, artists face this inflection point every time they sell work. It is certainly a success to sell a painting. The world has noticed and approved - the world is willing to exchange money for your painting. Success! Now what?

The trick is to find a way to get back into the beginner mindset and push aside all those constraining thoughts about what might have made a past painting good. It’s tempting to repeat - why change a winning strategy? However, that is a quick way to getting stuck and repetitive. You’ve reached the top of the hill; enjoy coasting down it for a little bit, but be ready to begin again.