Over the last month I have been evaluating my art and trying to discover what works for me and what doesn't. I've also been reading James Gurney's Blog which has proven to be very inspiring. I've been more interested in working with pencils and paint again. I've also been reconnecting with a part of my artistic self that I have been ignoring or perhaps, more accurately, denying.
This creative endeavor so many of us undertake is not easy and sometimes I feel like I need to take a little time to evaluate what I do. The most important thing to do, however, is to keep working. Always make new art because the last piece inspires the next one. Some days it is hard to remember that. Especially when I have had a long day as "Daddy" and not as "artist".
I had a nice conversation with my 3.5 year old son about paintings we saw in a doctor's office. When I told him that I paint too, he asked, "Why?". I said because "I can't not paint." He seemed to ponder the reply for a moment and then went back to playing with a matchbox car he brought.
It was one of those moments that come along every so often that remind me what I do is important to me. Regardless of what anyone else thinks of it. It makes the down times harder to deal with, of course. But I also realized that years from now, when Alex tells stories of his dad I don't want him to wonder why it was I never made pictures anymore.
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