My college aged son came home for a short visit this weekend. In the brief time he was here, he wrote a message for me to find on my inspiration whiteboard, that I did not find until he was gone: ”Seek Peace Over Happiness.” My guess is it was in response to my quote “Choose Happiness.” And I have been thinking about the difference between peace and happiness all week. And what that means for my art practice.
I struggle daily with the balance between making art I love and love making, and marking art that will “sell.” Am I happy when I get a new sale? Absolutely! Am I peaceful when going through the grind of social media, uploading photos, inventorying my pieces, etc … all those things that get me to my sales? Not really. But I am managing and trying to find ways to share my art while keeping my sanity.
My hope is eventually to always chase peace over what I think will make me happy. I’ve often been wrong about what I think will make me happy. I’ve been told happiness is a product of good living. And seeking peace in all areas of my life is a good way to live.
And it seems when I send these vibes out to the Universe, the Universe responds. I got 3 commissions in the last week, when I have not gotten a commission in over a year. No hassle, no begging … nice and easy … and peaceful. I am hoping to keep peaceful as work on them! I think the key for me will not be committing to unmanageable time frames or worrying about them being perfect.
So I will probably be taking a bit of a break for my Building in Pink painting. I did some more work on it yesterday and this morning, and decided I need to be a lot looser and more painterly for this one to work. I just don’t have the technical skills (or the patience) to make it perfectly aligned and matching. Progress Pic Below.
