sweetsproutdesigns

This time of year is great for so many reasons: spring settling in, the start of bbq's, and art fairs, to name a few.  I went to the Great Lakes Art Fair this weekend with my daughter and had a nice time together.  I finally met Kandy from Bit O' Whimsey and it was completely my pleasure.  Her booth was busy and full of her items I love from prints to coasters to jewelry, all reflective of her style.  Yes, I treated myself!

Along with feeling inspired and invigorated to come home and create as I usually do after an art fair, I also left feeling a little deflated.  I question everything:  is my work any good to even do an art fair one day?  Would anybody even like it enough to buy?  Do I have enough items?  Is it worth all of the time, effort, and money I'm putting into it and still have to put into it?

This seemed to be a good "teaching moment" for my daughter.  As we sat down to have an ice cream I talked to her about how I was feeling.  As she sat there and took it all in, I wanted her to know that it was ok to have feelings like I was having and that no matter how old you get, self-doubt always rears its head at some point.  It's what a person does with that doubt that makes a difference.

Rising above self-doubt and trusting your instincts is a lesson learned and one I've always tried to live by no matter what the age.  If I knew not one painting would ever sell, would I stop painting?  It's not the point of a sale that drives me to do this; it's the excitement I feel when I am painting that drives the need to do it.  As I am trying to teach all of my children to never give up on their dreams, sometimes I have to remind myself that too - even though I'm the mom.

It felt so good working on these recently.  The finished pieces feel so positive, colorful and uplifting.  I had previously painted canvas sheets red, medium pink, and light pink and cut out the shapes.  Laying the shapes on a new canvas in different patterns (see below) proved tiring.  Although the patterns were nice it didn't feel right.  So, with the shapes put aside, I pulled them out to use as the wings in these paintings.  Now it feels right.