Don't Save It

The other day in yoga the instructor said "don't save it." In a specific pose don't go easy because you are saving your energy for the next pose. Give it 110% each time. I take this to heart in yoga...rarely do I save it. There are times when my 110% is not as strong as it was yesterday but I still try to push it to the edge each time.

I've been trying to do the same with my art. I recently got the book Taking Flight by Kelly Rae Roberts and there is a quote I really like: "when we challenge ourselves to push our boundaries, we...shed layers of muck - jealousy, perfectionism, worry, fear and self-doubt." I have found this to be so true!

You've figured out by now that I am participating in Illustration Friday, a website that gives us a word every Friday and we are to illustrate that word. In trying different subject matter, techniques and mediums I am learning so much about myself and what I am capable of.    It brings to mind that saying about doing something every day that scares you (Eleanor Roosevelt).  I used to hear this quote and think about bungy jumping or jumping out of an airplane.  Things that would really scare me and I have no intention of ever doing, by the way.  But now I know that trying a new style of art - or picking up a paintbrush for the first time - can be scary. 

For years and years I wanted to create art but didn't think I could because I had not really ever tried!! Vincent Van Gogh once said "If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced."

I've posted about the first time I ever tried to paint but I thought it would be fun to show you my first ever attempt. .Corny, isn't it?  But I was happy enough with the results to realize there was something to this painting stuff. 


I am so proud of myself for trying something that scared me - years ago - and that I continue to do so now.  I try to push my boundries and do things that take me out of my confort zone, but most of all I don't save it.


See some of my departues from my safety zone here and here.