#3. SACRIFICE (Reflection While Painting “Buon Appetito!”)
Painting—Blueberries
Reflection: SACRIFICE
Painting takes time—more than you might have under normal circumstances. You need to be prepared to give up many other activities (and breaks) in order to paint seriously, proficiently, authentically, and optimally. This means attempting to stay with the task by preventing (social) interruptions that may be detrimental to your process. Vacations, weekends, evenings—times when others are relaxing—start to disappear. Painting takes over and becomes all important—has to be all important. It’s not a job like any other. It’s a vocation, and something you can’t always do on command or within a set time frame. You have to be prepared to go the distance, even when you’d prefer to be doing something else—not have to endure so much isolation. That said, if you took time out, the ache of not being there to finish your painting may make other experiences less enjoyable.
