Sometimes you just want to do something simple. No complications, no build up of layers, no difficult tasks. White space gives us a place for the eye to rest, and we need to do that in everyday life as well.
So what is your 'white space'?
I'm reading Adam Grant's Hidden Potential: The science of achieving greater things. He gives a useful definition of the differences of critics, cheerleaders, and coaches. We all have them, but it's good to know which someone is when they give you feedback.
Critic - sees your weaknesses and attacks your worst self.
Cheerleader - sees your strengths and celebrates your best self.
Coach - sees your potential and helps you become a better version of yourself.
It makes a difference to how you receive feedback - and what kind of feedback is given - if you know what sort of person they are in your life. Coaches have a balanced and encouraging function, so listen to them and try to be one for others.
I find myself drawn to palettes that mostly have a red, a blue, and a yellow. Although the middle band of this piece looks black, it contains a lot of Payne's grey, which isn't so evident in the photos.
Do you find your artworks have recurring palettes or themes?
The smallest acts can make the biggest impact.
When someone needs some help, a little kindness, just to know that they are seen, the smallest things can have a big impact. Don't think that the tiny act you can do, that thought that occurs to you, are too small. Small deeds are often the most thoughtful.
So when someone you know is moving house, they may not need help with moving boxes, but you could take them some food. You can drop it off and then get out of their way, because let's face it, sometimes you just need the space when you're doing a big job.
That new mum you know - take her some bath salts, because everyone buys for the baby, but mum and dad need caring for, too. Someone did that for me, and I remember it all these years later, but I can't remember most of the gifts that were given for the baby.
That couple who are going through a tough time financially - drop off a gift card for the supermarket. It's quick and easy to do, they get to make their own choices, and it avoids the discomfort that can sometimes come from receiving a food parcel.
'Failure can mess with your head. That's primarily because it is only ever in your head.' Questlove.
I have now finished reading Creative Quest. I liked this quote because it is so true. How do you measure success? What do you count as a failure?
How often do you carry a 'failure' round in your head for ages, whereas a 'success' is quickly forgotten? We tend to dwell on things we consider as failures, and that's when it messes with your head. How about instead of dwelling on it, we look for the lesson to be learned. If we learn something, is it really a failure?
Knowing what you're not as well as what you are.
Still working my way through Questlove's Creative Quest. One of the things he talks about is knowing what you're not - as an artist - as well as what you are (inspired by David Byrne). Knowing that I am not an oil painter or a sculptor or a watercolourist helps me to focus in on what I am which is a mixed-media artist. I've tried those other things, but they're not for me. They don't spark excitement and pleasure and contentment in me like mixed-media does.
In general life it's good to know what you're for just as much as what you're against. It's easy for people to tell me, as a Christian, what (they say) I am against. I prefer to define myself more by what I am for: I am for love. I am for caring for people and understanding that they are individuals. I am for giving dignity and respect, even if I don't fully understand. I am for including rather than excluding. I am for forgiving and giving second chances where appropriate.
Know what you are and what you're not.
Suggestions can lead to whole stories.
This page suggests a landscape to me, even though it is nothing like a realistic landscape. The colours aren't even correct. But my brain takes a few shapes and the composition and says, 'landscape'.
It can be the same when we only have a few of the facts in a situation. We take them and make a whole story out of it. For example, my husband is a vicar and he has a lot of ear piercings. When he turned up at church without any of his earrings in for a couple of weeks, stories started to go around that 'someone' had told him to take them out. The 'someone' changed, depending on who was airing the opinion. For the few who actually asked rather than putting together their own story, he had an X-ray at the dentist's and needed to take out his earrings. He just hadn't got round to putting them back in.
This is a fairly innocent example, but the result isn't always so innocent. Reputations can be harmed by gossip, so let's not take a few scraps and make a whole garment out of them.
The patchwork of life.
A few of the marks on this page made me think of stitching, which led me to think of patchwork. All our lives are a patchwork of pieces. Although our life fabric may contain some pieces with the same pattern - when we have some similar experiences - the size and shape and the way they are put together is unique to us. There might be parts of your life that you wish didn't happen, but each piece adds to the overall cloth, and the dark parts only serve to contrast with the light parts. When you look at a piece of art, it is the play of contrasts that brings interest, so don't regret those dark parts, but also remember to celebrate the light.
