Suppose

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"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?"
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
Piglet was comforted by this.                                             -- A.A. Milne


I took a meditation/self-help class last year, and we were asked to do an exercise of writing down what stressed us the most. Next to that, to write a solution to that stress point. My stress point was "paint big," and the solution, very simply, was "Don't." As with Piglet above, I was extremely comforted by this.

I tell myself I am not ready, that I will get there. But I see others paint big, most competitions require a certain minimum dimension, and though I've met that minimum, the urge and pressure is still there to paint BIG. I was pleased to be accepted into the Small Works Exhibit in Florida - it takes skill to do a pleasing small work, just as much as it does big. Yet, I feel the pressure, and unfortunately, it takes away the pleasure from painting small. I think of small as simply studies or vignettes. My mindset needs to change.

I was reading Joyce Washor's book this morning, "Big Art, Small Canvas" and she validates the paint-small idea by saying:
"...since it doesn't take as long to finish a painting, the learning curve is shorter."

This is called Four of Us - from a picture of sunflowers I took at the Los Altos Farmer's Market.





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