I know it's not Sunday, but I have a message on my heart derived from a recent black and white value study so I'm just gonna take a minute and do some PREACHIN', y'all. You can call me the Priscilla Shirer of art/life analogies.
I decided it was time to do a black and white value study. I've heard these little studies teach you so much about value (the spectrum of light and dark). But I don't always want to put in the extra effort. I want to jump right in with the color!
One of the main lessons that this type of study teaches is that the color play is SO much more fun when the values are on point. Taking the time to really study the values of your subject, helps value accuracy which is the foundation of every successful painting. (The POP... the ahhhh... the OMG I'm so drawn into this piece!)
You see, I really liked this blue plate in this still life set up, but the value of it was too close to the value of the avocado skin. I knew this, but stubborn me tried it anyway. The skin was swallowed up in the darkness of the plate, right?
So I changed up the avocados surroundings...
So much better!
So here's where my preachin' comes in...
How often do we keep trying to make that 'something' or 'someone' work
when we know in our hearts it's just not happening?
For me, it was PERFECTIONISM. It has been all of my life.
Trying to go ALL OUT in every - single - area of your personal and work life and saying "YES" to everything will eventually lead to BURN OUT. I unknowingly, at the time, allowed that to happen to me as an early childhood teacher.
Personally, the lesson to be learned from the question derived from this little study was so BLACK N WHITE (pun intended). I could no longer say "YES" to everything because it left me floundering instead of "perfect". I don't want to burn out as an artist and/or as a newlywed wife.
The funny thing is, it turns out that saying "YES" actually had me saying "NO" to something else. And I had to put a stop to saying "NO" to REST and SELF CARE.
I'm proud to report that I am creating a healthier balance... and it feels SO good. It feels like hot n sweaty yoga, it feels like trying out a meditation class, it feels like not worrying about the Instagram algorithm, it feels like quitting a February 30 paintings in 30 days Challenge on Day 6 (Who needs to do TWO 30/30 Challenges in a row (Jan + Feb)? Geez!), it feels like reading Lysa Terkheurst's beautiful words in "The Best Yes", it feels like honoring the Sabbath day, it feels like taking a long walk with a close friend, it feels like listening to a podcast while eating a fro-yo (for lunch!) on the beach without a care in the world, it feels like an overdue mani/pedi... the list goes on and on. Call me outta control with this releasing control thing, y'all!
Sometimes a slight shift can really make a big difference.
Do you need to make a shift in your life?
I encourage you to change your "plate" and see what happens.
Meanwhile, I'll keep working on loving on myself.
(And if you ever find yourself complaining about the price of the non-organic avocados like me, just don't even go there because that avocado could end up changing your life.)
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