“Procrastination is the fear of success. People procrastinate because they are afraid of the success that they know will result if they move ahead now. Because success is heavy, carries a responsibility with it, it is much easier to procrastinate  and live on the 'someday I'll' philosophy.”  Author, Denis Waitley

“The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure”   Author, Sven Goran Eriksson

"When you get right down to the root of the meaning of the word 'succeed', you find it simply means to follow through."
-- F.W. Nichol

I started this blog following a series of events in my personal life. In this year I’ve experienced illness, loss, fear of loss, betrayal, the need to forgive and be forgiven. When my father passed away I realized how selfish I had been. My father was many things but he was an artist and a dreamer. Even at deaths door he had big dreams to travel, live on a ranch, start a new business and keep up with his art. His biggest fear was dying though he never expressed it, it was evident in the way he lived life…..as though he could live forever. I was selfish because he gave me this gift, to draw, paint and create. I was selfish because I spent most of my life ignoring the talent he gave me. I gather warm thoughts and memories of my father when I was a young girl, his hard canvas, the smell of his paints and oils, the messy palette he dipped his brushes in. So why, did it take me so long to pick up the brush again? I had a fear that I just might fail, or that I just might succeed. When my life was thrown into such turmoil this year and the strain it put on my marriage I sought refuge in the company of friends & family. In the face of loss, pain and need, I discovered who my true friends were. My true friends were excellent listeners, but when all the cryin’ was done, they pushed me into action and put me on notice; “you will have 3 paintings done by October”…..so given my orders I dusted myself off, dried my eyes, put on my lipstick and went to the art supply store and poured over the plethora of products.

The paintings:

My first study was trees. This painting was an exercise of sorts just to warm up, get the blood flowing from the brain down to my wrist and out of my fingertips. The painting is titled “wood for the trees” . What did I learn? ... there comes a time when an artist must put the brush down, sign it and say it’s done!  It’s my opinion that I overworked this piece,  what is yours? Please leave a comment before you go.

My second painting was a portrait of one of my 2 cats but I wanted it to have some whimsy. The cat’s face is authentic as you can see when you look at the photo’s I posted October 13 “My art inspiration”, but there’s nothing else about the painting that is authentic. I selected argyle for the background and fountain ornamental grass for a second object. My cat loves to nibble on this grass in the mornings when she gets to go outside for a few minutes. So what happened to the butterfly? I decided that the painting would look too busy if I added another object so I left the butterfly out. The name of the portrait is “Furry Argyle”.   Once again, before you go, I would appreciate your comments.