This week, I have hit a wall. With seven paintings to go on
the...
This week, I have hit a wall. With seven paintings to go on
the final installment of the Journey Trilogy, I have lost the ability to pick myself
up by my proverbial bootstraps. To a normal person - a person who, you know, rests - this should come as no surprise. I started work on the trilogy in March
of 2010 and since then I’ve been working pretty much nonstop on these stories,
the latest installment alone since the summer of 2013. Nearly two years! On one
wordless picture book. There were times when, after, completing a finished,
polished draft I simply realized there was something missing and I would start again. And then when the final
edit was completed, there were many paintings I would finish only to realize
that to do the book justice, I’d have to redo them. And what I’m finding now is
that there are limits to this sort of thing. It’s especially hard, because I
can literally see the end, just a few paintings away. But the truth of the
matter is, I have run out of steam. The work of an author is a solitary one,
but also an uncertain one. We spend a lot of time creating work that we have NO
IDEA if it will be well received, or even earn us a living. I love my work and
feel fortunate that the successes I’ve had thus far give me some breathing room
to create something potentially greater still. But now, after starting over again and
again in search of a terrific story or a lovely brush stroke, I find I’ve reached
my actual limit. It’s good to touch down here but even better to recognize it’s
time to take a break. Give me a few days, though, and I’ll be back at it I’m sure.
