Sabbatical

It is Feb 23 and I am one week into my sabbatical. I call it that because I don't know another shorthand for it. I am taking a break from posting photos of what I am doing and trying not to pay too much attention to what other artists are doing either. But I am returning to basics, meaning I am refocusing on color theory and design concepts. I tend to like closed shapes, which boxes me in too much (so to speak).

Another thing I am doing now is talking to myself and meditating to try to cleanse myself of a couple of worries. First, I note that others frequently do works that are clearly identifiable as theirs, meaning that a lot of what they do looks like variations of the same painting and you know it is "theirs". By contrast, my work is all over the place. I need to get myself to realize that this is what I do and I can't change it, so it is okay. If someone doesn't like that aspect of me, then it is just part of their right to be subjective; it is a given in art that some will like what others don't. The other thing that I need to purge is the thought that fame is the goal. Approval of others is nice, even wonderful, but that cannot be my driver here. I need to accept that it is unlikely that I will get a standing ovation, so I need to do what I do for myself and the muse that sits in judgement.