Child's Play...do,be,do,be, do be

Child's Play

11 x 14 inches

Acrylic 

Do something. Then do something to that. Then do something else to that. And eventually you'll have something. Jasper Johns

I was having tea with a friend and we were talking art and the work of making art. Suddenly she came out with, " Do be do be do be." I thought she was going sing. Then I realized I had the emphasis wrong: 

Do. Be. Do. Be. Do. Be. 

Do it. Be it. Do it. Be it. 

If your goal is to be an artist, you have to be in your studio, making art. If your goal is to be a chef, you have to be in the kitchen, cooking. Your first efforts may not be that great, but as you continue to do, you get better and eventually master that skill. And with that mastery comes a certain bravery to go out beyond and stretch or even break the boundaries. 

Picasso was in his studio working on a piece when a friend came in and said, "That doesn't look very good." Picasso replied, "Of course it doesn't. It's the first one I've done."

That story should be on every artist's wall.  If you've been practicing art for some time  and believe your skill level should yield a certain  quality of work, and you courageously step out and try something new, and your initial efforts yield crap, remember, even Picasso didn't create a masterpiece every time he approached a canvas. 

The worst thing that can happen to an artist is losing that excitement and sense of wonder when we enter our studio. That's why we are driven to try new things. We want to push ourselves out of the mundane of safety and thrust ourselves into the realm of child's play. And waiting for us, in that creative sandbox, is our authentic genius. 

Do. Be. Do. Be. Do. Be.