When In Doubt, Search Out Joy

As I came to the end of the Sweet Easter collection yesterday, doubt started to overwhelm me. It had already begun creeping into the space of my heart, but yesterday I was submerged and left bobbing for some kind of clarity. Did I do ok? Was this strong enough?? Is it what my agent wanted??? Will it sell????

The art licensing realm is quite different than what I'm accustomed to. I had a system to my art, always got great feedback, and I thought I knew what I was meant to do! I thought "I'm going to paint fantasy, and that's that. That's me! It's what I do!". I am learning, quickly, that nothing, NOTHING, is "That's that.". EVERYTHING is changing, all....the.....time.

That includes my art. What I'm accustomed to is, as my friend put it best, being comfortable. Art for licensing is stretching me so thin that I'm being redefined, challenged, pulled out of my box. I am usually the one teaching my students to get outside of their comfort zone, and to get outside of the "box" we choose to place ourselves in. Time to take a big bite out of my own teaching! I'm comfortable with my subject matter, my compositions, and techniques. I'm not playing anymore.
This has led to doubt. I feel helpless, lost, without faith, no trust, and begin to think I just don't have what it takes. But doubt is a LIE. It's the biggest lie out there that you'll ever find. It just takes a grain of doubt to bring your entire soul down. At least...that's usually how it rolls with me. That doubt must, I repeat, must be replaced by JOY.

Tonight, after teaching another watercolor class about getting out of your comfort zone, I decided to continue searching for words of wisdom, insight into the world of creating art for licensing, and found this amazing interview by J'Net Smith with Joan Marie.

This! This is just what I needed to hear! If you have any doubt, this simple yet compelling interview resounds all the advice and wisdom I have found thus far, on creating art for licensing. I thrive on constructive feedback, and have found very little in the licensing community so far. But there are TONS of information and interviews. These are the keys to gaining feedback. Read. Read. Read. It's just different then what I'm accustomed too. That's okay!

And...

TRUST

LOVE

Find your JOY. Your VOICE. Your SPIRIT.

Then share it to the world.

This is the key I must continue to remind myself. To remind others as I teach. To remind yourself.