Blue Tunes of Texas

Blue Tunes of Texas–16X20 on self prepared matboard. An intimate and delightful ground level view of the beautiful bluebonnets of Texas. SOLD. Prints are available as well as other items printed with this image in my store.

Beware the Resistance!

Steven Pressfield, in his book The War of Art, defines Resistance:

Resistance cannot be seen, touched, heard, or smelled. But it can be felt. We experience it as an energy field radiating from a work-in-potential. It’s a repelling force. It’s negative. Its aim is to shove us away, distract us, prevent us from doing our work.

I’ve read this book several times, and congratulated myself that I could recognize Resistance and even counter it relatively successfully.

And then I tried to begin this painting. The Resistance was strong with this one!

First off, as I prepared the surface, the color that I toned the ground was just…ugly. I wasn’t excited to paint on it. Still, it shouldn’t be wasted. Maybe I would paint something else on it instead of the bluebonnets I had planned. I mounted the board and fastened it to my easel.

But then I noticed I had several expired palettes that needed cleaning and sorting. Then there were a few tools laying about from a framing session that should be put away… And the list went on.

In the end, I had to trick myself into beginning. I told myself I would just begin another painting, since I clearly wasn’t ready to get on with the one I had planned.

I mounted another piece of UArt and did an orange wash to tone the paper. Since it had to dry, I thought “well, it won’t do any harm to try a little sketch on the one on the easel while I wait…”

And that’s how I overcame Resistance this time.

Do you recognize Resistance in your art practice or other passion? How do you overcome it? Have you read The War of Art?

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