". . . a brush with nature"

I love this quote from Teddy Roosevelt.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Now I know Teddy Roosevelt was probably not thinking about artists when he wrote these powerful words, but they certainly can apply to many of us and the struggles we face as we pursue our dreams to become better artists. Whether we simply strive to become better in the creation of each successive piece of art or our end goal is to achieve a certain level of professionalism (judged differently by each individual artist), we each face critics, challenges and times of self-doubt along the way. Sometimes these obstacles can seem overwhelming and may cause us to falter and lose sight of our goals, but as this quote points out so eloquently, victory will only belong to those who dare try to achieve greatness.

So, listen not to naysayers (even the one that sometimes speaks to you from within your own head). Be strong, persevere, paint or sculpt what is in your heart and DO aspire to greatness, whatever your own definition of that may be. Remember, (paraphrasing here), the credit belongs to the artist who is actually in the studio, whose face is marred by paint and dust; who strives valiantly. Go create!