". . . a brush with nature"

All painters, and I am sure sculptors, writers, musicians, and other creative types, as well, suffer extreme periods of "ups" and "downs" during their careers. Having the courage to carry on after a slump is sometimes difficult, but sooner or later the driving passion to create again will win out. It is never easy to bare your soul and risk possible rejection, but the creative cycle is such that the successes follow failures follow successes follow . . . . and so it goes.

Having a piece juried into a prestigious show, being accepted into a well know, established gallery as one of "their" artists or making a sale to a new collector can be quite a wonderful feeling. It is a validation of the time, work and "soul" you've put into each piece you have created. It is a success.

Adversely, when a letter comes saying your work was "rejected," "declined," "not accepted" or whatever other term is written there, it can certainly feel like complete failure rather than only one painting not being juried into one show. In fact, that same painting may well be accepted at the next show you enter and might even win an award. Perhaps you have contacted gallery after gallery that you felt might be a good "fit" for you and your work. No positive responses this year. It sure feels like failure. The gallery you contacted that wasn't accepting new artists now. . . well, what about in Spring? Things change. Artists come and go. When a potential buyer raves about a specific piece then leaves without purchasing it, it certainly feels like a failure. However, your work still "spoke" to that person. They will think about it, perhaps talk about it . . . and you and your work. Maybe they will share their excitement about your art with others. Who really knows what will happen in the future?

I believe as artists we need to keep on a more even keel as we travel along our art adventures . . . not letting neither our "highs" become too euphoric nor our "lows" sink too far into melancholia.  Even though we all want and need a chance to share our work with others and receive that positive feedback, our true happiness and joy is in the creation of the work itself, and should not be based solely on what others think or say about it. This is, of course, easier said than done.

Perhaps the words of Winston Churchill can help guide us along a more balanced artistic path -

"Success is not final; failure is not fatal. It's the courage to continue that counts."