I want to be clever right now!

Instant success is not real life. You are not born talented. You build your talents by consistently practicing what you love doing. This week I have set myself the challenge of learning to do pastel portraits. For years I was a quick portrait artist at theme parks. I used felt tip markers and my work was gentle but they were more like cartoon portraits and not serious portraits.

This week, I decided I would like to be able to do serious portraits in pastel. To achieve this I have set the goal of producing 100 portraits in 1 week. I am photographing each one as it is finished and I will put them all together as a movie at the end. Next week I have  already booked myself into a venue to draw the public… quick panic!

I am practicing what I am preaching… practice, practice, practice. There is no substitute. If you want a skill, you have to make a consistent effort to achieve it. As I write this, I am ½ way through the 3rd day and I am already up to portrait 44. There is a rapid improvement in the quality as it progresses. (Just as well, the first few were a bit scary).

I have left the bad works in to show that it is not all pretty. This morning when I started at 2am the first 2 I did were shocking, I think I was still asleep. Nevertheless, I continued on to my goal. The creative artist in me will not give up.

If you want instant success, you are on the wrong planet. On this world everything takes effort (and money!) So get your act together and get your new creativity together so that you can gain a skill and perhaps make some money.