I didn't worry

When I paint I often put quite a lot of pressure on myself to do a good job.  There's this voice in my head that tells me there's no room for failure and that I must make good paintings all the time if I ever want to succeed as an artist.  These unhelpful thought patterns really get to me at times and they can really take the joy out of the things I love so much.  

When I was a beginner artist, painting was very fun, but now that I'm serious about making art my business, painting can be stressful sometimes.  That reminds me of this quote from Edgar Degas: "Painting is easy when you don't know how, but very difficult when you do."

One evening I sat down and just wanted to paint something.  I looked through some reference photos and got inspired to paint this Basset Hound.  So I decided that I would paint this picture just for the fun of it and to please myself - not worry about making mistakes or the opinions of others.

By painting free of expectations and pressure, I was able to fully immerse myself in the moment and the calming of watching the paintbrush dance across the paper as I painted each layer.  It is a wonderful feeling when you are able to truly be in the "zone" while creating - there's nothing else quite like it.  I believe it to be healing for the mind and perhaps the soul, too.

I'm very happy with how this painting turned out, and I hope that I can train my brain to let me paint in peace more often!

Thank you for viewing/reading!  As always, upvotes, comments, and resteems are very much appreciated.