One of the first things we learn in painting and in photography is the importance of the focus. If we do not decide which is the most important element of our composition and how to bring the eye of the viewer toward it, our painting will lose its strength. When everything is important, nothing is important. Seemingly in our life and work we tend to be overwhelmed by all the things we have to do and all the "priorities" become no priorities because we want to achieve them all.
My art teacher told me once: do not jump immediately to painting, take a bit of time to think first, to reflect about your composition, because if you do not have this right it will affect all your painting later and it will become messy. Stop also to connect with yourself and with your source of inspiration.
Do we do this also in our life and work? Do we stop sometimes to reflect on our priorities? Do we consciously decide what we wanna say YES to and to what we wanna say NO? Do we choose based on what we wanna be as a person and on our purpose (which is our real source of inspiration in life)?
In art before having a breakthrough, it is necessary to accept confusion and struggle. Art does not have shortcuts because it is not just a matter of technique, it is a matter of practicing, reflecting and exploring in order to find your own voice, style and maturity level. It is not only a matter of studying and trying hard. Confusion and searching in the dark is part of the process and it might be very difficult to bear, because nobody can predict when and if you will be able to reach this level.
