“Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just go to work.”
~Chuck Close
Yesterday I shared my ongoing hiking conundrum— savoring the journey v. getting to the destination.
The journey won in the end. By a nose.
I face the same inner turmoil with my sketching journey. I’m trying new things, seeing what tools and techniques work and don’t work (for me), and the results are not always pretty.
In fact they can be down right frightening.
Note to self: go easy on the brush pen. Consider ditching it entirely if you can't use it more sparingly.
The destination beckons
I don’t know where the destination will be for this particular journey. This makes savoring the journey a little harder. When you’re clear on the destination, it pulls you forward. The destination is a beacon that keeps you moving toward its light.
Without that beacon, the journey can feel more like being lost in the wilderness, randomly trying new directions and hoping to get somewhere good, without a clear picture of where that will be.
With any luck, you'll get nachos and a sparkly cold drink at the end.
What if you're lost in the woods?
If you do get off trail and lost in the wilderness, the rule of thumb is to keep moving downhill and downstream, once you’re sure the rescue dogs and choppers have left you for dead.
Just keep moving, putting one foot in front of the other. Keep doing the work.
You won’t follow a straight path. There will be twists, turns and rabbit paths that lead you into briar patches. There will be bushwhacking. But eventually the destination will reveal itself if you follow the general trajectory—downhill and downstream.
Likewise with this sketching journey. I don’t know where it’s going, and sometimes the trail gets gnarly, but I plan to keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep moving, keep doing the work, even if it scares me.
And at least at the end of my first 30-day challenge, there will be nachos.