We took our dog Murphy to the vet today, to ‘install his updates’ (aka, get booster shots, flea pill, all the fixin’s). He wriggled around like a crazy, and it took me, my partner, the vet, and a little velcro contraption around his mouth just to clip his nails.
He’s a 75 pound dog, and it took about 450 pounds of people to hold my usually sweet, wonderful dog still for five minutes.
He really, really, hates getting his nails done.
The experience made me think of a couple of things: one, WTF! we apparently need to refresh his obedience training, and two, I really wish I could have communicated to him: if you just relax for a second, even though it’s scary, the scary part will be much, much quicker.
What the heck does this all have to do with art?
Last night I was teaching class (beginning acrylics for adults), and a few people in the class got to a point with their project where they were completely frustrated with it. I could see that part of the frustration came from pushing themselves a little farther than they had before, and part of it comes from working too long on a small part of the painting- looking at something so long you can’t really see it anymore.
Even as I reassured them that they were on the right track, (they were!) it reminded me of moments I have had during challenging paintings. The times I’ve come closest to scrapping a painting, and then later, times I’ve done the most learning as an artist. Stepping back, taking a break, then pushing through the hard part anyway- it’s the only way I get past it. If you find yourself so frustrated that you’re upset, you’re probably not going to do yourself any favors by keeping at it.
so, remember to give yourself a break- even just a few minutes. then approach your work with a fresh outlook. and always, trust yourself. 
