Starting a new painting is exhilarating. After days of putting down gesso and sanding between each coat, the canvas is ready to begin. This is slow art.
I have to take risks in each painting and get out of my comfort zone in order to go to places I've never been to before. When I get stuck I have to put myself off balance. I shove the painting into a jarring place, an ugly phase, to build up our relationship and for it to become interesting.
Being an artist is the best. It's the worst. I love it. I hate it. It all depends on which part of the process I find myself in.
Thankfully I've come to understand this about art making and about myself. The best work (and the best of me) emerges in times of difficulty... As well as in looking toward the surprises that lie ahead.