The best lesson in letting go ...

“Just let go -- and fall like a little waterfall.”

Bob Ross

I'm in the process of letting some paintings go. They've been with me since they were just blank wooden panels. We've been through struggles and joys and says where nothing much happened. Gradually, one by one, those blank panels turned into paintings.

It's always magical when that happens. Because I work intuitively, I let the paintings lead, which means I rarely have an idea before I start. And even whenI do have an idea, it usually morphs and changes as I go. Hence every painting is a surprise.

There's this moment when it suddenly comes into focus - like that moment when the optician slides a lens across and suddenly everything becomes clear. Sometimes it's just one mark or one additional colour and bang - there it is!

But now the whole series is done and it's time to let them go. I know some people find this challenging - how can you pour so much energy into something and then just let it go. But I've learned that the gold is in that moment when the painting clicks and you're done. After that, the returns diminish. For a while it's nice to look at the new work and enjoy what you've created but then it starts to take up space ... space you need to make something new.

And that's why my art is such a valuable teacher for me. Everything I need to learn in my art also translates into my life. Holding on to paintings you've made is fine of course - but it's important to ask yourself why you feel compelled to hold on. Is it because the paintings genuinely make you happy? Is it because you never wanted to sell? Or is it because, deep down, you fear you can't do anything like that again?

If it's the latter, you must let them go. Because you CAN make something like that again. In fact, you will make something BETTER!

Each time we create and put ourselves into it, we get a little bit better. That's just how this works. But our brains are not wired to see into the future. Our brains can only imagine things they have seen before - they can't imagine things that have not yet existed. And they are wired to keep us safe - ergo, they will always try to push us towards whatever feels safe.

When we let go of our paintings - either by selling them or sending them to a gallery or moving them out of the workspace or even throwing them on a bonfire (sometimes it has to be done!) - when we do that, we make space for the new to come in.

I am so excited about my new ideas - they are swirling around my head while I varnish and sign and frame and package up the work for transport to the gallery.

It's delicious to explore those ideas because I am no longer afraid of the space between the past and the future.

Not in my art at least. Now I want to let that same courage infuse my life.

Sure I've never done that thing before (insert scary thing here!) - and that means my brain will try to nudge me towards safety. But is is really safety? Might there not be new and wonderful things on the other side if I am willing to take a leap?

That has ALWAYS proven to be true with my art and I am learning to trust that it might be true in my life as well. Maybe we should all follow Bob Ross's advice - "let go and fall like a waterfall."