turtles to be grateful for

All my efforts, thoughts and concepts about art boil down to one thing: DOING IT. 

It's that simple!

I'm not really concerned about what comes out.  I don't care about the finished picture.  I'm not saying I'll never be concered about that or won't change in the future.  I just know that right now, I'm at a stage where my focus is on developing a daily practice.  That's the goal. 

But the funny/weird thing is is that art is something you can't force.  You have to romance it, dance with it, give it a nice place to rest.  It's like befriending a feral cat.  You can't chase it!  You have to set out food for it and then hide.  Food in this metaphor means gratitude, love and acceptance. It's also a time thing.  The cat needs to get to know you, know your scent.  It may take a while before it lets you take it to a pet show.  

So I try to be grateful for what happens during my art forays.  The other day, I was watercolouring and this humorous creature smiled back at me.  After him, I did these others, one filled with turtles.  "Big deal" my inner critic might say.  But another part of me was chuffed, knowing that it respresented a significant change.  Instead of the random squiggles and shapes that usually occur when I have a paint-brush in my hand, some real forms emerged.  Were the turtles a symbol to mean "slow and steady?"  Who knows.