The Calling

The Calling. Oil on panel 8x10” study I did today that I totally fell in love with.  SOLD.

It is invigorating to finally decide to dedicate your life to what brings you joy. Being an artist is a vulnerable path. You create something intensely personal and then open your heart to the world. 
Not everyone is so fearless.
It’s actually not about being fearless.

Don't let
anybody tell you you can’t, or to not be afraid. 
 It's okay to be afraid
because you can't be brave or courageous
without fear.
The idea of being courageous is that
even though you're scared, you just do
the right thing anyway.

By pursuing my art despite the risks and fears, I hope to inspire at least one person out there to do the same.
 I am acutely aware the support  from everyone in [the instagram] community has encouraged me to continue sharing my art, and has been integral to my growth along this journey. I cannot believe that as of today, there’s now 10,000 of you following along on IG @aliza.and.her.monsters. 

But dont think it’s because I’m talented.
I didn’t get here because of talent. Talent is a myth.

It was hard work, putting in all the time and effort to study, practice and develop these skills– things that are so much more complex than ‘talent’.

So you tell me you tried to draw but you can’t after making your first sketch. You decided that you had ‘no talent’.
What if you had kept trying?
Art is a skill like playing an instrument or driving a car. Given a lot of hard work and time, you can improve over time. And, like any skill, it requires practice; hours and hours, and days, and weeks, and months, and years of practice. Practice can be absolutely no fun- it is riddled with failure and self-doubt that make you question  whether you can ever improve. Sometimes practice makes you feel like trash.
 It can feel scary because the prospect of failing can be paralyzing.

It's okay to be afraid.
Go pick up that paintbrush.
✌🏻