Mark E Shellshear.

We need to make work that matters for the people who care about our Art. It is easy to be average it takes little effort and low risk, but it will always be average work. To make work that matters takes risk and emotional energy and we invest something in it that average doesn’t have, the desire for constant improvement. Average does not have to improve, it’s just average and that is easy to do and nobody cares. Consistent improvement can be measured, we will see the improvement in our work, because it matters to you the creator and to the people who care about your Art. It always matters.

Most of the important things you will have to do to be a successful Artist are not things you will feel like doing, but that does not matter you will still have to do them. The difference between highly successful people is that they know that hard things have to be done and they just do them, they do not debate and negotiate with themselves and talk themselves out of it because they do not feel like it, they do it. The difference is taking action and doing it quickly so you don’t talk yourself out of it. So next time you know you should do something but don’t feel like doing it, act and do it, that is what successful people do.

The imagination drives our practice and helps us to produce the work that defines us as Artists. We take what does not exist, except in our imagination and dreams and we turn it into a beautiful Art work. As Artists we go to work on an idea and turn it into reality. We breath life into ideas and produce exceptional Art. We imagine it and it is. We dream it and it becomes reality.

Now not everyone will like us or our Art, but we must do all we can to endear ourselves to others. Create wonderful original Art and work on the better you, a better smile, on your pleasing personality and always be as friendly as you can, get rid of bad habits like arguing and criticism and learn to see the best in every situation. It may not work out exactly as you want all the time but as long as you have always given it your best effort, that’s enough. .