June 6, 2023

Patience is a form of action

Sometimes, for some ideas, now is not the right time, but it’s not always obvious. Sometimes, we’re not in the right headspace, or our lives are full of things that need more attention. Sometimes, we don’t have the artistic skill to execute what we can see in our minds. Sometimes, we don’t have the right people to collaborate with at the time. Sometimes, now is not the right time.

For some ideas, just like a good sourdough, time is an ingredient. Even though it can feel like we’re slacking off, or being lazy, or just not ‘pushing on’. The difficult bit is interrogating where our inaction comes from. Is it fear? Self doubt? I’m not good enough? No one will like this? I can’t afford to take the risk? Or, does our inaction simply come because the world, or ourselves, aren’t ready for it yet.

Being patient can feel very much like procrastination or fear, but the sources are different. And, ‘waiting’ for something feels like we’re not doing anything. But, as Auguste Rodin (the sculptor of The Thinker) so wisely said, Patience is a form of action.

Other observations
September 29, 2026

I feel like drawing flowers

When you feel like drawing flowers, but someone will pay you to draw monkeys, what comes first?

September 8, 2026

No shortcuts

You may be able to find a tool or technique to make a process or drawing more efficient. A digital camera show the photographer the result of their work quicker than a film camera, but it doesn’t make the photo better or the photographer more competent. One still needs to understand tone, colour and composition… Continue reading No shortcuts

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