"Girrafephany"

"Girrafephany" is a play on the word epiphany. I seem to be having a lot of them lately. As I was doing this piece with pastel pencils I found myself picking up a drawing pencil frequently because I just couldn't get a line to go the way I wanted. Pastel pencils don't hold a point very long. I would say to myself, "oh no, can't do that - this is a pastel drawing, not a pencil drawing." When I finally looked around and didn't see the "pastel police" anywhere I realized - "who said I can't do that?!?" - and there was the epiphany.
It just dawned on me that I can do whatever I want, that's what art is all about. I hear many other artists saying the same thing - " shouldn't mix mediums, shouldn't do this, shouldn't do that" - well, who said so? I have a feeling if we would all step outside the box more there just might be a lot of creativity expressed that has been stifled due to the so called rules the art world and art schools have burdened artists with. I think artists should do art for themselves first. I was so caught up in the question "will this sell?" that it took all the joy out of painting or creating anything. And for nearly 2 years I created very little of anything. If you're creating something for a client, or to enter a show or a gallery - of course, you have to follow the guidelines set forth - but the creative part, the subject matter, the technique.......do whatever you want! Following that rule I have created more art in the last 2 months than in the last 2 years. Happy is me. Happy. Happy. :-)