Strategic Patience

One of Robert Genn's recent posts
 "Strategic Patience"
reminded me how important it is to take a break
once in awhile to
re-think and make a plan. 

"Artists need to pause and ask, 
What am I doing?
Who am I doing it for?
What am I good at?
What do I need to work on? 

I was fortunate enough to take last week off from
everything to just look at this
and practice a little "strategic patience"of my own.
I find this very valuable advice:

"As you work on your art, you need to be thinking ahead. In other words, 

you take workmanlike actions that are setups for what is to come later. 

As you delay the gratification of the fun parts, patience is required. 

You may also need to wait to see what your work suggests. 

Just as in a game of chess, early minor moves prepare the way for later major ones. 

This is perhaps a more deliberate way of working than you might be used to

--particularly if you're a spontaneous, intuitive painter who works fast 

in the hope that things will work out. 

Hope is not a strategy"  

This past summer I had a "breakthrough"
and began working more deliberately.
Having a plan and working toward specific goals
 is challenging and liberating in so many ways.
I can't wait to see what happens next!