One of the hallmarks of creative people is the anxiety faced and how one handles, or sometimes doesn't handle it. As an artist you need to become aware of the anxiety that you face every step of the way.

  When I start a painting I'm fortunate that I have little to no anxiety. I'm looking at how I'm about to start by making a drawing, putting in a few guidelines with paint, or maybe a big wash of color. The "sky is the limit" as the canvas doesn't have much on it for my "inner critic" to begin. I think that the little anxiety that I do feel is that as I do start to add more to my canvas there is more to compare and therefore I know that the "inner critic" is right around the bend if not minutes away.

  As I get just past the point where I have no white canvas showing I feel no anxiety as I'm focusing on the fact that the painting is "up and running" and it's just a matter of finishing it which leads to the most anxiety for me at any stage.

  I call this stage "the middle game" just like in chess. I can see that the painting is becoming a reality as the white canvas has been covered for awhile now but the inner critic is now in full force. "Those details are going to be hard". "Did I paint that shape too big or too small". "Should that be lighter or darker". This is the point where my discipline to avoid excuses for not painting are tested.

  As I continue working on the painting my anxiety starts to go down as well as the inner critic due to the fact that I'm closer to a finished painting. I'm now the marathon runner knowing that I just have a few miles to go. I'm sensing another work that will have my name on it.

  Just past this stage when I feel that I'm a few days away the inner critic rears it's head again. "Did I paint this as good as I could have". "Will the store have a can of spray paint for the frame that will match this painting". Am I getting any better as an artist with this painting".

  Now I'm at the stage where I'm adding the final details and my signature. I feel anxiety but it's not troubling because it's outweighed by the excitement of knowing that I did it again, another painting that started out as a blank white canvas. The frame has been painted so it just needs to be mounted, and then a nice photo outside followed by uploading onto my website.

  This is the pattern or cycle of anxiety that I feel and yours maybe different and if so I would love to hear about it. Leave me a comment about what you go through when you go about doing a creative project, art or otherwise. I'm going to close today with a quote by Oscar Wilde, "The anxiety is unbearable. I only hope it lasts forever"