Benefitting from an Unavoidable Pause

 This is going to be a very straight up, honest from the heart article. I gave myself permission to take a pause on a big project I started almost 2 years ago and that wasn't easy to do.

A Big Project - Now Paused

  I mentioned in this column about an exciting new project in 2023. I didn't want to mention it in case it didn't work out. It involved my fine art work. What does it have to do with horses you ask? Well, I like to paint horses and landscapes. And this pause I'm doing has happened to me in my horse showing years as well so I thought it was a good idea to mention here to horse people in case someone else is going through this - having to make the difficult decision to pause something that they didn't really want to pause.

 

Sable Island Horses. Oil over Acrylic. 20x37" 2024

 Why I Had to Pause

  Briefly, I made the commitment to join an art school here in Ontario and I worked tirelessly towards getting really saleable realistic art. Things were going great until I ran into a snag a year ago. Doesn't that sound familiar? You're going along fine with your goal of getting a horse ready to show in time for the start of the show season and you run into a snag. Darn! :(

   I requested a critique from my art instructor a year ago and wisely he gave an honest - though hard to take analysis of my work. It's really hard to take as an artist. You're really quite vulnerable. Just like a riding student who puts themselves out there for a critique from a riding instructor. They provide very valuable information but it can be hard on the self.

  So I wasn't the same after the critique - I can tell you. I stopped painting for a while. I won't go into any more detail as you get the point. In my defense, I didn't have any problems with the technical information, just the way he delivered it. He did apology more than once. So I paused my goal and kept learning and practicing.

And That's the Point - To Pause and Practice

  And that's my point - to do yourself a big favor and pause. It takes guts and strength to pause. It would only be worse to just ignore the signs, plow forward, only to find out the same thing later. Time to step back, pause, reevaluate, keep learning and practicing and redo the plan.

"Gavin", Colored Pencil over Ink, 11x16", 2021

  I've had to do pauses in my learning with regards to riding horses too. It made this pause a little easier knowing the experience I had with horse plans.  I'm sure others have also. It's hard. It takes guts. But it's worth it.

P.S. My sable island horse painting hangs proudly in my home.

 

Putting My Spin on Unavoidable Pauses

Reinersue

@KISS Reiners