Lessons from Outside the Comfort Zone

There is something about starting a new medium or experimenting with a new style that is exciting, exhilarating, but frightening all rolled into one. That was how I felt when I decided to take on the piece that I would eventually name, "Patience."

It began last year as an experimental piece inspired by pen and ink work that recently had come to my attention. I found the concept intriguing. It was a method that demanded patience along with intricate detail. One of my biggest challenges I face as an artist is stretching my attention span, and pointillism, I decided, would be the perfect medium for that. So I ordered up some Micron pens, found a reference, and set to work.

---

It has been a long time since I started a new medium. Before starting this piece, I had worked with colored pencil, pastel, and graphite for years. All are mediums that allow for some levels of error. All allow erasing and reworking. Even the brief period I spent experimenting with oil painting allowed room for error. This medium did not in any way, shape, or form. Fear. Apprehension. Anxiety. Excitement. Each drawing starts with those emotions and many more. This drawing had it in spades and then some. 

Once I started, I found I really enjoyed the process. It forced me to take my time, to avoid rushing. I found myself relaxing into the patterns and the process. It really clicked once I finished the boards in the fence and I realized, "I'm doing this. No problem at all!" 

The piece isn't perfect, and it's far from the quality of my professional work, but it taught me a lot. It stretched patience that needed stretching. It left me with a sense of accomplishment that comes when difficult tasks are completed.

I don't know if I will revisit the medium anytime soon, but I will move forward applying the lessons I learned to the rest of my art.

​-NT

---

Title: Patience
Size: 8.5x10"
Media: Micron Pens on Bristol Board.
Reference by Holley Underhill Photography. Used with permission.