Mind Over What Matters

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

Miss Wedewood and Miss Sargent Sketching
1908 Watercolor John Singer Sargent

People are often a curious mix of simple, universal needs and complex desires. The basic needs for food, shelter, heat in winter, love of family and the companionship of peers we can all relate to. If, and when those necessities are met, we are free to explore and indulge in our desires - perhaps to learn a new skill, and that’s where things can get really interesting. What we desire and how we go about realizing those desires has a lot to do with our psychology - how we view the world, what we choose to believe about ourselves and what we perceive. A pessimistic person has a very different take on things than an optimistic one. A shy, withdrawn person has different expectations than a gregarious, outgoing one.

Many times these individual perspectives really come out in a painting class. Over the years I have learned that what influences a student’s pr…