Stick or Ball?

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

Oliver Romeo Hulsey

We have a new puppy and this is his first spring. Being old dogs ourselves, we marvel at his excitement about every new little thing he sees or smells. We are teaching him to retrieve a ball - throwing the ball for him to catch and return. He is joyful and interested, chasing and returning it once or twice, but then he’ll get distracted and not quite bring it back to us. Every new smell or new plant poking up, a leaf, even a bird flying overhead grab his attention and excitement. As in most kinds of training, the teacher can learn as much as the student.

His puppy behavior can be a metaphor for how the mind works, especially when we are trying to concentrate on important matters, like painting. We start off strong and decisive, keeping our attention on the ball, so to speak. But after awhile, the mind wanders, follows an interesting thought and we get distracted from the larger goal. That’s when we have to call our …