Finding your “voice”

All of my life I have been looking for my “one thing”; The one thing that I can do better then I can do anything else. I believe everyone has one thing. As a kid, I mostly wanted to be an astronaut when I grew up. I ended up going to college for Outdoor Recreation which led into working with children in several different settings. At various times I toyed with paths such as jeweler, philanthropist, health care worker, psychologist, writer, photographer, and naturalist. There have even been a few paths that, well, we just won’t talk about 😉

I found out I could paint less then two years ago. I’ve only been doing it consistently since Christmas 2015. The first few paintings took me a long time to complete but each one has gotten progressively easier and better. A few weeks ago I finally nailed light and shadow.

All of my life I have been looking for my “one thing.” I do believe I have found it in painting. But even that isn’t quite specific enough. Once you find your one thing, you then must find your “voice”, your style.

I believe I have stumbled on it. Truly, it’s been there all along. “It” is always there, somewhere, deep inside. At first, it only comes out as a whisper among other peoples chatter. Soon though, it begins to find its footing and gain strength.

Here is the rub: you must recognize it. You must be open to it and the possibilities that lie ahead. Don’t worry too much if you miss it the first time. It will will try again. It will not be silenced. It will come back and nag and claw at you. Thank goodness!

How do you recognize it? If you pay close attention, it will suddenly feel like you can breathe.