Art is pain. Art is misery. Art is the exposing oneself to the slings and arrows of outrageous critics.

Give me a break. Art is joy. Art should be joy. If art is pain (and it is), then baring the soul should bring catharsis, and catharsis clears the way for joy.

Art is also the artist’s mission. To do what our Maker appoints us to do is joy. To be where we are supposed to be brings rest.

Most of all, the very making of art, the doing of it, is joy. So avoid everything which steals that away – comparison, need for the approval of others, self-doubt, overbearing control, rigidity in your expectations…

Art is joy. So be joyful making it!