I enjoyed yesterday’s color set so much that I just had to use them again.

One of the traps you can fall into easily is to feel that each new coloring has to be a one of a kind masterpiece. It’s especially easy to feel that way if you display your colorings publically, knowing that others will see them and maybe even have opinions about them. 🙂

It’s helpful to keep in mind that there’s a difference between showing your colorings in public and putting on a show or a performance. Sure, some people who happen by and see your pictures may view themselves as instant art critics and make judgements – but that’s just their behaviors. Critical and judgmental people will also be making value judgements about your shoes, your hair, your typing or whatever. And we are living in a society where people are being encouraged to voice their criticisms, and rank and rate other’s efforts.

It is so easy to feel that each color choice, each colored shape and each photograph has to live up to a phantom audience’s standard of perfection. And it’s a trap to feel a pressure to endlessly strive to be better and better and better and newer and fresher and more creative – while making sure that each effort is completely different than all past ones.

It’s OK to recycle a favorite color scheme.

It’s OK to revisit past creative ideas. It’s OK to display your colorings because you like them – and to not care a bit if anyone else might. And for every critic who may see your work and feel it’s their business to criticize, there will be dozens or hundreds or thousands of quietly appreciative people who feel an extra moment of happiness in their day because of your artistry.

Nobody else will every fully understand the nuanced beauty of your unique coloring path. A few will try to make what they see fit with their notions of what should or shouldn’t be – and perhaps try to express that with words that sound like criticism. But most will just feel a gut level “ahh…that’s nice”, smile, and move on without saying a word. And that will happen however you choose your colors, or coloring tools, and no matter if you wander outside the lines now and then.

(Today’s coloring is from Balance For Crayons And Wide Tipped Markers.)