Celebrate. You are an Artist.

If you can see a colour and tell what colours went into arriving at that shade, if you can show the transition from light to dark and back along shapes and contours, if you can bring brush strokes to life, if you can capture a thousand miles of depth in a resticted frame, if you can make someone rub their eyes twice to figure if its a photograph or painting, if you can see the finished work on a blank canvas when you sit in front of your easel and if you just keep getting better and better at all of this as you create piece after piece; you must know that this is a very rare gift and nothing short of magic.

My mother tells me off for short selling myself or not recognizing the extraordinary endowment received when it comes to being able to paint and create. As a child, I never quite understood her dismay, but now when I look back at my work and works of fellow-artists and how it has grown and matured, I realize that I do take all this for granted often. Most of us weren't trained in a classroom or didn't learn from the youtube revolution; we were there much before (we probably are the ones party to causing the youtube revolution to start with).

It is when I come across people who have never been able to draw more than a stick figure or paint within the lines, that humbles me to appreciate that what artists can achieve so naturally is indeed a privilege and genius. And we do short sell our talent now and then. I'm not talking about the price we may quote for our works. I mean that we must truly be aware of the fact that we are not what we are by chance. We are a community of very special individuals; elite if I may say so, for being able to do what so many across the world wish they were able to, with the same aplomb and ease.

Its okay to bask in the glory of our achievements time and again, to motivate our own soul - not because others have seen and applauded but simply because we have created yet some more magic and raised the bar some more. So once in a while, spread out your work and admire each piece, watch how you have grown. Celebrate.