:Encouragement:

Art is like an adventure. A journey, per-say. Some follow it in hopes of discovering something worth while at the end, others for the fame and glory it brings them. Most however, just stumble along that road. There are many obstacles, overtaking the weak and hindering the strong. All of us have our scars, and at the top of the hill we see our destination stretched over masses of time. Unknown journeys with unknown enemies, and the possibility we many never, as long as we live, reach level ground.
There are others stronger...
faster...
more agile...
And yet-
And yet-
no one carves the path you take. To look at the end and say 'He has reached it', or to see anther's glory and say 'their battle was harder then mine' is to surrender. Without the assurance of victory we rapidly fall into exile.

But.
But.

To surrender now is to sit still on a journey where one cannot simply let go. You must either rot in your own stagnation or move forward, triumphantly into the dark and paint a light no one has ever seen before. It is more trouble to pick your way over the fallen bricks of your artistic walls and go home, empty handed and covered in phantom memories then it is to press forward.

So I encourage you-
I beseech you-
To paint with conviction. To move forward and explore, overcome and be /heartened/ with your artistic abilities, because contrary to the wisdom of what world will say, you are not following behind a path already made-
You are building a new one. And the value of your journey is only measured by the heart of the one who makes it.