Ah! Celebrating a full year of oil painting! I was so excited and proud of myself for pursuing this hidden talent. Making the decision to buy such a large canvas was not impulsive, and I spent a couple of weeks just thinking of what marvelous creation I would paint on it.

I’m pleased to say it came out well, and I even documented the creation with a video. 

But then, something discouraging happened. Unexpectedly, but apparently not uncommon, marks showed up randomly on the canvas once it started to dry. So, three or four different marks appeared in different parts of the water!

I struggled internally about what to do because I did not want to damage the painting. Eventually, I had to re-layer some paint to cover these marks. In doing so, though, I pushed back a land reflection. It drove me crazy that it was no longer angled correctly. My family said not to worry about it. It’s not that noticeable. I started to criticize myself for not doing a better job. Do you ever do that? Act too hard on yourself? Give in to negative thoughts?

I’m a big believer in positive self-talk. I said to myself, “Now, Donna, if you were talking to your best friend, what would you say to her?” So, I repeated throughout the next couple of days, “That looks amazing.” “What a beautiful painting.” “Follow your heart.” “I bet you could make it right.”

And I did. I went back and revised the reflection. I then deemed it “just about perfect” to my standards. (After all, most things can always be improved!)

I hope you love this as much as I do as a reminder to be an encouraging friend to yourself.