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Carrie’s Painting of the Week

On Marlin Road

By Carrie Jacobson

A musing this morning as I look at this painting:

Where is greatness? What is the difference between mediocre and superb? Between success and getting by?

Is it a touch of salt, a dash of color, a stroke of genius – or is it just luck?

I’ve read that greatness always comes from discipline, and I am starting to believe it. Greatness is waiting there for all of us, at the intersection of chance and hard work. It will come to us, maybe in flashes, maybe in spans, but it will come – when the muscle we’ve been training does what it needs to do.

Greatness will come when the magic of inspiration meets the boundaries of skill, and each enriches the other.

Why is this painting so clearly better than that one? Both are done by the same hand, with the same colors, even sometimes on the same day… and yet, one soars and the other simply looks pretty.

It is one blur of green, twisting into the sky, one bit of color there by chance or by design – or there because, through hard work and constant striving, my hand and my eye knew it had to be there – even if my brain didn’t.

There is magic, yes. The muses sing, yes. But more and more, I believe, disciplined work is at the core of every success.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 19th, 2012 at 10:19 am and is filed under Carrie Jacobson. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Carrie’s Painting of the Week”

  1. Michael Kaufman Says:
    September 20th, 2012 at 1:08 am

    I’m nor sure discipline is always at the core of success….but this painting soars. Congratulations and thanks for sharing it (and your musings).

  2. bill hogan Says:
    September 21st, 2012 at 10:54 am

    Hi Carrie,

    I enjoy reading you thoughts about painting and the creative process, if there is such a thing as ‘creative.’
    You really can get to the core of your thoughts in these short essays.

    I know Jeff Page and Rich Gigli from days past.
    I used to have an art director who always said, ‘when in doubt, draw.’
    Well, ‘when in doubt, keep painting.’

  3. carrie Says:
    November 15th, 2012 at 9:41 am

    Hi, Bill – Sorry for the long delay in answering your note. You got lost in the email, along with a couple others. Ah, well.

    Thank you so much for your thoughts and compliments. I try hard to contain myself and get to the point quickly. I usually chop off the first several grafs!

    And yes, when in doubt, when in pain, when in despair, I paint and it always, always helps.

    Best wishes,

    Carrie

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