i used to let this stop me: the feeling that the world was a mess and why should i be in here painting? shouldn’t i be doing something more useful? what good am i even doing?

but now i understand that it’s not my job to know why i paint, it’s my job to let things come that are asking to come. thankfully, i’m better at this. partly i had to learn a new way of painting, and partly i had to remember that just because painting is my job, it is not the only thing i do. i can still be an activist, and that doesn’t have to happen in front of an easel.

also i want to say, though, that making art is a service. it is enough. i don’t believe art is a luxury. it can be, and it is certainly a privilege, but it is - at its heart - a connection, and a prayer, and it heals.