— So many photographers and artists wish to grow and improve, yet when it comes time to work they retreat to what is most comfortable and familiar.

Granted, when you are first diving into a new style or approach, you may need to spend time there to get really good and master whatever it is you need to master.

An aspiring street photographer will need to put in a lot of hours on the street. A black & white photo artist will need to devote weeks to learning which techniques achieve the best results and how they translate to print. And a collage artist will need to sit with scissors and glue for hours upon hours — playing, experimenting — until the room starts to spin.

But after a point . . . when you’ve sorta got things down . . . you might decide it’s time to step up your expectations and take your creative life to the next level.

Here’s the thing though: Creative growth only happens just outside your comfort zone.

So if you keep doing what you’re doing, playing it safe, you’ll get better at it (no question), but you might only be able to take it so far.

To really advance, you’re going to need to be willing to take on a new challenge and stride off along a new path.

For you, maybe that’s going to mean finally getting that Wacom tablet you’ve been daydreaming about and learning to master painterly techniques in Photoshop.

Or maybe it’s going to mean pulling out the journal you’ve been neglecting, planning out some conceptual photo shoots, and lining up a model.

Could be you’re masterful in Photoshop, but you’ve never had your work printed . . . and lately you’ve been daydreaming about how you might bring some mixed media into the process to make your prints true one-of-a-kind works of art.

But whatever it is for you — it’s probably not something that will happen all on its own.

You’re going to need to make a decision to set aside what’s become easy to you, and get started on something that is gonna be hard for a while.

You’re going to need to get out of your comfort zone and put in some work while learning whatever it is you need to learn as you expand your reach and your capacities as an artist.

Take on this adventure and there’s no telling where it might lead you.

Make this the way you live and your life will never be without challenge . . . nor without a rich sense of fulfillment, and the delight of new attainments and fresh rewards.

~ Sebastian

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PS: The stunning artwork featured in this post (which inspired it, in fact) is by the ever fresh and artistically diverse AWAKE artist Lou Ann Donahue, and it represents a new series of work based on techniques she has been exploring of late.

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