This is a video series from my studio overlooking Lake Michigan. It’s where I slow down, listen, and make art that brings light into the world. This is Echo Base Dispatch—a brief transmission from here to wherever you are—where I share what I’m working on, what I’m wrestling with, and the lessons I’m learning along the way.
–Jason
It’s said that absence makes the heart grow fonder.
I’ve learned that it also makes the eyes grow clearer.
Oftentimes, while working on a painting, I have to step away from it. I back up a few feet, observe it from a different angle, or even remove it from the easel and keep it out of sight for a week.
If I don’t step back periodically, I can’t see the painting through the brushstrokes.
Pausing may seem to slow down the process.
What it really does is help me make better paintings.
There are a few reasons for this.
Sometimes I’m stuck, struggling with a certain area. Despite my best efforts, it’s not coming out quite right, and frustration mounts.
Stepping back to look at the big picture helps me pinpoint problems. Distance allows me to notice issues I can’t see when I’m up close. I can examine the overall composition, observe the balance of color, and judge if the values are working together. It’s not uncommon for the solution to reveal itself after only a few moments standing five feet away. One purposeful pause and it’s immediately clear that something’s too small, too big, too crooked, too straight, too dark, too light, too round, too flat.
Indeed, the best thing we can do in the midst of any frustrating challenge is to step away from it for a while, so that when we return, we look upon it with new eyes.
Sometimes life gives us a gift and does it for us. Now, it never seems like a gift at first, especially when it takes the form of an extreme weather event, a medical emergency, or a global pandemic. But amidst the inconvenience, anxiety, and suffering, the forced stop is an opportunity to distance ourselves from the canvas of our lives, break from our busyness, and see from a new perspective.
Maybe you’re in the midst of one of those unwelcome interruptions right now.
I’m not saying you have to love it, or even like it. But could you use it as a chance to examine the big picture of your life? Look for areas you might be neglecting or those you’ve been spending too much time on. Take stock of any people you’ve been taking for granted or inner whispers you’ve been ignoring. And then, when the opportunity comes to resume your life, make the adjustments to make your “painting” better.
Even if the painting is going great, it benefits me to step back and look at things from a new angle. It either increases my confidence that it’s progressing in the right direction or enables me to see potential problem areas so I can address them before they derail me. If I don’t step away every so often, I’m liable to wander down a wrong path or get stuck overdoing part of the painting, potentially ruining the whole thing.
This reminds me how important it is to take breaks, observe some form of Sabbath, and enjoy periodic vacations in our lives. They should not be reserved for seasons of burnout. Their regular nature can keep us operating at peak efficiency and can help us identify potential pitfalls while they’re still easy to correct. My best ideas consistently come when I’m on vacation, taking a walk, or making dinner.
There’s one more reason for stepping back in the studio.
Every so often, I step back to simply admire what I’ve created. One of my favorite parts of making art is the moment of pride I have when something turns out so well that I can hardly believe I did it. Especially if the painting presented a new challenge I wasn’t sure I could handle.
Likewise, we all need to step back once in a while to celebrate our wins, cherish the gifts that aided in our victory, and smile at how far we’ve come.
If we constantly busy ourselves with brushstrokes, we risk losing sight of the big picture. Stopping to step back and examine our lives makes it less likely that we’ll end up with a mess on our hands and more likely that we’ll create something spectacular.
In our modern culture, the temptation is strong to maintain full speed, plowing ahead at our breakneck pace.
This is exactly what Adultitis wants: for you to stay busy, distracted, and more likely to veer off course.
Stopping might make you feel less productive.
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