Recently I have been painting a moose. This moose showed up in our yard a couple of winters ago and I took a whole bunch of pictures hoping to get at least one good reference photo to paint. I got several, but then never did anything with them.

The other day I wanted to start on a larger painting rather than doing a quick sketch that day, so I went back through all the reference pictures I had on my computer. I found a great picture and started painting. I should have taken pictures along the way like I do sometimes, but I forgot.

After the first few washes I had decided I’d ruined the painting and thought about flipping it over and retrying. But then I decided to let it sit for a couple of days so I could think on it. Stepping away for a time allowed me to look at the picture as a whole rather than see all the nitpicky things that I saw when I was up close.

One thing that a lot of artists will tell you, but sometimes it’s hard to remember ourselves, is that every painting goes through an ugly stage. That’s where this moose was. I decided I was going to make this moose work if it was the last painting I did. I came back to it with fresh eyes and more determination, sat down, and started working.

I have worked on this moose for several more hours over the course of several days and finally completed it, at least the moose, not the background. As with any painting, I notice the flaws when I stand up next to it and examine it, but when I step back and look at it from the correct viewing distance, all I see is a moose looking back at me.

I feel like that’s kind of like life. We go through phases of learning and growth, and it’s not always pretty. We have to go through the ugly phases of not knowing how to do it, learning how to do it better, and then finally being able to do it with ease. Usually that’s when we start learning something else new and have to go through the whole process again!

Sometimes in the thick of that ugly phase though, it helps to step back to the proper viewing distance. See the progress we’ve made no matter how ungraceful or messy the process is, give ourselves a little bit of grace so we can keep going, and then put in the hours to make our lives beautiful again.

I will post a picture of the finished moose once I get the background done. But sitting here looking at this moose looking back at me, I am so grateful I didn’t quit, that I didn’t flip it over and paint a different moose on the back, or like a couple I’ve painted, cut it up into smaller pieces for practice paintings. I guess the biggest lesson I’ve learned is to not give up on myself, likewise, you should not give up on yourself either. Step back, give yourself some grace, then jump back in and put in the hours to make you better.