I Can See Farther Than I Can Reach Right Now

I was listening to a fascinating young man on the World of Creatives YouTube channel when he said something that stopped me in my tracks:

"I can see farther than I can reach right now."

What a beautiful thought.

The conversation was about creativity and finding one's voice as an artist. But that one sentence stayed with me long after the podcast ended.

Can I see a future version of myself, farther along the road, waving at me to come closer? An artist who has moved beyond her current limitations, who has found a greater freedom of expression, perhaps even a level of mastery she once thought unattainable?

Mmmhh. I'm not sure it's that easy.

Looking back at my life, I realize that I have challenged myself many times to step outside my comfort zone. Not through magnificent gestures or dramatic leaps, but through small, sometimes uncomfortable steps that eventually brought me somewhere new.

But what would it take to make a bigger leap?

During the podcast, the young man also spoke about how some artists find their own voice by studying and copying a master. He gave the example of a musician who practiced another musician's work to perfection, until eventually, through that process, something uniquely his own emerged.

I find that idea fascinating. And a little unsettling.

As part of my art education, I participated in a copyist program at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. I know the value of studying another artist's work. There is so much to learn by trying to understand how someone else sees, thinks, and creates.

But would copying a master over and over again bring me closer to the artist I want to become?

Would I eventually reach their level of proficiency? Would I discover something about myself that I haven't yet found?

Perhaps.

I love the idea that mastery might be within reach through such dedication. But I'm not entirely convinced that this is my way.

And here is where things get interesting.

If I don't follow that path, am I limiting myself? Am I choosing to remain small because the alternative feels too intimidating?

Or could I lose myself in the process of trying so hard to become someone else?

What if I am already finding my own artistic voice, slowly, through experimentation, curiosity, mistakes, and the occasional painting that surprises me?

What if believing that I need to study a master before I can truly become myself is simply another clever way of postponing the journey?

Ah! There it is.

Could procrastination sometimes be the space between the artist I am and the artist I can imagine becoming?

I have spent years learning, taking workshops, studying techniques, and looking at the extraordinary work of other artists. All of it has enriched me. And yet, I wonder whether there comes a moment when learning can become a comfortable place to hide.

A place where I can continue preparing instead of taking the risk of fully expressing myself.

Perhaps the next step isn't another technique, another workshop, or another master to study.

Perhaps it is trusting what I have already learned and allowing myself to go somewhere I haven't been before.

And perhaps that is what stepping outside my comfort zone really means at this stage of my artistic life.

Not becoming someone else.

But daring to become more fully myself.

Can I imagine that future artist, accomplished, confident, and free, standing a little farther down the road, waving at me?

Can I see farther than I can reach right now?