A glimpse into the life and thoughts of an artist in Hawai`i 

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 Patrice A Federspiel 

The Art of Focus  

Recently while discussing our careers, a fellow artist mentioned meeting a gifted 25-year old oil painter. In the next sentence she wondered what she had done with her early life, lamenting the fact that she had waited until retirement before starting to seriously focus on her painting career.

Lee McVey and I met through Artist Career Training; we both began our professional painting careers later in life. It's easy to mourn the fact that we didn't start sooner and spend the first 40 years of our life honing our craft.  

Or did we? 

It may have taken us longer to act upon our passion for painting, but along the way the jobs we took enriched our skill sets and made it easier for us to know what we still needed to learn.

The time we spent also honed our focus. Now that we know where we want
to place our attention, we have the strength of character needed to hold our focus steady while we paint.

I'm not saying youth doesn't have focus. Age is only one factor of life, just as height and weight are parts of life. No matter how old or young we are, no matter how tall or short, heavy or lean, it is our ability to focus our attention and thoughts that holds the key to our success.

What we focus on matters; maintaining our focus also matters.

When we focus on things we don't want to happen, our worries increase - sometimes to the point of keeping us awake at night.

We might be "hard-wired" to worry a little bit. We want to be aware of hidden things along our path; we want to ensure we are safe. That is why trying to focus only on the good things in life can be difficult. Just like anything else, the more often we do it, the easier it gets.

Taking a class or acquiring a new hobby can help us
to break the habit of worry by changing our focus
to something new and more positive.

Maybe that's why people new to painting find themselves feeling calm when they pick up the brush. They are transported away from their everyday life to a land of creativity and color.

Sure, there can be "blips" along the path ... "Oops! How did that happen, and how can I fix it?" The good news is that until a painting is finished, it's just a piece of paper. And I'm pretty sure no one has died as a result of a painting boo-boo.

Later, after class, when we return our attention back to the rest of life, we feel refreshed and rested. Could it be that shifting our focus for a few minutes or hours a day can transform our lives?

I challenge you to find out for yourself. Give yourself the gift of shifting your focus a little bit every day. Please let me know what you discover.

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