The Cave You Fear to Enter...

I once went to a crowded art opening with my teenage son. I was frustrated because I couldn't really get a good look at the art because there were so many people. When I complained of this to my son, he pointed out that the most interesting thing about an art opening is not the art, it's the people. I looked around. Holy cow! He was absolutely right! The people were fascinating to watch. I had been so busy trying to see the art hanging on the walls that I was missing all the living art walking around the gallery. They all seemed to have such an intriguing story.

Ever since then, I rarely go to an art opening that has art work on the walls more captivating than the people looking at it. However, at the Eccles Community Art Center’s annual statewide art competition last month, I found a painting that managed it beautifully. It was a painting by Mark Goodson called "Mary @ 100". Here it is:

"Mary @ 100" by Mark Goodson

I loved the painting so much, I googled Goodson when I got home. I quickly realized that many of my favorite paintings I'd been seeing around the Ogden area for the past few years were all his. I just didn't realize they were all by the same artist. Like a print of this one hanging at the Queen Bee on 25th Street:

"All Played Out" by Mark Goodson

And this one I'm fairly certain I saw at last year's Eccles statewide competition:

"Tree Thinking" by Mark Goodson

I think what draws me to Goodson's paintings are the expressions on his subject's faces. These expressions tell a story and, as a writer, I'm in the business of stories. That made me wonder a little bit about Goodson's own story. It turns out, he has a pretty interesting one about facing fears. He sold his sign and graphic arts business when he was 49, went back to school, and discovered "unexpectedly" that he had a talent for oil painting. Even his choice of subject matter for his art work is about facing fears. On his website Goodson said:

“It became clear to me, when I took on the subject matter I most feared, with fixed determination to do it as well as I could, my painting improved at an accelerated rate… We all feel fear, especially when taking on something new. It’s okay to feel the fear, the important thing is that we do the thing anyway. With effort and experience our ability increases while the fear decreases and goes away. This cycle repeats, but it becomes a source of stimulating thrill rather than a crippling force.”

Goodson's inspiring perspective reminded me of a doodle I did in my journal based off something Joseph Campbell said that made a similar point:

A pen and colored pencil doodle from my journal. 

So what creative project do you most fear to take on? According to Mark Goodson and Joseph Campbell, that's exactly the one you should start. And, in the process, I suspect you'll make your own story much more interesting.