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 Abstract bull’s-eye is definitely out of the box for me. This is the second pastel that I have created utilizing this technique, only this time I risked using wild colors. A lot of my blogs have to do with fighting the fear of trying new things.  Most of my students avoided risk-taking in the classroom. This was something that I constantly observed during my years of teaching. Many students seemed to want to do only what was tried and true. They shy away from the unknown. Teaching them how to face the unknown was an ongoing effort on my part. One of my students told me she wanted to know exactly what was going to be on the test so that she could study specifically for it. I was shocked. Life doesn’t spell out specifics! She didn’t like it when I told her that I couldn’t do that, since that would not help her in the long run. It was a chance for me to teach her a life skill instead of just guiding her to some facts to memorize. It’s what I call a teachable moment. She was not a risk-taker in regards to studying. She wanted to know exactly what would be on the test so that she would know what was needed to succeed. That would be like my not taking the risk of writing my children’s science books unless I knew what was needed to be a success at it. Doing new things, without the guarantee of success is the sign of an entrepreneur.

Risk-taking is something that you may inherit. The propensity to be propelled forward can also be learned. Just as a naturally negative person can teach himself or herself to be positive, so can naturally reticent people teach themselves to take chances. The form of the risks can vary greatly, however. Someone who takes risks, like that of a daredevil in sports may be very shy and so avoids the risks of public speaking. The person who takes on the gamble of the stock market with potentially high yielding investing may shy away from the risk of relocating to a far away place.  Deciding the areas of risk that you are willing to take on is part of the evaluation process of your career building.

How do you decide what areas you need to take risks? Only you know what you are willing to risk. Have you evaluated your goals? Some people suggest the sink or swim approach with no lifejacket when it comes to the risk of taking on a full-time art career. That may be a great motivation for some, but for other artists, they might never start a full-time career if they thought that the sink or swim approach was their only option. I have friends that have lost weight or stopped smoking that had to find their own way to do so. What worked for one didn’t work for all of them. Some people need the encouragement of others so they join groups for support. Some would rather do it all on their own. One process is not right compared to the other it is merely different. They all had to evaluated the risks and decide what were their best options.

I don’t think that you shouldn’t take a risk that may endanger your life. One of my watercolor workshop instructors made a point on his round brushes with his mouth. The cadmiums and cobalts in the paints finally killed him. He knew of the dangers, but he took them on at his own peril. As a physiologist I was appalled to see his flagrant disregard for his health [it also made me gag, because I was pregnant with my youngest son at the time]. Should you take the chance of not having any money from lack of sales, yet you need to pay for food and shelter? Only you can answer that. A budget is a necessity to follow for financial health, yet some take the risk not making one.

What is risky for you might not be risky for me, and visa versa. If you don’t self-evaluate, how can you expect to grow?  What are the risks that you are willing to take?