Be and Do What You Want to Be and Do

I am reading a delightful little book by Brenda Ueland, If You Want to Write. A Book About Art, Independence and Spirit. Bloggers: get it. Readers: get it. It is the best book I’ve ever read on writing and the best book I’ve ever read that inspires my artistic passion. Anyway, in it she writes about a woman she admires named Francesca. She speaks truthfully, directly, honestly:

She always plunges right into the middle of a truth, never leading up to it with apologetic explanations, proofs and qualifying phrases. And that is what I want you to do when you write. And like Francesca, since she is always truthful, never care if you are believed or not… But she does not have to (egotistically) establish her soundness, before people.

My sense of art and writing and music has taken a turn since I started reading this book. I’m not finished it yet, but I already notice a difference in my approach. I write what I want, paint what I want, and music what I want without regard to its marketing value or public appeal. It is a liberating way to live.
The fine-art photograph is from my friend Mark Hemmings’s Fashion series.