I Can't Get No Satisfaction

My last post discussed the importance of having a strong desire or hunger to make your next work of art better than the last. This is 99% a good thing. I just finished the largest and most ambitious figurative painting I've ever attempted. Work on this venture spanned an eventful eleven month period. Lo and behold I'm pleased with the result, the painting works for me. (I need a little time but expect to devote at least one future post to the picture.) The fact that I actually have something to show for my efforts is particularly gratifying. Leave it to me to find a worm in the apple.

Male Nude, oil pastel, 8 1/2" X 10 1/2", 2014

Before I had even applied the last brush strokes to the painting I found myself contemplating the next project. This is exactly the mindset that pushes one to improve. But something in me wants to stop and appreciate this apparent success, even if just for a moment. Do I dare? Will I lose my momentum? I'm perfectly capable of reveling in my failures but can I allow myself even a brief period of satisfaction?

With my last few paintings I feel like I have reached a particularly lush and flourishing mountain crest. It has been a long hard climb. I'm taking a day or two to pause and enjoy the view. We will see how it goes.