Before I was a professional artist, I was an elite athlete in the sport of long track speed skating. My greatest obstacle (other than finding pants to fit my legs and rear end) was overcoming the struggle mentally, technically and physically to get better over the long term. As an athlete, you spend countless hours training and preparing for one or two big competitions. Sometimes things don’t quite come together on the big day. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you should quit. The ability to see the big picture for what it is, is paramount.

In art, whether it is sticking to a career plan or stepping back and looking at your painting, the hardest thing to do is getting up after you’ve been knocked down, dusting yourself off and moving along. Learning from perceived failures can be so valuable.

It’s also important to know when to ditch that sketch across the lake and start over! Persevere, persevere, persevere!

See more of Todd’s work at: www.toddlachance.ca

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Todd Lachance Artist