The Act of Creating

What matters most, is that we like what we create. I always feel the potential of being seen as a cheat when I paint in Photoshop. I make a point to not use any tools other than my brush to silence those negative voices in my head. I don't know why I care so much. I watch other artists drawing in Photoshop and they rely heavily on cutting and transforming pieces, using filters, etc.... I see traditional artists employ all kinds of other tools to help them finish their creations. Rulers, sponges, plastic wrap (and various other items) used for texture. There are tricks used in all mediums to achieve certain effects. Then there are the old masters, armed only with their brush, finding and developing their own favorite techniques along the way. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9 I always hear those lines running in my head and my stubborn nature wants so badly to prove it wrong. But it gets tiring. I may as well stop fussing over whether or not I am cheating and just focus on my journey and satisfaction with my end piece, who cares how I create it?  Does it make me happy? Sad? Is it helping me heal and grow by expressing things I cannot otherwise express through words? In this sense, creating is an entirely selfish thing for me. But admiring others work, appreciating their technical abilities, learning their stories...is a gift. Maybe my free-spirited ways (i.e. leading more with emotion and less with technical skills) will make someone else happy or show them that sometimes letting go is exactly what is needed in order to break thorugh whatever barrier is holding them back. It's like what I wrote of my college days, learning to let go. I have been grasping too tightly for control again. No giggling with this one because no passion. Focused too much on learning technical aspects (and badly at that). I think I need to get messy again.