I am thankful for the opportunity to try things, experiment, even if they fail, or don't meet my expectations. Freedom to be creative. If I were more confident, I think I would be a better artist, and care less about my audience. Create just because I couldn't help it. Feel the need, the drive, the little bit of madness. The dedicated craziness that makes me forget food, relationships, sleep, aching muscles.
I love Minerva Teichert's narrative art. One of my favorite stories about her is hearing how she stirred the pot of soup with one hand as she painted with the other. She was a mom and an artist--didn't let her relationships falter for art creation. Made them work together, and paid for her children's education with her paintings (the reason BYU has so many in their collection!).