Art as an Expression of Self

I was surfing through a couple of art blogs as part of my early New Year's resolution of spending some part of my free time focused on enriching myself on anything creative, when I found a nice list of advice posted in Robert Genn's website. (Robert Genn is a Canadian painter and owns the Painter's keys website.) Here's part of his list which resonated with me:

• Find a sanctuary where you can comfortably work.
• Dedicate at least two hours a day to your art.
• Have more than enough equipment and supplies.
• Set short and long term goals and keep track of progress.
• Think of your work as exercise, not championship play. (This advice really made a lot of sense to me!)
• Explore series development and exhaust personal themes.
• Replace passive consumption with creative production. (This one too!)
• Use your own intuition and master your technology.
• Feel the joy of personal, self generated sweat.
• Be forever on the lookout for the advent of style.
• Don't jump into the ring until you're feeling fit.

Armed with a renewed sense of inspiration, I set forth listening to what my "own style" is. I have realized before that I am not entirely a painter, as paintings and pictures seem to be too "silent" for me, powerful but I guess it leaves a lot for self interpretation. I am strongly attracted to poems but also feel that I would have liked the power of a picture to go with it. So I thought I might be somewhere in between.. I found out later that there is such a term as "Haiga", which is a cross between a haiku poem and a painting/drawing. Suits me well! Here's my attempt at it, which doesn't necessarily follow the 5-7-5 convention of haiku but thought that this form quenches my thirst for creative expression at the moment.

I fell into the sea of doubts

Where a hideous monster waits;

Its tentacles silently finding

The hidden crevices of my past;

Dread spreads through me like poison

I watched the pillars fall

Crumbling in its tight grip

It slowly sucked me whole.