"Humming birds" original art. The Story Of Talent, Courage, Dark Places and Joy

Humming bird happens to be one of my favorite animals. Smallest of all birds, it is the only creature able to stop dead in its tracks whilst moving at full speed. It is also unique in that it is able to fly backward and sideways, and can also hover, go forward, up or down.

"Rosebush humming birds", oil on 55inch canvas.

I've always enjoyed painting humming birds. As a matter of fact my first large-size canvas was a humming bird. My buddy from college bought it. Luckily enough, I can't find a photo of it. I'm not ready to share my beginner's paintings with you. On the other hand, maybe I should, because it would be a great demonstration of Pareto's principle on my journey of an artist: 20% talent, 80% persistence and hard work.
Honestly, I'm so tired of hearing how much talent I have. I've heard it countless times. And I always think the same: if you saw my first paintings 12 years ago you'd laugh. You'd not believe that same hand of the same man painted this. Tens of thousands of hours of practice do pay back, trust me.

This quote of Erica Jong sums it up nicely: “Everyone has talent. What's rare is the courage to follow it to the dark places where it leads.”

The dark places is all that you have to go through and face if you decide to make a diamond out of the raw shapeless chunk of your talent. And it's not only courage. A massive dose of determination and stamina too. But also something that seems opposite of hard work: relaxation. You need to relax in the midst of your effort. Like this your hand will be guided by your heart rather than by your mind.

Genius for me, is mastery of one's talent, which comes from stepping fully into your gift, especially in the unknown and uncomfortable, sometimes even dark places. Courage is necessary because the whole world seems to be set up against the true genius which I believe every human carries inside.

New owners. Master coach Satyen Raja on the right.

It is so for one simple reason: a true genius defies the system, the norm, the status quo. As such it is admired, but only from safe distance. True genius does not care about rules, it only cares about authenticity of its unique expression. True genius is somewhat accepted in art, but rarely in other fields such as science. True genius would tear science to shreds, because it would prove the nonsense of its logic. Read about Tesla, and you'll see why he died poor, whilst widely recognized Einstein had to admit to Planck that he was wrong in his initial disapproval to quantum physics. (Einstein also declared Tesla the "greatest scientist" btw.)

It would also prove the immense power we humans posses if we become spiritually realized and that's the last thing our rulers want, because it would mean the end of hierarchy, period. Guess why all the governments, even the ones who seemingly root for opposite cause, have the same agenda worldwide: fear. To keep your power safely locked in, unmanifested. Humans can only be manipulated if they live in fear.

My friend Sherri acquired this original.

But back to humming birds. According to shamanic wisdom, hummingbirds gifts include the ability to heal by using light as a laser from mouth, endurance over long journeys, ability to fly into small places to heal, joy, happiness, love, timelessness,
The hummingbird brings special messages for us. It is a teacher of joy, and their lessons are many.

And that's why I love humming birds so much. They are teachers of joy, and that is possibly my greatest aspiration in life. That is the message of my art.

Be Well on your journey to Joy,
Thank you for reading and for following me,

Much Love,

Jan
@jankasparec