Thoughts on Appearance

Confidence in myself is not easy to acquire.   It never has been for me.  I am not outgoing and my physical appearance is average.  

Appearance does matter in life.  It's harder to ignore this in the age of social media; but, its been around forever.  The king will attract the best looking girl in the kingdom, etc.  

Nothing stands out about me visually.  It sucks when I am trying to sell a piece, or get attention on social media, and I am dismissed imeadiately because I don't look the part.  But, that is a marketing issue, not art. I can be coldly analytical about that. There are ways around such annoyances.

About the only thing, right now, that I seem to have confidence in is my ability to draw and paint.  Im not perfect; but, I still have time to correct that little detail.  

 Artist's "see" more than most people; and, that is because they force themselves to look at what is there, or it comes naturally to them. Thus, this sensitivity to appearance. 

What does this have to do with confidence?  Well, I don't actually see a connection between confidence and appearance.  One's appearance can make social interactions easier, but that is about it.  

Alex
Ink on paper. 
4 by 6 inch 

A cat appears confident.   Why?   We are probably projecting onto cats how we wish to be.  Not afraid to jump from couch to chair, always fighting back, and not afraid to ask for what they want.  Fearless little predators, perhaps that is what we want to be.

Perhaps, confidence is simply people who have either mastered their fears, or are oblivious to their surroundings and the stuff that could hurt them.  How can you tell the difference?  Generally, one is a child and the other is a grown up.  

Something to think about, anyway.