Fear of...

Hello everyone. The first drawing was done in high school and it was recently unearthed by a classmate. The second piece was done because I've always thought that high contrast imagery is attractive. The third and fourth image was done off the cuff, so to speak, not intended for use in a story. But it does make me wonder: why are drawings not intended for publication so much more energetic than the ones I want you to see? I can only conclude that it's fear of failure, fear of being thought a fraud and constantly bumping into my limitations as an artist that conspires to drain the life out of the finished works. Take it from me friends : it's all too easy to live a fear based life. It's too easy to play it safe and keep yourself in a potential state rather than put your work out there to be seen and judged. It's too easy to become intimidated by the volume of great work of past and present. I've met many amateur artists who were much better than I was then or am now. But they were crippled by the fears I described above. With only one exception did any of them become a pro. Fear is easy but in the end it leaves us with nothing but itself.