238. Shun the Unearned

<p>In New York City, sometime around the beginning of the twentieth century, a young art student sat for a portrait.</p> <p>The artist who painted this portrait won a prestigious award for that portrait. The young woman who sat for the portrait suddenly became a sought-after model. She could actually earn money sitting for portraits.</p> <p>She needed that money. Her family was poor, and art school -- especially art school in New York City -- was expensive.</p> <p>But she decided to never model again.</p> <h3 id="the-tough-decision-that-made-a-good-artist-a-great-artist"> The tough decision that made a good artist a great artist</h3> <p>This young artist later recalled the moment she decided to stop sitting for portraits. She drew a line down the middle of a sheet of paper, so that there were now two columns.</p> <p>At the top of one column, she wrote “yes.” At the top of the other column, she wrote “no.” She said, “The essential question was always, if you do this, can you do that?”</p> <p>Here’s one thing that probably focused her attention on the question of whether or not she could keep modeling: She had skipped class to sit for that prize-winning portrait.</p> <p>So, if she was going to model, could she go to class? If she was going to model, could she put in the work necessary to achieve her dream of becoming a great artist?</p> <p>Her answer was, “no,” she could not keep modeling. And art history should thank her for it. Her name was Georgia O’Keeffe, and she lived on to become one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century. One of her paintings was sold at auction several years ago for more than forty million dollars.</p> <h3 id="the-unearned-can-hurt-more-than-it-helps">The unearned can hurt more than it helps</h3> <p>I don’t want to assume that because O’Keeffe is one of my favorite artists -- not just for her work but also for her contrarian personality -- that you, too know who I’m talking about. You’ve seen her work: abstract close-ups of flowers and cattle skulls, paintings of the desert lands