Art Lesson by Gardega: Survival lesson

Yesterday I was etching glass saints for a mausoleum..It all has to be installed this weekend, no excuses!! I was in Brooklyn and I realized I had forgotten my reference material..(my studies of St. Joseph to work from. ) I had no time to waste so I took my cell phone and googled St. Joseph and found some images...I made a sketch in my sketchbook (above) gridded and scaled it and then etched a 4 by 4 foot panel with the image of him holding Christ. I actually managed to finish the top left panel and it looks good. I have three more to do before sat. I finished the hardest one. Now I can walk downhill, not up. As an artist, you must be a magician, you must be a problem solver..this requires you  to be awake and thinking...In a pinch the professional is tested and failure is not an option. One must be able to freehand draw a saint from a cell phone and scale it up to 8 foot high. Experience is everything but experience takes a long time to learn. Experience builds confidence and confidence is everything, instead of panicking you realize it is just another problem to solve. When the gun is to your temple one must learn to tap dance.