Today in class, my students mentioned that perhaps I should have some brown lunch bags to breath in to for when they start to feel faint from stress...I had to laugh but, I feel compelled to do a blog on this one.
So many people wait for years for the perfect time to start their painting journey. They can't because they are working.... They can't paint because they have kids.... They can't paint because life is so busy.. ..Then when they finally get to it they wonder if they will ever get good enough at it to please themselves.. So hung up on doing everything right. The goal always seems to be, make it look like the photo reference. In the process they are so stressed out trying so hard to do it right they forget the reason for trying to do it in the first place...doing something they thought would bring them joy. So now, these stressed out students are in a classroom wishing they had lunch bags to breath in to. I see this all the time.
So here is my input. We have cameras to give us something that looks like a photo. The photo is only inspiration not our bible. Years ago, I got so that I could paint something that looked exactly like a photograph, something my students wish to aspire to, and spent the time since, trying hard not to make it look anything like a photo.
We have watches to keep us on time and make the time to do the things we want and feel we need to do, so why not paint now? I made the time over the years while raising my children to work on my skill, so that when my kids were gone I had something of myself left..I watched my mother crumble when the kids left. I wanted more for myself, although I did get a bit frayed around the edges as each one left the nest and boy did I understand my mother a whole lot better then! Now though, I am happy that I kept a bit of myself, for myself over the years, as I don't need a paper lunch sac to breath in. Not when I paint, or when I think of the kids not in the nest any longer. I can enjoy my painting days because they are mine and because I have done the work, to improve the skills over the years. My journey now is to paint so it doesn't look like the reference. I enjoy how the brush feels in my hand, the smell of the paint, and the way the paint feels as it glides across the surface of what ever I happen to be painting on. No brown sacs for me..just the pure joy of making the mark... getting lost in the world of shapes, values, and contrast...no words, no judgement, just peace and the joy of the mark.
Happy painting to you all!
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