A New Passion

Last summer I took up painting. I had always wanted to paint but never thought I would be able to do so. I used to watch Bob Ross paint, especially if we had to be at the hospital. I found watching him create those beautiful landscapes soothing. This past August when things in our household got turned upside down my kids and I decided that we needed to do something together every week. Something where we could just relax and be with each other. We could forget about all of the chaos that was going on and just be together. We found this amazing artist on Facebook, Nicole White, and started attending her virtual paint classes. She is hilarious! My kids absolutely adore her and she makes painting so much fun. There’s no worry about if we’re doing it right. She’s constantly saying “When you have your version of this,” or “Do what makes your heart happy.”

Jessica (my 21 year old) really got into painting that first month. She declared then that she wanted all kinds of painting supplies for her birthday and for Christmas. So that is exactly what she got. She has stopped painting. She is back to embroidering which has always been a passion of hers. Wyatt (the 12 year old) still enjoys painting but often times when we get toward the end of the videos he will stop. He says he is completely satisfied with what he has created. Sometimes, I think he stops because the videos can be quite long and when we’re pausing them so that we can get to the same point as the instructor it can turn a two hour video into three or more hours.

I, however, still love to paint. I find that I can feel very anxious and then once I get a pallet and brush in my hand that all seems to melt away. I am creating something. Something that can be enjoyed. I have paint on many of my clothes. I often throw my hair up into a bun when I paint so it will stay out of the way. Then when I am switching brushes I will tuck a brush into that bun. The kids have to sometimes point out that I have a paint brush in my hair when I can’t find the brush that I’m looking for. There are currently puppy paw prints in my carpet (I really need to get the shampooer and clean that up) from where my dog stepped in a pallet of paint that Wyatt left within his reach. There are plates and cups stained with paint in my kitchen that we use when we’re painting. Bottles of paint and empty canvases are scattered throughout the house. Finished paintings have made their way to bookshelves and to other people’s homes. I love painting but I never would have really tried to paint if it had not been for our family going through a difficult time. I never thought I would ever be able to create something recognizable so I never tried.

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Is there something you have always wanted to do but have been putting off trying? Something that you want to learn but are maybe intimidated by it? Maybe you should go ahead and give it a try.