Why You Should Paint

 

Saying you don't draw because " all you can draw is stick figures" is like saying you don't blog because " you don't know how to use pronouns and adverbs correctly". It's like you saying you don't dance at weddings because you never took any professional dancing lessons. 

People. Since when has art become this elite thing that one can only enjoy once has gotten to a certain level?

Before we learned to crochet and cook and play golf and watch movies, we drew. We painted. As little children, our parents all probably set us down with some clumsy paintbrush and junky brightly colored paints, and we just splashed color this way and that and were happy. So happy. Why? Why were we happy? Because painting is fun.

I don't paint because I consider myself "good" ( though valuing one's own work does have its time and place and is an important, compassionate avodah ). I paint because when my mind excitedly chooses which color to use next, a little happy bomb goes off in my head. And then another. And another. "Yes! I love this magenta!" my head screams. "Ahhhhh this light shade of turquoise green" , I whisper joyously to myself. "Yellow! Yellow! Use that yellow!" And so on. It's like this whole happy dance party in my head.

I could probably take some more classes and learn different techniques, and that would be good too. But besides the point.

Brush aside any notions that you must be in order to do painting. You don't have to be anything other than a person. Tonight, when your kids are asleep, steal into their art drawer and whip up a little something, enjoying the process and not the product. And if you're super- ambitious, you could enjoy the product as well.

Blogging has become a way for the everyday person to express their inner selves. Painting could become that way too, if only we would let go of those elitist notions. We all have something beautiful to share with the painted-life. What's more, we all have something to gain just from enjoying painting. Let those happy color bombs go off tonight. Let those creative fireworks fly.