You Are Creative

I have never thought of myself as a creative or artistic person. I first realized this when I was in kindergarten.  I was coloring a picture at my desk when the teacher came by and told the little girl next to me how beautiful her coloring was. She looked at my picture, but didn't say anything about it. I looked over at the girl beside me and saw that her her picture was so much prettier than mine. Her lines were even, soft and effortless.  No matter how hard I tried to color like her - I never could. And then came Art class. The teacher would always use that little girl's projects as examples of what we should be trying to do and encourage us to create like her. No matter what I did or how hard I tried, I didn't use the right colors or my proportions were wrong.  The teacher was always coming by to "fix" what I was doing. So it was at an early age that I realized I was not an artist and thought that I was not creative.

It is sad to say but from the time we are little, we are brought up and taught to listen to someone else's idea of what is good or bad or how something should look based on their ideas and concepts.  We are taught early on about perfection and what it means to be artistic and creative by someone else.

I think Pablo Picasso had it right.

"Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."

"I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it."

"If I don't have red, I use blue."

"I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else."

One of the things I love about painting, is that I am able to create and have learned that it's ok to mess up. Pick a color and if it doesn't work, try another. Try a new finish.  If you don't like it, paint over it.  In messing up I am learning what works and what doesn't.  At the end of the day, I can see what I've done and what I've accomplished.  And for the most part, I stand back and say....."yeah, I like that."   And that feels pretty darn good.

Bring out your own creativity in life.  One small step at a time.

Happy Tuesday.

Paula