A Perfectionist’s Paint Story

When I was a child I loved to draw, paint, and color on the walls with crayons. My love for creativity was a natural need for as long as I can remember. When I was five I began taking art classes every summer with my aunt who was fortunate enough to own her own art school. She could take an inexperienced artist, and instruct them in such a way that their art would rival Picasso. As I got older my mom wouldn’t allow me to take art classes at school, telling me that I already had that knowledge, and I needed to choose other electives in school to make me well rounded. That didn’t do much for me as all I did was change instruments every year as I hated taking anything that wasn’t art.

As I became an adolescent I struggled with enjoying art. Each summer when I worked on my projects I found myself frustrated by the quality of my work. I would look at my masterpiece and think it was awful because it would look nothing like the original picture I was copying, or nothing like my aunt's demonstration piece. Little did I realize that that’s part of what makes art wonderful. We would be bored and dull with art if all of our artwork came out the same. It took me until college to realize this truth and to pick up the supplies to try art again.

When I was in college I fell into a major depression. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I abused alcohol as a coping mechanism. Ironically the lower inhibitions with alcohol allowed me to open up creatively without my perfectionist side taking over. I began to fall in love with being creative again and value that part of myself, especially as I climbed out of my depression and found parts of myself I actually liked.

Painting is a process for me. Sometimes I take hours to finish a piece, sometimes I take days, sometimes I take years. Every piece I do is inspired by something I either see and feel in a moment or am inspired by because of others around me that I love. It’s a way that I ground myself. (I literally put down a giant sheet and paint on the ground. Who needs an easel?)

My list of painting supplies is unique, thanks to my wonderful aunt who has taught me the fundamentals of art. When I sit down to paint, I always have my canvas, paint, water, brushes, paper towels, paper, scissors, sand, glue, and a pencil. Scissors, sand, and glue aren’t on most people's paint supply list, but the combination has been passed down to me from my aunt, in which a marvelous textured piece can be created. Anyone interested in trying the process themselves can follow these simple steps to make their own creation.

1) Draw the picture of what you hope to paint on a piece of paper first. Then cut the picture out with scissors and place it face down on the canvas in the place you desire the image.

2) Take your pencil to the backside of the paper with your image and scribble darkly on the backside of the paper to transpose the image onto the canvas. When you lift the paper up, you will see the image lightly on your canvas, which you can then use your pencil to define the lines of your image if needed.

3) Once all images are transferred to the canvas, outline any defining edges of your images with glue. You can have fun with this part and create glue swirls, dots, or shapes in the sky or grass. (The world is your oyster).

4) Next, pour sand over the glue, and dump any excess sand off your canvas. Let the sandy glue dry.

5) Proceed to paint your canvas, and you will have amazing textures in any areas you covered with sand and glue. Note: If you use acrylic paint and dislike your work, you can easily paint over it!

I am thankful that I finally let go of the perfectionist in me to allow the flow of creativity to come back into my life. I’m not always thrilled with every piece, but even the ones I dislike are a process of release for me. I look at each canvas remembering what I was going through, and what it meant to me at the time of creation. I would argue that painting is another form of journaling. It’s a recording of a moment in time of your personal expression.

Knowing now what the moments of creative flow do for the health of our brains and bodies, I value my creative time as an essential life component that deserves time and attention. If you have never painted before, I encourage you to try and trust the process. An extra bonus about art is that It only takes one person to like it and pay a lot of money for it.