Art isn't just something to view from a distance; it's also a potent healing modality for both the artist and the client. Why not give it a try? Most children are offered a means of expressing themselves creatively. They don't step back and say, "Oh I can't, I am not an artist." However, that is exactly what we do as adults when presented with the opportunity to paint.
Dreaming of Someday & Engaging Child-like Wonder
The following piece - "Someday" - was originally part of a commissioned painting for a woman who had just lost her beloved Appaloosa horse. While working with the different painting styles, I opened the door to a different type of artistry...
"Someday" 2023 Digital Painting, Copywrite 2024 Novelorica LLC
Prints are available along with digital licensing. More information is available if you click the chat buttom below or click here to visit the Pictorem Portfolio.
It took me four years to learn to paint like Rafael, but a lifetime to paint like a child. - Picasso
Some of the art I purchased before the TBI that changed my life—when I was an art collector—included one piece by a well-known artist here in the Pacific Northwest. While his work is quite a bit different from what I ultimately created, his bold style gave me permission to paint in a new way - through the eyes of a child.
How encouraging is it to imagine letting go of all the heavy demands we carry to be perfect creators the first time around?
What if, instead, we embraced creativity with child-like wonder and the willingness to have it come out looking "weird" in the end?
What if we applauded the crooked lines and disproportionate features in the same way we would celebrate the children in our lives?
What if we dared to print it out in full color (if it was digital, as in my case) and put it on the wall?! I am going to do just that!
She painted love
I have a small painting done by my daughter when she was 3 years old. I asked her what she was painting...she looked up at me with her big brown eyes and said .... "LOVE." Then she skipped off to something else just as fast as she painted her new masterpiece!
I framed it immediately. I had just separated from her father and we moved into a new rental house. My daughter and I were going through a great deal of change. Still, she painted LOVE.
All these years later, her LOVE painting remains on the wall next to my bed, so it is the first thing I see when I wake up.
Back then, it was so simple for her to sit down and paint something so profound. Likewise, it was so easy for me to recognize the importance of what she had created. Now that I am trying to give myself the same attention, I am struck by the inner dialogue that comes up. It's challenging!
Perhaps I will offer an online class - Painting through a Child's Eyes. Are you interested? If so, let me know.
My daughter is 15
Where did the time go? I am going to start teaching her to drive soon. We have an incredible relationship, and I am deeply grateful to have so much love and trust with my teenage girl.
She notices the things I kept up on the walls, too, even if she would only allow me to post her art briefly. I fought to frame this one; I won, and she sees it daily, too. For her, it's another statement of how much her mom loves HER. As a teenager, that matters.
It's amazing how art can build relationships without a word spoken. It can express a long-held hope or mend a broken heart. Color is language. Creativity is courage. Art Heals.
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