It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything aside from lists of things I want to do, and the things from my lists that I have done. And that’s not what I want my blog to be, so I’m not doing that this year. I still have my list, and I’m still crossing things off, but I’m not posting about it. Instead, today I want to talk about art. Because with a name like A Desire to Get Creative, this blog should have a LOT more creative posts.
My daughter Charlotte is now 3 years old, and lately she’s been wanting to paint a lot. I have acrylic paints and brushes and canvas board, and we are using them. It’s a lot of fun to watch her. She mixes the colors to see what happens. She swirls the brush onto her canvas board, and then she’ll make dots, and then she’ll zig zag the brush back and forth again and again. She gets one color, then goes for another. She never rinses the brush, she never waits for the paint to dry before choosing the next color… She just has fun. She enjoys the process. And I really admire that about her.
So the other day, I decided to take a page out of her book. I did my best to just imitate her style. I chose some colors and just had fun. And when I thought I was done and it looked great, I asked her how it looked, and she told me with childhood honesty, “Actually… it doesn’t look that cool.” And I laughed. And I kept working. And I asked again, “Char, how’s this? Now is it cool?” And she said, “No, Mommy, it’s not cool yet.” And I painted more, and covered up parts I didn’t like, and mixed more colors, and by the time I finished this time, and she told me that now it was cool, I realized that I absolutely LOVE the finished picture. Not only do I love it, but it’s better than it had been at any of the previous stopping points. I actually was thinking of giving up, and would have, that first time I asked her opinion. But by continuing to work on it, I was able to come up with something that is, if I do say so myself, stunning.
So now is the fun part: our own little art show. Charlotte’s first online exhibit! (And my own painting, which is the last one.)
Charlotte’s painting for Aunt Krissy’s office.
Charlotte’s painting for Grandma and Papa.
Charlotte’s painting for her cousin Kahlan.
Charlotte’s painting for her own bedroom wall.
My painting, trying to capture Charlotte’s style.
A Desire to Get Creative 