Git yer hands dirty.....

Well, I am here to defy something your mother told you not to do as a kid. Get dirty. OK it's not really getting dirty, but it is a bit messy.....but it's messy and also liberating....and dynamic, and feels awesome.

About 8 months ago, I purchased a couple canvases and I just decided that I should try something new that I hadn't really tried in my 37 years on this planet. I picked up a couple canvases and I painted.

And you might think to yourself, what in the heck would inspire you to paint after all this time? Well, a couple things actually, I feel inspired by color, I constantly have color combinations sticking in my mind, different pairings of colors and shapes that somehow form from other inspiration I see during the day or dream about at night. So I thought it's time to see how else I can express these things that up until now, I've mainly kept in my brain, so what better way to try, than painting.

I kindof started out thinking I wanted to do an interpretation of the sun, but as I went along, I sort of just let my fingers decide how this painting was going to turn out.

I had several paint colors I intended to combine, in the beginning I got my big fat brush out and started brushing away, adding colors, dipping in water to clear the last color, drying the brush, adding more paint....then somewhere along the way....I felt like the brush was just the middle man, and wasn't really adding value to the process, plus I was sick of rinsing and drying, etc. So, I just got my hands dirty. I would just squirt the paint on the canvas and sort of blend all these colors together into a flurry of something......then stepped back, review what it looked like....work the paint some more....added more colors.

Then as I was mixing and mashing and blending all these colors together, I realized, I was sort of having an experience....like feeling liberated or inspired, or just feeling really good, and I felt like there needs to be music to enhance this vibe I was already on..... so I cranked up some 'classical music' and sort of let that take me to a whole different level of painting and it really was the icing on the cake that I needed to finish this work of art.

I feel like I encompassed almost all colors, when I decided it was mostly done, but also I felt like I had just done something that had alot more meaning than just creating a painting. It wasn't really until much later reflecting back that I realized it was much more than painting, it was creating a work of art. Art from the heart. This type of creativity is different than any other. It's not about how perfect it looks or how it perfectly matches your couch, but it's about creating a feeling, and painting to match this feeling. A really good feeling. Almost like capturing a moment and all the energy and emotion that went with it, right here in this work of art.

So, this wasn't quite the end of it, after I painted I had to look at it a few times to see what else it needed so I stared at it from near, and from far, and from different angles, and like, as I'm eating supper and when I'm watching tv, and how about in the sunlight?..........,(you get the gist)

So I'm looking at my art and realizing, it's not quite done yet, I just felt like something was missing. I had used gold marker to make some lettering on a project just the day before, so I thought, hmmmm, it reflects really nicely on the paint, maybe something with this..... and oh, it's so dark around this one side, maybe if I just add some 'flourishes' on this side, it'll brighten things up.....well, I started and I couldnt' stop.....this started with one little swirl of this, and a couple more lines, and some othere fun shapes and all the sudden

before I knew it I had all sorts of 'flourish' on my painting and it really was starting to look fabulous....and feel fabulous too by the way

So, I ate another meal with my painting, took it back outside. Walked by it a couple times, squinted, looked near and far.....asked myself somemore, gosh what else does this thing need, it's not quite there yet.

I texted a couple of friends for their opinion and just happened to remember that one of my friends is more than slightly a little obsessed with 'all things glittery'. And I just happened to have a package of tiny rhinestones, so there was the finish, lets stick a few on, see what happens.....and viola, we had a masterpiece.....

I hung this work of art right up here next to where my home office is, to enjoy most days, and everytime I look at it, I remember the process, the emotions I felt at the time, what was going on in my life that moment.

Each work of art truly is capturing all the thoughts, feelings, excitement and energy of that time. An imprint of a moment, that can take you directly back to that space, to enjoy at anytime you'd like.

I love this painting....and the process to make it was truly the beginning of realizing what art and creativity could bring to my life. I hope hearing my story inspires you, to create your own unique work of art, and empowers you to think about how the energy you use to develop your own work is even more important than what the end result looks like.