Last night I finished this painting. Have you ever done something that you weren’t sure you could do, but ended up really proud because you accomplished it? That’s what this is for me.
I’m a color artist. What I mean is, I see life—and things—in bits of color. That’s how I paint. That’s why I couldn’t get it right in the beginning. I was trying to paint the way I thought other people paint—by lines. I don’t see things that way.
All of that is really weird if you consider that I draw better than I paint. I used to sketch out all my paintings before I painted them. I don’t do that anymore. Once I discovered that you can actually paint by color instead of worrying about line, I became an artist (at least in my own mind).
I said all of that to say this: you can’t paint a house without paying at least SOME attention to line. You just can’t. That’s why I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off!
What’s the lesson in this? I think there’s more than one. You never know if you can do something until you try. You might be afraid to do something, but go for it anyway. Don’t give yourself permission to fail (Rob paid me before I lifted a brush, I HAD to succeed). Have faith in yourself. Do as much as you can, down to the tiniest detail to make the people you are serving happy. The greatest satisfaction comes from knowing that something you did inspired a feeling of joy in someone else! And…be amazed. Be amazed at your world and at yourself. Be amazed when you surpass your own expectations! There’s nothing like the feeling of looking over something you worked hard on and knowing, “Oh my geez, I did it!”
Finally, the biggest take away is THANK GOD. Thanks to God for giving me all that he has given me. He blessed me with many gifts and talents and I’m working on getting better at using them!
Allison