Have you ever thought about painting? Not painting for an art class, or a project, just painting for fun? I feel like a lot of people are scared of doing artistic stuff like painting or drawing because they are afraid of doing something wrong and ruining their piece. I am sure that everyone has drawn and painted as a little kid and felt that they were super good artists because everyone told them that their art was awesome. However, as people grew up they received less and less compliments on their drawings unless they were mind-blowing good. As people received less compliments, they stopped making art. Now this might not have happened with everyone, but it happened to me. I felt that other people were so much better than me when it came to making art, so I refused to paint or draw because I would end up messing it up.
A lot of years passed by and I always asked for help every time I had to draw something for school. I stopped believing people when they told me that my drawings looked “good”, because I kept comparing my pieces to other amazing ones. It wasn’t until 4 years ago that I realized that I wasn’t too bad at art after all. I was scared to keep drawing because I thought people were going to expect all my drawings to be good; and if I when I couldn’t keep up with the expectations I felt like a failure. It took me some more time to realize that I had to stop listening to people.
I started drawing and keeping all the drawings to myself. I was often frustrated when the lines were too dark, or when I couldn’t get the right shape. I stopped drawing for a while because I felt that I wasn’t getting anywhere with it, and instead of making me feel relaxed, it was starting to make me feel stressed. Somehow, I don’t exactly remember when or how, I was introduced to painting with acrylics and that changed me forever.
Just like my experience with drawing, I tried making everything look “perfect” by following all the rules to painting. At some point, I stopped following the rules. There was something about dipping the paintbrush in paint and sliding it on a piece of paper that made me feel free. I tried different styles of painting until discovered that one that made me feel the most comfortable. I honestly don’t know what to call my style of painting, sometimes I call it “messy painting” for a lack of a better term.
Now, I love painting. It makes me feel free; I am not scared of making those little mistakes anymore because those are often what makes my piece look complete. There was a time when I thought about majoring or even minoring in fine arts because of how much I love to paint, but then I realized that I would have to meet deadlines and experiment with more styles of art that I might not enjoy, so I decided to not study fine arts. Although, I know that painting will always be a part of my life no matter what. It is what makes me happy, and relaxed. I love getting my hands and my clothes messy with paint afterwards.
Finding my style of painting was one of the best things that could happen to me. Since I discovered it, I haven’t compared my work to anyone else’s work. I have learned to appreciate my hard work and not take people’s opinions on my pieces too seriously. After all, I paint for myself and to make myself happy.
Next time you have the chance to paint, do it! Don’t take it too seriously and have fun. Enjoy the smell of the paint and how it feels to slide the brush against a canvas or a piece of paper. Get your hands messy and laugh. Blast music and paint while you dance. Don’t care about what other people think about your work and appreciate it the way it is. By the end, you’ll feel a lot better and happier!
(btw all the pictures are drawings and paintings I made).
