Friday, July 27, 2007

I Create Because I Must





Quite simply, I create because I must. Creation is necessity. Creation is life.

Everyone's creative. If someone tells you you are not creative. Don't listen. They are lying. And when you create something, never throw it away. There will always be someone who will love your art.

I used to cripple myself with perfectionism. I mean, if I'm not going to create a Picasso, Chagall or O'Keefe, why bother? I would defeat myself before I even started. Then, a yoga teacher told me that it was not the destination, but the journey that mattered. Cliche, I know. But it clicked for me. She said what was important (Pink) was the actual act of creation, not so much the finished product. The key is to just create, create, and create some more.

I used to throw my art away when I didn't like it. Then one day I was at a consignment store. I couldn't believe my eyes. There was one of my paintings. It was a very tender moment. I stood there and stared it. Blinking back tears, I thought, someone cared enough to dig my painting out of the garbage and place it in a shop. I told the shop owner that it was my painting.

She was very concerned and asked if I wanted it back. No, I said. I was just so happy to see it there, and it had served its purpose in my life by teaching me a very important lesson.

When I was younger, I was madly in love with Prince. (Prince is so huge it seems silly to hyperlink to him, but I want to be respectful.) I even went to his Purple Rain tour in Florida, and wore the requisite big hair and purple outfit. One lesson Prince taught me is that sometimes when you learn to love something, you love it even more. I never liked Prince's albums when they first came out. I had to get used to them. Then on repeated listening, I began to appreciate them on a deeper, more complex level. When I experience this kind of appreciation, I find I don't grow tired of the music, indeed, it gets better every time.

I've learned that if I don't like one of my paintings at first to just let it sit. I live with it for a while, and you know I learn to love that painting. This little painting was like that. I didn't like it at first, but love it now.

The Designer, 2007
11" x 14" acrylic and marker on paper

P.S. Dearest Prince - that album cover is fabulous!

1 comment:

kim. said...

This post really...I don't know... moved me. I suck at art and can't draw worth a damn but that must be so weird to walk into a store, even a thrift store, and see your painting. You should have bought it. Now THAT would have been funny.

Great blog. Glad to hear you've joined blogland.

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