Hello Friends!

Yesterday I had the great privilege of watching Charlie O’Shields talk about his playful way of doing watercolor sketches every day. Not only that, but he also demonstrated his way of sketching with pen, watercolors, and crayons! It was quite fun. So we did these flowers using just three colors each time.

Charlie is a great encouragement to anyone who thinks they “can’t” draw which is what he has learned that many of us tell ourselves after we hit about age 9 and begin believing there are then “wrong” ways to draw and/or paint. When really? It is much more fun to do it without “rules.” Just be a kid again!

I know from my own childhood experience that I began to believe I couldn’t draw when my Jr. High art ‘teacher,’ I use that term loosely, made fun of how I always blushed whenever he called on me. He proceeded to make fun of me in front of the whole class and tease me about it. You can bet that class, which I had been looking forward to, ended up becoming the one I hated most besides Algebra that year!! I couldn’t feel anything except self-conscious every day in that class.

When the school year ended, I barely ever attempted  any art again until I HAD TO in an art history class in college when I was 30! I hated doing the project we were assigned. All it entailed was drawing a tree in three mediums: pencil, pen, and watercolors (which I had never used before.) But…

The wondrous thing about that assignment, was I began to desire to doodle like I did when I was a kid. We only did a couple of hands-on projects. The rest, as they say, was art history! 😉

Eventually, on my own, I began dabbling in the watercolors more, too, but I didn’t get really interested in art until I was married with two kids and home schooling them about 15 years later! I wanted our kids to experience their senses in every way they desired including pencil, pen, crayon, markers, paint, sand, glue, scissors,  etc. And I have boxes full of their lovely childhood art to this day. Their expressions of themselves in art are some of my greatest treasures.

So before you listen to your inner critic tell you that you “can’t” draw or whatever else you WISH you could do, just tell that voice to can it! Then get the stuff to start learning and doing what YOU want to learn and do! And then? Just try it! And KEEP trying. Most likely you will surprise yourself…and enjoy yourself! But most of all, hav fun!

Have a wonderful day and give someone you love a big hug! 😀