Anyone can do art.

Anyone can do art.

What?  Yes, anyone can paint or draw.  Anyone can create anything and they should because it is good for your health.  I have told people over and over, don’t worry if your friend never sells a thing.  It is the act of creation that is bringing them joy. Turning it into a business just muddies the water and ruins a lot of the fun. (yes I still have fun)

I teach classes in doing pastel and one thing that is common among my students is the approach it with all the seriousness of a neurosurgeon walking to an operating suite.  I gleefully announce, “Nothing you do her will stop the world from spinning!”  and I tell them it is okay to make mistakes.  I make them start with their photo material upside down, and we start without the stress of screwing up.  They seem to have fun, I get a lot of notes afterwards about what a good time they had. I’m pretty sure it is because I got them to loosen up. 

Every once in a while, I have a student who is struggling.  I just hand them another board and say, “lets start over.”  It is alright, we all need to learn to begin again.  Because they already had one start, they are more confident with the second and they always do better. Why? Because they learned from the first one.  Doing art is something that activates a different part of your brain that you might not actually use all the time.  It has an impact on the brain wave patterns, on emotions and the nervous system and can actually raise serotonin levels.  It’s Good For You!

I was at a party for the local art school and demonstrated my pastel technique.  I got home at 8pm, tired and happy.  I went to bed at 9 and slept so well!  It was amazing!

Here is the moral, Just Do It!  Don’t worry about doing it right, just do something.  A bad beginning is better than no beginning, you can’t get anywhere if you never start.