A hobby that pays
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Just one example of what I've been painting
I haven’t been making any new posts to my blogs lately, in fact I haven’t been doing much of anything for the last few weeks except painting.
Painting is one of the things I do as a hobby but also as a way to relax and unwind. For me it’s like going to a shrink! Or taking yoga lessons. It really is therapeutic.
I have no formal training and don’t consider myself an artist. Some may think I am being the humble me! But the truth is that I know myself , and I know my limitations.
It’s not that I don’t give myself credit where it’s due and it’s not because of lack of confidence- there is no famine there! It’s just that I know what I can and can’t do. Don’t get me wrong though, I do endeavour to learn something new almost everyday, and I do have a bold and exploratory outlook on life and everything around me. So I am going to take some watercolour lessons just to satisfy my own thirst for learning and of course to learn the proper technique.
I have been painting almost all my life but except for less than a handful of people, no one else ever set eyes on my work.
All that was to change, after I posted some of my old paintings on face book following a friend’s suggestion.
Suddenly, I got torrent of comments from friends and family about my paintings, some people even offered to buy them! What? I thought.
Who are these people! Are they mad Or just don’t know about art, my work is really crap. I can’t draw to save my life.
Ok, I admit I have a way with using colours, but that’s just about it. I think it’s just the colours that catches people’s eyes.
The last real painting I did was about six years ago because I got busy with other things until a friend of mine sent me some amazing photos he had taken of sunset! They wowed me so much that I had to paint some of them. They awakened the passion in me again and I got painting.
The first few paintings I did was with the old dry paints I hadn’t used for years.
I scanned the paintings and sent him the pictures and he was really impressed and excited about them. Then I went out and bought some fresh paints, more brushes and some watercolour paper and I have not stopped since.
In the last couple of weeks I have sold five paintings and a print and anyone who looks at them keeps telling me that I have talent! It’s nice to hear it but I still don’t believe it!
Anyway the whole point of writing this post is that as my 22 year old designer/philosopher niece put it “there is an artist in all of us”. It may be hidden and we may be unaware of it but if it can somehow be triggered, it will shine like a diamond! And the best thing about it is that it makes you feel good.
Even if you haven’t done any painting before, or can’t even draw stick men! It doesn’t matter. You can just do it for yourself, for enjoyment and relaxation. It’s cheaper than paying a shrink anyway!! You never know, you may awaken the artist in you and turn out to be really good at it. And you may even make a bit of money out of it as I did.
But if you really like to learn a bit about painting, then you can always do that through books and videos. As I always say it’s never too late to learn something new. You can start with this excellent book .
If you want to see more, leave me a comment and I’ll tell you where to look.
Dear Nanna,
I really like the simple technique you use for your paintings and each one tells a different story. They have certainly captured my imagination! Well done!
Moji