Me and My Girl

Me and my girl, my love, my light, my inspiration for being a better person, artist and my gosh so much more, but then there are those moments when you just have to walk away as a parent and collect yourself for a moment.

When my girl was little I bought my first two huge blank and at the time intimidating canvases. Well I guess, she decided to make my work a bit easier. She was by no means afraid of the large blank canvas and was excited to get on with the art. She got a hold of a pencil and drew all over my second canvas, my art mommy...see.

Yes, Mom was not too happy. They were my canvases. Mine! Well, after I cooled down I looked at the beautiful lines she had so innocently created, I could not paint over them and so they sat on the white canvas for some time actually a few years until I decided what to do.

I know that many would call the lines scribble but I saw the art and beauty in the simple drawings. The primitive beginnings of my girl's lines. I decided to honor my daughters attempt to create her own first large scale canvas even though it was not planned to be hers.

The lines sat alone on the large canvas with no color forgotten in a pile of other artwork until my son began Kindergarten. The kids often see me paint and are always asking when we can paint together, so the idea was born. Since my kids are close in age it had been rare to get that one on one girl time and so I decided we could paint together. We decided to make her canvas a joint effort since after all it was my canvas and so we sat down one beautiful day and created this canvas together. We chose colors we both enjoy and had a fun time, we were both in the moment together. It was special because it is usually the three of us and Mary got mom all to herself with a huge canvas to prove that we spent quality time together. We had just enough time to finish and then before you new it was time to pick Jack up. What a wonderful memory for the two of us and a cool piece of art to display that has lots of meaning for the two of us girlie's.
I am so grateful to have my daughters first attempts of people preserved on a canvas. Those primitive lines, that freedom that many try to capture as artist, but are not free enough to do so. The beauty in the untrained art is something many artists take years to acquire. As an artist it is so pleasing to see freedom and uninhibited lines in the work of those who create from a knowing place.

I hope you all get a chance to create art that is you, dig deep and find the place that lives inside each of us, that place that has something to say or share. Don't try to make a finished project, just give yourself the freedom to explore the canvas as you would a newfound town in a foreign country. Explore! Choose new colors, lines and shapes. Try not to expect it to be anything familiar, but do take the time to enjoy it as it is and for what it is. If you have small children and are afraid of the mess I challenge you let go of it and just paint. Painting is not supposed to be clean. Creativity can be very messy. Explore and let go!

Happy Creating!
Happy Painting!