The Pains of Painting

Painting is soothing!

It’s a special feeling seeing colour flow on the canvas.

But painting is also painful.

Painting is painful because it is stressful.

Painting is stressful because it requires thought, focus and attention.

Getting it right, making it look the way you see in in your mind, is difficult.

Sometimes you’re not sure how to get a certain colour. How much blue, how much yellow, should I add more yellow, or should I add some white?

Sometimes you can’t seem to get the colours to blend seamlessly on the canvas. No one wants to be able to tell where one colour starts and where the other ends when painting a sky.

Sometimes you just don’t have the technique down. Yes, there is technique. I’m struggling with drawing waves and the see through effect for where water meets sand.

Sometimes, something, somewhere just doesn’t seem right. Sometimes you just don’t know how to fix it. Sometimes you just don’t know what it is. Oh sometimes, sometimes, sometimes.

Sometimes you start painting with no vision. You think the brush will lead the way. It doesn't.

Sometimes you think you have a vision only to realise you’ve been obsessing over someone else’s painting, and have stolen their style.

Sometimes you use a double ended brush. You dip both sides in dark blue paint. You forget. While zealously painting the canvas the other end of the brush, still soiled with blue paint brushes across your face, and glasses. You’ve successfully painted your face and glasses as well.

Sometimes you run out of paint.

Sometimes you feel like the entire painting is a disaster.

Then you sleep on it.

For a few days.

Then a few more days.

Then you see it in a whole new light.

Then you complete it. (Well we could say fix it, but I rather think it was a disaster because it was unfinished and not a plain ol’ disaster.)

Sometimes it’s a masterpiece.

But whichever time it is for me, painting always soothes.

Painting always distracts.

Painting requires thought, focus and attention…. Inspiration, most times.

The pains of painting force you to cast away the other pains in life.

This, to me, is the joy of painting.