That thing about creating that Hemingway knew

The thing is to become a master and in your old age to acquire the courage to do what children did when they knew nothing. ~ Ernest Hemingway

And what is it, exactly, that children do when it comes to making art?

They are—

Excited

Fearless

Present

Pleased

Prolific

What are the things they don’t do?

Compare

Second-guess

Destroy

Procrastinate

Feel shame

 

Hmmm. Do you see a trend here of what happens in the making of our art?
We can see what happens when we approach our creative time with joy.
Joy seems to be the natural state for a child.

We can also see what happens when we approach it with fear.
Fear can be a natural state for us big kids.

Peonies at the cottage

I’m going to challenge this big kid approach, though.
We can choose, anytime we want, to shed that big kid thinking and return to the youngster we each carry inside.

Guess who?

Art is here for us.
To abandon ourselves to the sheer joy of being alive.
It is not here to judge us, shame us, or make us feel less.

Whatever you have happening this week, I encourage you to let your inner child pick up a brush, a pen, some paint and express the joy of life.

Vintage bottle

It’s all we have and it’s beautiful!

Note: The watercolors shown here are small pieces, done with great joy this summer at the Dream.Love.Paint cottage. No ‘big kids’ were involved 😉  Postcards from Paris, my watercolor journaling course, opens this month.
Hope you can come play with me!!