"Are you an Artist?"

 Here we are, another Sunday! I don't know where the time goes but it does fly by awfully fast. And I do have something really fun to share today....

Last Monday, just this last one, my daughter Jenny and I spent the day together. She is an Assistant Principle in a local elementary school here in southwest Florida and she had the day of because of the holiday, Martin Luther King Day. We started the day off with a fantastic lunch at a place called Siam Hut just down the road from me. We have been going there for 25 years and they know us well. Then it was off to my favorite store, Hobby Lobby! Jenny was looking for supplies for a gift she is creating for a friend and I well, although I love the whole store I headed straight to the paint section. I was standing in front of the paint brushes contemplating which one{s} to buy. When a nice elderly man approached me and asked me "Are you an Artist?"

I went completely mute. I opened my mouth but nothing came out .... for a second or two and then, I stuttered out something like "well, ahhhhh, ohhhhhh, ahhhhh, and finally..... Yes I am!"

He then explained that he knew nothing about art or painting but it had been a life long dream of his to try. He recently retired from the service and moved here to be closer to family and he has the time now and the desire to paint. He then told me he wanted to paint "clouds"! So, now I have to act like an artist and obviously he is thinking of me as a Bob Ross artist! Whoa, the pressure is on..... He had no idea where to begin, he was holding a package of India Inks and that was totally not going to work. And he was staring at the oil paint section which was not going to work for him either, at least now. I explained briefly the mediums and why the ones he had in his hands were not the best choice. And we moved towards the acrylic paints. I could feel the sweat dripping down my back. I had never been asked that off the cuff and as bad as it sounds I still struggle with calling myself an artist? But that is for another blog another time.

So, as I was explaining a really nice lady says "can I interrupt?". (there is a God!) she says " I'm an art teacher and I can help also. Turns out she has been teaching at Ft Myers Alliance of the Arts for over 20 years. I must say it was so fun standing in the aisle, the two of us, ARTIST'S helping this gentlemen gather his supplies. Her husband was also there and I don't know if he is an artist but he shared a lot of his own knowledge.

The one piece of information I shared with him was to just relax and play. Go home, put on some music you like. grab a beverage open up your supplies and put each of the colors on the palette and play, swirl the paint, feel the paint, smell the paint, get lost in the paint, don't try to hard on creating a perfect painting you can always paint over it. I then explained about the information on You Tube, all the available videos and Terry shared her card with him. Hopefully he joined her class. I could tell she is a wonderful instructor and I looked at her website and she paints beautiful pieces. I've included her website and a sample of her work here as well. www.terrylynnfineart.com

THE MORAL OF THE STORY...

So many of you know my past with my art and creativity but what you may not know is that I have developed a fear. The fear of not knowing what I'm talking about and that leads to the fear of sharing my knowledge. As Elli of Milanart.com said when you're not sharing your knowledge you are being stingy. I was put on the spot and I found I quickly snapped out of the fear.

I learned two thing about myself that day. I learned "I AM AN ARTIST" and I do and can share what I know. What seemed like such a small question had such a big impact. I hope that nice man finds what he is looking for in creating. It really does change a persons life. I also gave him a card and I hope he reaches out for guidance I will be honored to create, share and inspire with him and to follow his progress as he opens up the possibility of becoming "AN ARTIST!"

as always,

Go boldly and create like no one has before....

-Kate