I Challenged Myself To Paint by Shutting the Voice in My Head
Contrary to what it was saying, I realized I was good at it
While scrolling down my social media feed, I stumbled upon a beautiful painting. This time I didn’t only ‘like the post and move on’. I started to ponder on the idea: What if instead of looking at these paintings on my screen, I created one?
Oh, oh… I think the voice in my head heard me. ‘What?! How? You never held a brush in your life. You can never be as good as these artists. That ship sailed a long time ago my friend. For God’s sake, you can barely draw a house! Scroll down already and take me to the fridge for a sweet snack… that would be better.”
But this time, something was different. Maybe it’s the fact that I am forced to be at home and have lots of time to spare. I also didn’t care about the result. I wanted to try it out for fun. So, I dismissed the voice every time it tried to bring me down and focused on the activity itself.
The voice was right about one thing though: I had never held a painting brush. Being called a Beginner is an overstatement. I didn’t have any of the materials needed to paint. So, I dived into a mini-research to start.
I found an incredible video of Frank Clarke, illustrating the basics of acrylic paint. He started painting at age 30 (yey, hope!) and was now teaching the art. His video boosted my confidence and encouraged me to try it out and I began believing that I could draw. By making us think we were drawing carrots, he was teaching us to draw people *Clever*
Here are the tools I needed to start:
- Brushes
- Acrylic Paint
- Acrylic paper or small canvas
- Water in a cup
That’s All!
Below are some small figures I was able to draw thanks to his video:
This gave me hope. I started searching on Youtube for ‘Easy 10min acrylic paint for beginners’. The page is full of amazing step-by-step guides and wonderful people who are willing to teach you for free.
I dived right in!
Painting attempt #1:
Green Forest tutorial; Time dedicated: 20 minutes.
Result:
hmm… not bad for a first time… I think I can improve (?)
Painting attempt #2:
Blue Forest tutorial; Time dedicated: 20 minutes.
Result:
Cool. I’ll take that for a second trial.
The results motivated me. I felt compelled to try even harder for my third painting.
Painting attempt #3:
Blue Moon Tutorial; Time dedicated: 30 minutes.
Result:
Hey, we’re getting somewhere!
Today, these three paintings hang in my living room. Whenever I contemplate them, I am motivated to continue. I trust that with more practice, I could improve.
So, mute that voice in your head and get to it! Whatever that challenge may be for you. Try it out. Again, and Again. Little by little, you’ll look back at what you once thought was impossible and feel proud.
