I used to do a lot of decorative painting, especially for Christmas presents until one of the ‘itis’ brothers came for a long visit. He finally left but by that time other things had taken the place of painting.
Recently one of my sons ask me to paint him a picture to go on his wall. He reasoned that even though he had other things I’d painted, he didn’t have a picture to hang. It had been more than ten years since I’d done any painting and I didn’t know if I was still capable of wielding a brush or painting anything recognizable. But since he’d never really asked me for anything before I decided to give it a shot.
I had dozens and dozens of tubes of paint, but most of them were dried up from non use…and age. Not wanting to waste money, I invested in some cheap paints in case the painting proved to be a no go and…dived right in.
Imagine my surprise when I turned out a very detailed painting of which I wasn’t ashamed. Since the first one was a success and I had painted it in two days, I decided that I would paint each one of my children a picture as well. (Don’t tell them, it’s a surprise) Ambitious I know, since that would mean six more pictures. But hey, I’m not getting any younger and who knows how long it will be before the ‘itis’ brothers visit again, and perhaps even move in permanently. I better do this now while I’m visitor free or before I’m resting comfortably in the ground.
I painted my second picture and the son I live with was blown away. He said, “Mom if you can paint like this with crappy paint, just think what you could do with good paint”. So he got me some good paint and I was blown away with the difference in ease and coverage and use ability of the good stuff. It’s really a crime to sell cheap paint…or maybe the crime lies in my buying it because now I’m stuck with it. Rather than throwing it away I foresee a future of painting projects with a five year old.
At this point I’ve turned out eight pictures and I still have four canvases left. That doesn’t mean I’ll stop when I use them all, I’m just getting warmed up! There is no theme or rhyme or reason to what I’ve painted so far, I’m just painting what strikes my fancy and the subject matter is very diverse. I’m in this now for the fun of it and it seems that the rate I’m turning them out is making up for the lost years.
I’m so thankful for the son who got me painting again and for the son who got me good paints to make it more enjoyable and easy. I started out to do a favor for one of my children and instead I’ve rediscovered a long dormant passion. I’m not completely sure that wasn’t the intended idea behind the request anyway. My children have no say in my paintings and they may not like the pictures I give to them but maybe they will treasure them just because their elderly mother painted them….anyway I like them all and my Christmas list is getting ticked off rapidly. What fun I’m having, I’ll soon have to buy more canvasses!
Well Grandma Moses strikes again….on to my next picture.
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