Art work can teach us a lot about life

The past three years I have discovered how much I love painting.  I have always been a crafty person who loved to make cards, ornaments, and bookmarks amongst other things.  However, I have never really spent time painting canvases before college.  Then my friends along with resident assistants introduced me to canvas parties and thus painting on canvases. Now I have become somewhat obsessive with it.  (Not really, but I have made A LOT of painted canvases in these past couple of years.  It also will often be a part of a present for the people I like.  So if you ever become my friend, you may be getting a painting. You have been warned.)

Now, I am going to first say that I am not the best at painting.  I am trying my best to learn more and more on how to paint by self-teaching and watching tutorials.  I am experimenting all the time. I try different techniques such as writing quotes, nature scenes, silhouettes, logos, etc.  I love getting the chance to be creative and try new things. I will also say that this self-teaching of painting as well as any other craft has taught me a lot more than just how to create the best product.   It has also taught me that artwork can teach a lot about life. There are three main takeaways I have that showcase how creating art can teach a person a lot about life.  

First thing-Keep going, even when there are mistakes.  There have only been a few times where I have set down a painting for a long time.  One of them, I did end up painting over what I was originally doing and then I did something different.  But otherwise I usually just keep going with what my original plan was.  But even if it wasn’t, the point is that I haven’t stopped painting even when I do make a mistake.  It can be easy to do.  Especially when I look at how my painting looks, compared to many others out there in the world. 

There are going to be times in life when giving up seems like the best option.  This could be in a job, a ministry, or a different project, etc.   But it is always important that we keep going.  There are going to be mistakes.  As Bob Ross, of course, would say, “There are no mistakes, just happy accidents.” (Interesting fact, Bob Ross sadly died the exact same day that I was born.  The joke with my family now is that I am the next Bob Ross or Bob Ross incarnate.  Even though I am nowhere near the painter that he is.)  These happy accidents are going to be a part of painting.  These “happy accidents” are also going to a part of life.  Just like there is going to be a wrong path or a wrong brush stroke in painting, there will be in life too.  Sadly, no one can escape this.  Everyone makes mistakes. However, these happy accidents can always be something that help us grow.  Even though that mistake may not necessarily make the painting better, moving past it and continuing to work can make the final product even better.  

Second thing-Step back and Start over. Now there may be times when I do have to completely start over when it comes to painting.  This is unfortunate and sometimes disappointing.  Because it is taking more time.  I now feel as though I wasted time doing the original design, and wasted time is the worst.  (Except for when you are in the middle of social distancing and are supposed to have a lot of free time).  

There are times when we need to step back and start over in our own lives.  We may realize that there is a job that we don’t like or feel isn’t actually good for us or for our ministry.  There may be a time when we feel we need to move to another place or town.  We may have to stop and start over.  Granted, there is still a lot gained from that experience in life, whatever that may be.  There were things learned about ourselves, maybe from a mistake, maybe a skill, etc.  But, there is still a starting over process.  We are uprooting ourselves.  This is often also described as starting a new chapter of our lies. 

Third thing-the picture is worth it in the end.  Even at the end, after we have gone through struggle, excitement, frustration, and mistakes, there is a painting at the end.  At the end of our lives, we are also going to have a painting.  We may not know where those turns and mistakes will take us, but we at least know that we are going to have a wonderful masterpiece at the end.  There is going to be a painting that is beautiful, and it is something that we can be proud of.  Even if everything isn’t perfect, we at least can look at it and say that we did it.  We didn’t go out and buy something someone else made.  We don’t have a painting that doesn’t include our interests or our passions, but rather it is a painting that includes our very passions, interests and things that we love. (Or if it is a gift for someone else, then it is for the people that you love.)

This will hopefully be the life that we live.  We are and aren’t in many ways the painters of our lives.  I say that we are and we aren’t for a few reasons.  We are because we are daily making decisions.  We are deciding what it is that we want to do for a career, the friends that we make, the groups that we want to join, etc.  We are also filling our lives up with things that we are passionate about.  We are making connections and relationships with people that are really important to us.  However, at the very core of all of the pieces of the painting of our lives, there is God helping us lead the paint strokes.  He wants to be as much a part of the process as we are.  He is a creator, after all.  That is one of his main characteristics.  He was the one that created everyone with their uniqueness and the entire big and enticing universe.  It is the best interest for us when we let God be the main artist.  In many ways, we are even one of the many paint brushes that God wants to use to make for his final world painting.  

In the end, life and art can both be messy and include a lot of mistakes, but there is always a God that is willing to help lead our paint strokes or our hands. In the end, our lives will showcase a masterpiece.  Especially a masterpiece that shows glory and honor to the original one who made it.