Van Gogh’s Sunflowers – my rendition

I’ve been negligent of this blog for some time now – mea culpa. It’s our busy season at work and at the end of each day I’m exhausted. “Gettin’ old ain’t for sissies” is a phrase of wisdom, indeed. That and I’ve been at a loss for words as to what to write. I’ve covered so many topics these past five years I’m wondering if I’ve got anything left to share. 

Creation Comes in Many Forms

I haven’t worked on any of my writing projects but I have picked up painting again. It all started at work with a co-worker who is an amazing artist and calligrapher. She does all of our signs BY HAND. At first, I used to stare at them wondering whether they were pre-printed by the company. The symmetry in her calligraphy is impressive. So I started thinking about the two paintings I did a couple years ago – one landscape, one abstract (neither was very good but we all have to start somewhere). I decided to take a creative slant to my work apron (many co-workers sport a variety of artistic designs) but I wanted to design something no one else had so I drew and painted what is called a Chinese blue-green dragon (Xiao Qing Long). Next to the dragon is the Chinese character for “good fortune.”

It woke my long-dormant creative juices and I’m now planning on painting some aprons for co-workers I like. While at Michael’s (the art store) last week to buy a sharpie for work, I noticed an array of adult paint-by-number kits of various pictures: Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, his Starry Night, and a few others peppered with general landscape pictures. I chose Van Gogh’s Sunflowers (work in progress above) because it’s one of my favorites – and he’s one of my favorite painters. If only I’d known then what I’d gotten myself into!

The project is quite detailed and after five nights of  2-4 hours of painting (teeny tiny slithery shapes) I’m still only about 1/3 – 1/2 done. Basically I stop when my neck and right hand are cramped from sitting in one position for too long.

But I persevere.

Find A Different Canvas

In an old post (Dec 2016), I wrote:

“As writers, we are artists whose canvas is the mind of the reader; our brushes are the words we use to create the story. Some paint a broad picture while others paint a smaller, more narrow picture.”

Since I seem to be at a loss for creating something for the canvas of readers’ minds, I have picked up a brush and am creating something else, something just as good, on another kind of canvas. It is creation and creativity that are most important; those of us who write or paint or create in some way must because it is who we are and it drives us. So I have to stop knocking myself for not writing. Perhaps it’s time to step away and indulge my creativity via other channels.

If you, too, are at a loss for words with your writing, step away and create something else with a different form of art/media. At some point, the writing will call you back.

#writers #painting #VanGogh #creativity #creativejuices #livecreatively