A Lesson in Faith
Many months ago, I was booked to perform a painting demonstration for a local art guild. I was there to teach an aspect of painting. But instead, I became a student and received a powerful lesson in faith.
When I was first approached to do the event, I mentioned I would create a palette knife painting. However, about two months before the demo, I decided to switch gears and show the evolution of a sock monkey still-life instead. So, I emailed my bio and a sock monkey reference photo and thought that was that.
Why did I switch gears? I’ll admit it was all about control. I was painting a pair of sock monkeys. Since I had sections of the painting in various stages of completion, I thought I could show all the steps of creating the artwork in a single session.
I arrived, sock monkey painting in hand. But I was promptly told that the art guild members wanted to see me perform a palette knife demo instead.
I’ll admit I was taken aback, but I was offered a blank canvas, and so I proceeded to switch gears.
I had no reference photo or plan, so I took a deep breath and silently asked for help from above to help me create something really cool.
None of us were disappointed.
It was a spirited demonstration. Oh, I gave some tips about using the knife, but the real lesson was about faith. I reflected on how we used to create when we were children. About how we would grab a piece of paper, our favorite crayons, and color! We didn’t look at a reference photo. We didn’t worry about rules. We just put down what felt good.
That’s how I painted that night. I just made stuff up! The event was a great reminder to play and trust. I love that every time I teach, I am also taught.
Check out this short little video to see the evolution.
Out of wall space?