Mindfulness and Painting: Playing Without Expectations

By: Maya Talisman Frost
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:41:51
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Painting is my new passion. Who knew?

A few days ago, I was talking to my mother on the phone. I told her that our apartment here in Buenos Aires is great, but there is absolutely nothing on the walls. I mentioned that I had considered buying art, but decided instead to just get a bunch of paint and canvases and make my own.

"But you're not a painter," she said, confused.

"I know. But I'm not doing portraits or anything too detailed. I'm just doing abstracts," I explained.

"But you've never done abstracts," she pointed out.

"Yes, I know. But it can't be that difficult, and the only person I have to please is myself, so as long as I pick the colors I like and play around, it should turn out just fine," I said.

"But painters study for years to learn their techniques," she continued.

"Yes, yes. But I don't care about that. I'm in it for the fun of it and to paint something colorful for my walls," I explained, getting a tiny bit exasperated.

"But you don't paint," she said. I could almost hear her shaking her head.

And that is how I ended up with a stack of canvases, piles of paint cans and tubes, a handful of brushes, and sheets of clear plastic draped all over my dining room. I've barely come up for air since. I feel like a little kid who has just discovered the joy of finger painting.

I can't get enough of it. But let me stress that this has all happened in one week. My husband went on a week-long trip, and I thought it was a perfect opportunity to make a complete mess while he was gone.

I did a little research online before I got started. I especially liked one site on which a painter offers tips for those who've never picked up a brush. "You can't mess up," he announces. "Just have fun and play with it!"

Now, that's the kind of advice I love! That's how I started gardening.

And just like when I was a passionate gardener, it's not about the final product. I had played in the dirt happily for years to transform our property, and when we put up the "For Sale" sign in the front yard, my neighbors asked, "But how will you ever leave this garden?"

Oh, easy. You see, it was never about the garden. It was about the gardening. I wasn't attached to the garden per se--I just loved the process of digging, planning, planting, and even weeding. As it turned out, I didn't have any problem leaving behind the gardening either, eventually. (It took a few more gardens before I got to that point.)

What excites us at one time in our lives doesn't necessarily make us want to leap out of bed at 5 am to get started years later. The trick is to keep playing, keep seeing it as playing, and when it starts to feel like work, consider tweaking it or doing something completely different.

For those of the stick-to-one-thing persuasion, I have to ask, "Which thing?" How can we know what we will love until we try it?

As we get older, it gets harder to try new things. We're used to being good at what we do. But the more we embrace being a novice, the easier it becomes and the more likely we are to try MORE new things.

I was an absolute novice at painting last week. I still am, but I'm learning more each day, and I'm having a blast. What else matters?

And my walls? They're covered with paintings in brilliant hues. I smile every time I look at them.

I'll send photos to my mother.

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