How Acrylic Painting Healed My Spirit

It started with gourds...Yes gourds. My husband planted a handful of seeds in our garden one year and we ended up with about 50 of them. I got inspired and started making colorful bowls and birdhouses.

Eventually I ran out of gourds. I sold them all at a craft fair as we were preparing to move. All my gourd creation equipment was packed up.

While creating the gourd projects I was constantly hindered by my lack of art knowledge. Sure I drew incessantly as a child, but all my art was flat and primitive. And you know how frustrating it is to have a beautiful image in your head that comes out as a stick figure.

So while waiting for our move ... still waiting ... I got the idea that I wanted to learn more art skills... to apply when I got some more gourds. I searched online and found The Art Sherpa. She does most of her teaching on YouTube for free. (Maybe we can get her over here on DTube)

This is one of the first paintings I did with her...

This wasn't the very first painting. The first one was recently thrown away because it was in bad shape. I didn't have canvasses at the time, and only had some craft paints and brushes that my stepdaughter had outgrown. Surprisingly, the painting was so good (for a beginner) that when I sent a photo of it to my husband, he asked me where I purchased it!

Something healing happened when I painted that first piece. I don't know what I'd been holding back. It's as though I'd gone through my life feeling deep inside that there was an artist in there. But because of the lack of training (really no idea of how to begin) my lack of confidence kept her from coming out.

I cried a bit when I completed that first painted. I cried because it felt like a homecoming. I cried because I held myself back for so long. I cried because I felt reunited with my spirit.

I'm still just a beginning in acrylic painting. But I'm joyfully learning and building skill. However, that first painting with The Art Sherpa broke down some walls inside my heart. And it's amazing how much more free and confident I feel.

If you're interested in healing your spirit through art, here's the video tutorial of The Art Sherpa's dragonfly painting...