Who Owns my Painting?

As an artist I find myself second guessing my decisions pretty consistently. “Was that the right move? Is this good enough? Am I good enough?” these are the kind of things that I find myself wrestling with in my mind.

I have been a creator since I could put crayon on paper and waved that paper around like a brand new kite. This creative quality carried me through years of growth and learning, but the entire time I have had a negative grudge over my shoulder telling me that I can do better. Telling me that I have to do better. This urge has been louder at some times and quieter at others. I am aware of the saying “we are our own worst critique” but I think that this should not be the case. Why should we constantly doubt ourselves?

During a critique last week my friend mentioned a way that her father sees creation and how he sees himself as an artist. He does not see his painting as something that he made or owns; instead, he gives the creative copyright to God. He believes that God gave him the gift of his hands and God guides his hands where they have to go when he creates a work of art.

When I heard this I found it to be profoundly beautiful. This artist gives up on second guessing himself because he knows that what he has is true a gift from God. And any gift like that can never be bad or unworthy.

This kind of trust and strength is something that I hope to bring into my own creative process and it is certainly something that I will continue to pray upon.

2 Comments

neday posted on June 7, 2023 at 2:53 am

Everything we have is from God.
And this is important…

mixing tank posted on June 16, 2023 at 9:44 pm

Kudos to you!

Post a Comment

Your email address is never shared. Required fields are marked *