I don’t take the creative impulse for granted. Distractions come along, and can steal that away from me for a while. 

I haven’t painted much over the last six months. An ongoing problem arose that has demanded far more of my time than I wanted to devote to it.

I’ve said that in order to start painting, all I have to do is pick up the brush and dip it into some paint. It really is true. The act of painting motivates me to paint. I have two canvases on side by side easels. One is an abstract, the other is a scene of a white pine. These are familiar paths for me.  They are friendly themes, and serve as a springboard to take a dive into discovery and play. 

I spent time painting with a very imaginative kid today. I wish I could read back the things he said while we painted. He is uninhibited, and he thinks things that I would never imagine on my own. By sharing his ideas and dreams, he lets me in.  Even if I don’t remember all of the words, they become part of me, and I end up wondering who is mentoring who. The truth is, we can all mentor each other. 

We talked about clouds, about positive and negative space.  Tapirs and more floating cities. Our minds are malleable like the paint, so the subjects change, both in our conversation and on the canvas.