Just over a week before Christmas, I had to have surgery. During my recovery, sitting at my computer to write hasn’t been comfortable, so I’ve been doing a lot of reading. Additionally, I’ve been teaching myself to paint.
I decided to start with preprinted canvases and paint-by-number canvases because I have trouble putting the images in my mind onto paper without words.
The Christmas canvas scared me when I pulled it out of the box since it had a preprinted design, and included paint colors but did not have any real guidance for putting the colors on the canvas. I had to make all of the decisions myself.
The painting is far from perfect. I know that. But I enjoyed the process so much! Christmas evening, after all the chaos of family events, present opening, and eating, we sent our four-year-old granddaughter off to spend the night with her parents and relaxed around the living room watching Christmas classics, like Die Hard, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Gremlins.
Late in the evening, in between rounds of Doomlings (the card game), I finished this painting. The final picture is at the top of this post. While it is rough, I love it. It lights up and represents the finishing of something I couldn’t see the end of two weeks ago.
A couple of days later, my husband and I went shopping for more canvases to paint. I purchased a mountain of pre-printed pieces and am already working on the stack. I look forward to sharing more of them here.
Last night, I dug out a sketchbook and put down the beginning ideas for my first canvas which is entirely of my own creation. I cannot wait to share the steps with all of my readers. I am also almost ready to get back to writing.
Painting was important to my father near the end of his life. I have his collection of model cars, boats, and trucks sitting in storage and his paint collection in a box in my dining room. I am afraid to touch them, afraid to hurt them, afraid to alter them. But by finding my own creative outlet with paint, I am hopeful that someday I will be capable of picking up where he left off. There are so many models sitting in unopened boxes, still waiting for him to get to them. But his time ran out far too soon.
Every day I move just a fraction of an inch closer to being able to move forward after the devastating loss of my father. Some days I feel like I am backsliding exponentially, but I have faith I will get there someday. I have to. Because my life continues and I have my own family waiting patiently for me to get through this.
Until next time,
Cathy Marie Bown
Cathy Marie Bown 