Art For The Fun Of It
Category : Arts
Sometimes art can just be ‘for the fun of it’. Enjoyable, no pressures or deadlines and purely about living in the moment and delighting in the experience.
I often talk about art from a business perspective, or how to display your art and practical tips. I’ve talked about art for therapeutic purposes, grounding yourself.
What I wanted to talk about today was art for the fun of it.
Recently some friends invited me to a ‘paint and sip’ class. I thought, why not. Get out for the night, reconnect with some friends and approach it purely from an enjoyment perspective.
My focus quite often is that if I do a class, it’s to learn a new technique or improve a particular skill. This time, I just did it for fun’s sake.
My friends and I painted (one of my friends even got very much in touch with her creative side) and used her fingers to paint. I love that; really feeling the paint and feeling the canvas. It wasn’t what was being ‘done’ in class, but thankfully our ‘teacher’ let us be and be unique and creative. We had some chips and dip, a drink or two and many belly laughs. Did I learn anything? Not really, but it was completely enjoyable and relaxing. It was a nice night out, reconnecting to art and paint and creativity, without any pressure to produce, or create, or worse ‘manufacture’. It was also social; connecting with like-minded friends who just wanted to have a good time.
Whatever we do in our lives, we should take a moment (or several) out to purely enjoy the moment.
Stopping to enjoy, smile, or better yet, belly laugh, is what often nourishes the soul. For me, art is peace, harmony, grounding and beauty. Although I’m treating it like a business, for me, art should never become a chore. I do appreciate when art is your business (and sole source of income) that luxury is not always available. But if you’re like the majority, take a moment to enjoy it.
Even if you can’t draw or paint – give something a go. Don’t try to be perfect, just do it and enjoy the experience. I have a friend who is very good at pastels, although she frequently says it’s ‘not perfect’. To me art isn’t perfect; it’s not a photograph (unless we’re talking photography), it’s creative, imperfect, original and unique. Often, I think the imperfections are what makes a piece. There is no right or wrong. Simply – did you have fun doing it?
So, if it’s been a while since you picked up a paintbrush (or dipped your fingers in paint), or (gasp) never have … then stop, take a moment and just do it. There are community classes all over the place, businesses which offer ‘classes’ or just get some paint, get some friends together and have a night in with friends, snacks, drinks and paint.
Let art be part of your life – and let it be FUN!
Here’s something fun that I do, and you’d love the masterpiece of your furbaby. Check out my pawtraits.